JP2019162810A - Printer, printing method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a printer which can make prints without causing the prints to protrude from an area which a user would like to make the prints, and to provide a printing method and a program.SOLUTION: A printer 100 includes: a print head 160; a housing; a scanning distance detection part 140; a print area detection part 113; and a print head control part 114. The housing has the print head 160 on a bottom surface. The scanning distance detection part 140 detects a distance that the housing is scanned in a sub scanning direction. The print area detection part 113 detects a print area on which a print object is printed. The print head control part 114 causes the print head to print the print object in the print area detected by the print area detection part 113.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

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

  2. Description of the Related Art A manual scanning type printing apparatus that prints a print target such as a character, a symbol, a mark, or a pattern on a print medium by grasping a housing and performing manual scanning is known.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a manual scanning type printing apparatus including a reference indicator provided near the bottom surface of a housing and a display that displays a relative positional relationship between the reference indicator and a printed image. . Thereby, the user can know the relative positional relationship between the reference indicator and the printed image.

US Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0223982

  In the printing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, when a print target is to be printed on the edge of the print medium, the user may not be printed out of the print medium unless the position for accurately printing the print target is adjusted. is there. For this reason, in this printing apparatus, it is not easy to print a print target without protruding to a place where the user wants to print.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides a printing apparatus, a printing method, and a program capable of printing without protruding from an area to be printed.

In order to achieve the object of the present invention, an aspect of the printing apparatus according to the present invention is:
A print head;
A housing having the print head on the bottom surface;
Scanning distance detection means for detecting a distance by which the casing is scanned in the sub-scanning direction;
A print area detecting means for detecting a print area for printing the print target;
Print head control means for causing the print head to print the print object in the print area detected by the print area detection means;
It is characterized by providing.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a printing apparatus, a printing method, and a program capable of printing without protruding into an area to be printed.

It is a figure which shows the handy printer and terminal device which concern on embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the handy printer which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a bottom view which shows the handy printer which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the handy printer which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the terminal device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the transmission process which the terminal device which concerns on embodiment of this invention performs. It is a flowchart which shows the printing process which the handy printer which concerns on embodiment of this invention performs. It is a flowchart which shows the printing area | region detection process which the handy printer which concerns on embodiment of this invention performs. It is a flowchart which shows the dot line printing process which the handy printer which concerns on embodiment of this invention performs. It is a figure explaining the printing process which the handy printer which concerns on embodiment of this invention performs. It is a figure explaining the printing process which the handy printer which concerns on embodiment of this invention performs. It is a figure explaining the printing process which the handy printer which concerns on embodiment of this invention performs. It is a figure explaining the printing process which the handy printer which concerns on embodiment of this invention performs. It is a figure which shows the to-be-printed medium which concerns on the modification of this invention. It is a figure which shows the to-be-printed medium which concerns on the modification of this invention. It is a figure which shows the to-be-printed medium which concerns on the modification of this invention. It is a figure which shows the handy printer which concerns on the modification of this invention.

  Hereinafter, a printing apparatus according to an embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a handy printer (printing apparatus) 100 according to the present embodiment includes a housing 101 having a size that can be easily gripped by a user, and is scanned in the sub-scanning direction by the user. , Characters, symbols, logos, characters, marks, patterns, and the like are printed so as not to protrude from the printing medium R. Data indicating a print target to be printed by the handy printer 100 is transmitted from the terminal device 200. The terminal device 200 includes, for example, a smartphone including a display 230 and a tablet PC (Personal Computer). The handy printer 100 and the terminal device 200 are configured to be able to communicate with each other through a wireless line. Note that the handy printer 100 and the terminal device 200 constitute the printing system 1.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the handy printer 100 includes a determination button 120 that receives an instruction to start printing, and an indicator 130 that indicates a position to start printing. The surface on which the determination button 120 is provided is the upper surface.

  The indicator 130 indicates a position where printing is started when printing is performed by scanning in the sub-scanning direction. The indicator 130 has a light guide plate and an LED (Light Emitting Diode) that emits red light, an LED that emits green light, and an LED that emits blue light, and emits light in an arbitrary color. The indicator 130 has a shape extending in a direction parallel to the main scanning direction of the print head 160 described later. The indicator 130 is disposed at a position where the indicator 130 overlaps the print head 160 when the upper surface is viewed vertically and the reference distance described later is moved in the sub-scanning direction. The main scanning direction is orthogonal to the sub-scanning direction.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a scanning distance detection unit 140, a scanner 150, and a print head 160 are provided on the bottom surface of the handy printer 100.

  The scanning distance detection unit 140 includes a light source such as an LED and an optical sensor, and detects a distance scanned by the handy printer 100 in the sub-scanning direction.

  The scanner 150 is composed of n light receiving elements arranged in a line in the main scanning direction and an LED light source, and reads an image of an area scanned by the scanner 150. The scanner 150 is disposed at a position away from the end of the indicator 130 by a reference distance d1, and includes the first light receiving element P1 to the nth light receiving element Pn.

  The print head 160 includes a magenta print head 160M that discharges magenta ink, a cyan print head 160C that discharges cyan ink, a yellow print head 160Y that discharges yellow ink, and inks of various colors (not shown). And a tank. Each of the print heads 160M, 160C, and 160Y is provided with n nozzles that are print elements arranged in a line in the main scanning direction. The number of nozzles is the same as n, which is the number of light receiving elements of the scanner 150. The magenta color print head 160M includes the first nozzle M1 to the nth nozzle Mn. The cyan print head includes the first nozzle C1 to the nth nozzle Cn. The yellow print head 160Y includes the first nozzle Y1 to the nth nozzle Yn. The print head 160 selectively ejects ink from the nozzles by energization corresponding to the print target. The magenta print head 160M is disposed at a position away from the scanner 150 by the reference distance d2. The cyan print head 160C is arranged at a position away from the scanner 150 by a reference distance d3. The yellow print head 160Y is disposed at a position away from the scanner 150 by a reference distance d4.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the handy printer 100 has an electrical configuration including a control unit in addition to the determination button 120, the indicator 130, the scanning distance detection unit 140, the scanner 150, and the print head 160 described above. 110, a communication unit 170, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 180, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 190.

  The control unit 110 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and the like. The control unit 110 functions as a print target acquisition unit 111, an indicator display control unit 112, a print area detection unit 113, and a print head control unit 114 by executing a program stored in the ROM 180.

  The print target acquisition unit 111 acquires data indicating the print target transmitted from the terminal device 200 via the communication unit 170 and stores the data in the RAM 190.

  The indicator display control unit 112 turns on the indicator 130 to notify the user of printing start and printing completion. When the print target acquisition unit 111 acquires data indicating a print target and enters a print standby state, the indicator display control unit 112 lights the indicator 130 in green. When the determination button 120 is pressed, the indicator display control unit 112 lights the indicator 130 in white, and when printing is completed, lights the indicator 130 in blue. After that, the indicator display control unit 112 turns off the indicator 130 when a certain time elapses.

  The print area detection unit 113 detects the print medium R as a print area from the area read by the scanner 150. More specifically, when the print area detection unit 113 determines that the handy printer 100 has been scanned for the reference distance d1 after the determination button 120 is pressed, the dot area read by the scanner 150 is scanned every time one dot pitch is scanned. It is determined whether or not the printing medium R is detected from the image. Specifically, when the luminance detected by each pixel of the scanner 150 is larger than the reference luminance, it is determined that the printing medium R has been detected. Thereafter, the print area detection unit 113 stores the portion in which the print medium R is detected in the RAM 190 every time one dot pitch is scanned.

  Based on the scanning distance scanned in the sub-scanning direction detected by the scanning distance detection unit 140 and the detection result of the print area detection unit 113, the print head control unit 114 is on the printing medium R among the plurality of printing elements. The print head 160 is controlled to print the print target by the print element, and the print target image is printed on the portion where the print medium R is detected. Specifically, if the handy printer 100 has been scanned for a distance L since the determination button 120 was pressed, the print head control unit 114 may detect a distance L−reference distance d2 after the determination button 120 was pressed. In the portion where the print medium R is detected, the magenta print head 160M prints one dot line of the image to be printed. In addition, the print head control unit 114 detects one of the images to be printed on the cyan print head 160C in a portion where the print medium R is detected when the distance L−the reference distance d3 is scanned after the determination button 120 is pressed. Print a dot line. In addition, the print head control unit 114 detects the image to be printed on the yellow print head 160Y at a portion where the print medium R is detected when the distance L−the reference distance d4 is scanned after the determination button 120 is pressed. Print one dot line.

  The determination button 120 receives an instruction to start printing based on a user operation.

  As described above, the scanning distance detection unit 140 detects a scanned distance that is a distance scanned by the print head 160 with respect to the printing medium R, and sends data indicating the detected scanned distance to the control unit 110. Output.

  As described above, the scanner 150 detects the printing medium R for each dot line, and outputs data indicating the detected printing medium R to the control unit 110.

  As described above, the print head 160 changes the print data from the nozzles provided in the print head 160 every time a distance corresponding to one dot pitch is scanned in the sub-scanning direction based on the control of the print head control unit 114. Accordingly, ink is selectively ejected for each YMC (Yellow Magenta Cyan). The ejected ink adheres to the printing medium R, and pixels (one dot line) arranged in a line in the main scanning direction of the print head 160 are printed.

  The communication unit 170 receives the print target image and data indicating the scanning direction from the terminal device 200. The communication unit 170 includes a wireless communication module such as a wireless local area network (LAN) or Bluetooth (registered trademark).

  The ROM 180 is configured by a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory, and stores a program for the control unit 110 to realize various functions, reference luminance, and reference distances d1 to d4 as described above. The RAM 190 is composed of a volatile memory, and is used as a work area for executing programs for the control unit 110 to perform various processes. The RAM 190 stores data such as YMC image data, distance L, and print area of the print target image.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the terminal device 200 includes a control unit 210, a communication unit 220, a display 230, an operation unit 240, a ROM 250, and a RAM 260.

  The control unit 210 includes a CPU and the like. The control unit 210 functions as a print target acquisition unit 211 and a print target transmission unit 212 by executing a program stored in the ROM 250.

  The print target acquisition unit 211 acquires data indicating the print target received by the operation unit 240 or received by the communication unit 220.

  The print target transmission unit 212 transmits data indicating the print target to the handy printer 100 via the communication unit 220.

  The communication unit 220 transmits data indicating a print target to the handy printer 100. Similar to the communication unit 170 described above, the communication unit 220 includes a wireless communication module such as a wireless LAN or Bluetooth (registered trademark).

  The display 230 displays an input image to be printed and an image necessary for an operation, and includes an LCD (liquid crystal display) or the like.

  The operation unit 240 receives data indicating a print target and instructions for starting and ending print processing based on a user input. The operation unit 240 and the display 230 constitute a touch panel display device.

  The ROM 250 is composed of a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory, and stores programs for the control unit 210 to realize various functions. The RAM 260 is composed of a volatile memory, and is used as a work area for executing programs for the control unit 210 to perform various processes. The RAM 260 stores data indicating a print target.

  Next, a transmission process executed by the terminal device 200 having the above configuration and a print process executed by the handy printer 100 will be described.

  In response to the instruction to start the process by the user, the terminal device 200 starts the transmission process shown in FIG. Further, the handy printer 100 starts the printing process shown in FIG. 7 in response to an instruction to start the process by the user. Hereinafter, a transmission process executed by the terminal device 200 and a print process executed by the handy printer 100 will be described with reference to flowcharts.

  First, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the print target acquisition unit 211 receives data indicating a print target input to the operation unit 240 (step S <b> 101). The print target acquisition unit 211 stores data indicating the received print target in the RAM 260. Next, the print target transmission unit 212 determines whether an instruction to transmit data indicating the print target has been received (step S102). If an instruction to transmit data has not been received (step S102; No), step S102 is repeated. When an instruction to transmit data is received (step S102; Yes), the print target transmission unit 212 transmits data indicating the print target to the handy printer 100 via the communication unit 220 (step S103).

  Next, it is determined whether or not an instruction to end the print target transmission process has been input (step S104). When the instruction to end the transmission process is not input (step S104; No), the process returns to step S101, and steps S101 to S104 are repeated. If an instruction to end the transmission process is input (step S104; Yes), the transmission process ends.

  When the print target and scanning direction data are transmitted from the terminal device 200, the print target acquisition unit 111 of the handy printer 100 receives the print target transmitted from the terminal device 200 via the communication unit 170, as shown in FIG. Is obtained and stored in the RAM 190 (step S201). Next, the indicator display control unit 112 lights the indicator 130 in green (step S202). As a result, the handy printer 100 enters a print standby state.

  Next, the indicator display control unit 112 determines whether or not the enter button 120 has been pressed (step S203). If it is determined that the decision button 120 has not been pressed (step S203; No), step S203 is repeated. When it is determined that the determination button 120 has been pressed (step S203; Yes), the indicator display control unit 112 lights the indicator 130 in white (step S204). Next, the print area detection unit 113 determines whether or not the handy printer 100 has been scanned for the reference distance d1 since the determination button 120 was pressed (step S205). If it is determined that the reference distance d1 is not scanned (step S205; No), step S205 is repeated. If it is determined that the reference distance d1 has been scanned (step S205; Yes), the print area detection unit 113 executes a print area detection process (step S206).

  When the print area detection process starts, as shown in FIG. 8, the print area detection unit 113 sets variable i = 1 (step S301). The print area detection unit 113 detects the distance L scanned by the handy printer 100 after the determination button 120 is pressed (step S302). Initially, distance L = reference distance d1. The print area detection unit 113 determines whether or not the first light receiving element P1 of the scanner 150 has detected the print medium R (step S303). Specifically, when the luminance detected by the first light receiving element P1 is larger than the reference luminance, it is determined that the printing medium R has been detected. When the print region detection unit 113 determines that the first light receiving element P1 of the scanner 150 has detected the printing medium R (step S303; Yes), the first light receiving element P1 is printed at the scanned distance L. The fact that the medium R has been detected is stored in the RAM 190 (step S304). Next, it is determined whether or not the variable i = n (step S305). On the other hand, if the print region detection unit 113 determines that the first light receiving element P1 of the scanner 150 has not detected the print medium R (step S303; No), the process proceeds to step S305.

  Since the variable i is 1, it is determined that the variable i is not n (step S305; No). Next, i is incremented (step S306), and the process returns to step S303. Steps S303 to S306 are repeated until variable i = n. n is the number of light receiving elements of the scanner 150 as described above. By repeating Step S303 to Step S306, the portion where the printing medium R is detected is stored in the RAM 190 in the image of one dot line read by the scanner 150 when the distance L is scanned after the determination button 120 is pressed. Is done. If the print area detection unit 113 determines that the variable i = n (step S305; Yes), the print area detection process is terminated and the process returns to the print process shown in FIG.

  Next, the print head controller 114 executes a dot line printing process (step S207). When the dot line printing process starts, as shown in FIG. 9, the print head control unit 114 sets variable i = 1 (step S401). When the handy printer 100 is scanned by the distance L−the reference distance d2 after the determination button 120 is pressed, it is determined whether or not the first light receiving element P1 has detected the printing medium R (step S402). Specifically, it is determined whether or not the fact that the printing medium R is detected by the first light receiving element P1 of the scanner 150 is stored in the RAM 190 at the scanned distance L−the reference distance d2. If it is determined that the first light receiving element has detected the printing medium R when the distance L−the reference distance d2 is scanned (step S402; Yes), the print head control unit 114 sets 1 of the magenta color print head 160M. Ink is ejected to the second nozzle M1 (step S403). On the other hand, when it is determined that the first light receiving element P1 has not detected the print medium R when the distance L-reference distance d2 is scanned (step S402; No), the process proceeds to step S404.

  Next, when the handy printer 100 is scanned by the distance L−the reference distance d3 after the determination button 120 is pressed, it is determined whether or not the first light receiving element P1 has detected the printing medium R (step S404). . Specifically, it is determined whether or not the fact that the printing medium R is detected by the first light receiving element P1 of the scanner 150 is stored in the RAM 190 at the scanned distance L−the reference distance d3. When it is determined that the first light receiving element P1 has detected the printing medium R when the distance L−the reference distance d3 is scanned (step S404; Yes), the print head control unit 114 sets the cyan print head 160C. Ink is ejected to the first nozzle C1 (step S405). On the other hand, when it is determined that the first light receiving element P1 has not detected the printing medium R when the distance L−the reference distance d3 is scanned (step S404; No), the process proceeds to step S406.

  Next, when the handy printer 100 is scanned by the distance L−the reference distance d4 after the determination button 120 is pressed, it is determined whether or not the first light receiving element P1 is detected as the printing medium R (step S406). . Specifically, it is determined whether or not the fact that the printing medium R is detected by the first light receiving element P1 of the scanner 150 is stored in the RAM 190 at the scanned distance L−the reference distance d4. When it is determined that the first light receiving element P1 has detected the print medium R when the distance L−the reference distance d4 is scanned (step S406; Yes), the print head control unit 114 applies 1 to the yellow print head 160Y. Ink is ejected to the second nozzle Y1 (step S407). On the other hand, if it is determined that the first light receiving element P1 has not detected the print medium R when the distance L−the reference distance d4 is scanned (step S406; No), the process proceeds to step S408.

  Next, the print head control unit 114 determines whether or not the variable i = n (step S408). Since the variable i is 1, it is determined that the variable i is not n (step S408; No). Next, i is incremented (step S409), and the process returns to step S402. Steps S402 to S409 are repeated until variable i = n. By repeating step S402 to step S409, the print head control unit 114 arranges the print target images stored in the RAM 190 in the portion where the print medium R is detected in a line in the main scanning direction for each YMC. One dot line which is a pixel line is printed. If the print head control unit 114 determines that the variable i = n (step S408; Yes), the dot line printing process is terminated, and the process returns to the printing process shown in FIG.

  Next, the print area detection unit 113 determines whether or not the handy printer 100 has been scanned for a distance corresponding to one dot pitch (step S208). If it is determined that distance scanning corresponding to one dot pitch has not been performed (step S208; No), step S208 is repeated. If it is determined that the distance corresponding to one dot pitch has been scanned (step S208; Yes), it is determined whether or not the printing to be printed has been completed (step S209). If it is determined that printing of the print target has not been completed (step S209; No), the process returns to step S206, and steps S206 to S209 are repeated until printing is completed. By repeating Step S206 to Step S209, every time a distance scan corresponding to one dot pitch is performed, the print region detection unit 113 stores a portion of the image of one dot line where the printing medium R is detected, The print head controller 114 prints one dot line of the image to be printed on the portion where the print medium R is detected.

  When it is determined that printing of the print target has been completed (step S209; Yes), the indicator display control unit 112 lights the indicator 130 in blue (step S210). Thereafter, the indicator 130 is turned off (step S211), and the printing process is terminated.

  Next, a printing process executed by the handy printer 100 according to the present embodiment and a transmission process executed by the terminal device 200 will be described based on specific examples with reference to FIGS.

  The handy printer 100 prints the print target on the portion determined as the printing medium R in the area read by the scanner 150. When the user places the indicator 130 of the handy printer 100 at a position where printing is desired to start, presses the determination button 120 and scans the handy printer 100, printing starts from the position of the indicator 130 when the determination button 120 is pressed. Is done. As a result, the user can easily print the print target so as not to protrude from the print medium R. Here, an example will be described in which the “mesh pattern” to be printed is printed at the scheduled printing position P of the printing medium R shown in FIG. 10 without protruding from the printing medium R.

  First, in response to an instruction to start processing by the user, the handy printer 100 starts printing processing, and the terminal device 200 starts transmission processing. When the terminal device 200 starts the print target transmission process, the print target acquisition unit 211 acquires data indicating the print target input to the operation unit 240 (step S101; FIG. 6). At this time, the print target acquisition unit 211 acquires a “mesh pattern” input by the user as a print target. Next, upon receiving an instruction to transmit data (step S102; Yes; FIG. 6), the print target transmission unit 212 transmits data indicating the print target to the handy printer 100 via the communication unit 220 (step S103; FIG. 6). Thereafter, when an instruction to end the transmission process is input (step S104; Yes; FIG. 6), the transmission process ends.

  Next, when data indicating a print target is transmitted from the terminal device 200, the print target acquisition unit 111 of the handy printer 100 acquires the data indicating the print target transmitted from the terminal device 200 and stores the data in the RAM 190 ( Step S201; FIG. 7). Next, the indicator display control part 112 lights the indicator 130 in green (step S202; FIG. 7).

  Next, when the user sets the indicator 130 to the scheduled printing position P and presses the enter button 120 (step S203; Yes; FIG. 7), the indicator display control unit 112 lights the indicator 130 in white (step S204; FIG. 7). Next, when the print region detection unit 113 determines that the reference distance d1 has been scanned after the determination button 120 is pressed (step S205; Yes; FIG. 7), the print region detection unit 113 executes a print region detection process. (Step S206; FIG. 7).

  In the print area detection process, when the distance L is scanned after the determination button 120 is pressed, the portion where the print medium R is detected in the image of one dot line read by the scanner 150 is stored in the RAM 190. As shown in FIG. 11, when the determination button 120 is pressed and the distance L1 is scanned, the mth light receiving element Pm from the first light receiving element P1 is positioned on the print medium R, and therefore The m-th light receiving element Pm from the light receiving element P1 detects the printing medium R. Thereafter, the fact that the mth light receiving element Pm from the first light receiving element P1 has detected the printing medium R is stored in the RAM 190. Note that 1 <m <n.

  Next, a dot line printing process is executed (step S207; FIG. 7). In the dot line printing process, when the handy printer 100 is scanned by the distance L1 to the reference distance d2 after the determination button 120 is pressed, ink is ejected from the magenta print head 160M to the portion where the printing medium R is detected. If the position shown in FIG. 11 is the position scanned by the distance L1, the distance from the first light receiving element P1 to the oth light receiving element Po is positioned on the printing medium R when the distance L1-reference distance d2 is scanned. In the image of one dot line read by the scanner 150, the portion where the printing medium R is detected is the portion read by the o-th light receiving element Po from the first light receiving element P1. Note that 1 <o <m. The print head controller 114 causes ink to be ejected from the first nozzle M1 to the nozzle Mo of the magenta color print head 160M corresponding to the o-th light receiving element Po from the first light receiving element P1. At the position where the handy printer 100 is scanned by the distance L1 to the reference distance d3 or the distance L1 to the reference distance d4, the scanner 150 is not positioned on the printing medium R, so the printing medium R is not read by the scanner 150. For this reason, ink is not ejected from the cyan print head 160C and the yellow print head 160Y.

  When the handy printer 100 is scanned to the position shown in FIG. 12, the p-th light receiving element Pp from the first light receiving element P1 of the scanner 150 is positioned on the print medium R, so that the p-th light receiving element P1 from the light receiving element P1. The light receiving element Pp detects the printing medium R. After that, the fact that the pth light receiving element Pp from the first light receiving element P1 has detected the printing medium R is stored in the RAM 190. Note that 1 <q <n.

  Next, a dot line printing process is executed (step S207; FIG. 7). In the dot line printing process, if the position shown in FIG. 12 is the position scanned by the distance L2, the print medium R is detected when the handy printer 100 is scanned by the distance L2-reference distance d2 after the determination button 120 is pressed. Ink is ejected from the magenta color print head 160M to these areas. When the distance L2−the reference distance d2 is scanned, the first light receiving element P1 to the qth light receiving element Pq are positioned on the printing medium R, and thus the image of the one dot line read by the scanner 150 is covered. The portion where the print medium R is detected is a portion read by the qth light receiving element Pq from the first light receiving element P1. The print head controller 114 causes ink to be ejected from the first nozzle M1 to the q-th nozzle Mq of the magenta color print head 160M corresponding to the q-th light-receiving element Pq from the first light-receiving element P1. At the position where the handy printer 100 is scanned by the distance L2-reference distance d3 or the distance L2-reference distance d4, the printing medium R is read by the entire scanner 150, so the cyan print head 160C and the yellow print head 160Y are Ink is ejected from the 1st to nth nozzles.

  Next, when the handy printer 100 is scanned to the position shown in FIG. 13, it is determined that printing of the print target has been completed (step S <b> 209; Yes; FIG. 7), and the indicator display control unit 112 turns the indicator 130 to blue. Lights up (step S210; FIG. 7). Thereafter, the indicator 130 is turned off (step S211; FIG. 7), and the printing process is terminated.

  As described above, according to the handy printer 100 of the present embodiment, the print medium R is detected by the scanner 150, and the print target 160 is printed at the position where the print medium R is detected. For this reason, the print target can be printed so that it is not printed at a position other than the print medium R and does not protrude from the print medium R. Further, since the number of nozzles of the print head 160 for each color of the handy printer 100 is the same as n, which is the number of light receiving elements of the scanner 150, printing is performed so that the printing target does not protrude from the printing medium R accurately. it can. This is particularly effective when printing an image such as a pattern so as not to protrude from the edge of the printing medium R.

(Modification)
In the handy printer 100 according to the above-described embodiment, the example in which the reference luminance serving as the reference for detecting the printing medium R is stored in the ROM 180 in advance has been described. The handy printer 100 only needs to be able to detect the printing medium R. The printing medium detection unit 113 scans the printing medium R in advance with the scanner 150 of the handy printer 100, and the printing area detection unit 113 stores the luminance information of the printing medium R in the RAM 190. Good. In this case, the printing medium R can be detected even when the luminance of the printing medium R is different from the reference luminance stored in advance. The handy printer 100 can detect the printing medium R based on luminance information obtained by scanning the printing medium R in advance. Further, information indicating a pattern such as a color or a pattern of the printing medium R may be stored, and the printing medium R may be detected by a pattern such as a color or a pattern.

  In the handy printer 100 of the above-described embodiment, the example in which the print region detection unit 113 detects the print medium R has been described. The handy printer 100 only needs to be able to print an object to be printed on the printing medium R. The printing area detection unit 113 detects an area other than the printing medium R as a printing prohibition area, and the print head control unit 114 uses the printing head 160. You may control not to print in a printing prohibition area | region. For example, an area where the detected luminance is less than the reference luminance may be set as the print prohibited area. Further, the print prohibition area is scanned by the scanner 150 in advance, and the print area detection unit 113 stores the luminance information of the print prohibition area in the RAM 190. In this case, it is possible to prevent the handy printer 100 from printing the print target in the print prohibited area by scanning the print prohibited area with the scanner 150 in advance and storing the luminance information of the print prohibited area in the RAM 190. Further, information indicating a pattern such as a color or a pattern of the print prohibited area B shown in FIG. 14 may be stored, and the print area detecting unit 113 may detect the print prohibited area B using a pattern such as a color or a pattern. The print prohibition area B includes a desk on which the printing medium R is placed.

  The handy printer 100 scans the print medium R and the area other than the print medium R in advance with the scanner 150, and stores information such as the brightness of the print medium R and the area other than the print medium R in the RAM 190. The print area or the print prohibition area may be detected based on the brightness between the brightness of the printing medium R and the brightness of the area other than the printing medium R. By doing in this way, the area | regions other than the printing medium R and the printing medium R can be detected correctly.

  The print region detection unit 113 may detect the edge E of the printing medium R and detect the inside of the edge E as the printing medium R. In this case, the print region detection unit 113 receives in advance information on whether scanning is started from the printing medium R before scanning is started or scanning is started from outside the printing medium R. When the information for starting scanning is received from the printing medium R, printing is started when the determination button 120 is pressed, and when the edge E is detected, printing is terminated at the position where the edge E is detected. When the information for starting scanning is received from outside the printing medium R, when the edge E is detected after the determination button 120 is pressed, printing is started from the position where the edge E is detected. When the edge E is detected again after starting printing, the printing is terminated at the position where the edge E is detected. The edge E may be detected by a luminance difference between the printing medium R and the area outside the printing medium R shown in FIG.

  Further, the print area detection unit 113 may detect the line EL indicating the edge E and detect the inside of the line EL as the print area. For example, the line EL shown in FIG. 16 may be detected, the inside surrounded by the line EL may be detected as a print area, and the print target may be printed inside the line EL.

  In the handy printer 100 of the above-described embodiment, the print area is detected based on the brightness, but the method for detecting the print area may be other than the brightness. For example, the print area detection unit 113 may detect the print area based on a color or a pattern.

  In the handy printer 100 of the above-described embodiment, the example in which the scanner 150 has n light receiving elements and the print heads 160M, 160C, and 160Y have n nozzles has been described. The handy printer 100 only needs to detect the print medium R by the scanner 150 and print the print target on the portion where the print medium R is detected by the print head 160. The scanner 150 includes a plurality of light receiving elements. The number of light receiving elements of the scanner 150 may be different from the number of nozzles of the print heads 160M, 160C, and 160Y. In this case, the printing medium R is printed on the printing medium R detected by the light receiving element of the scanner 150 corresponding to the nozzles of the print heads 160M, 160C, and 160Y.

  For example, as illustrated in FIG. 17, the scanner 150 may include light receiving elements Pa to Pe. In this case, the area of the print medium R detected by the light receiving elements Pa to Pe may be complemented to calculate the area of the print medium R between the light receiving elements Pa to Pe. As interpolation methods, linear interpolation, spline interpolation, or the like can be used. By reducing the number of light receiving elements of the scanner 150, the cost of the scanner 150 can be reduced.

  In the handy printer 100 of the above-described embodiment, the example in which the scanner 150 having the light receiving elements provided in a line in the main scanning direction is described. The scanner 150 only needs to be able to acquire print area information, and a camera that captures an image of the print area may be used as the scanner 150.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the print head 160 ejects magenta, cyan, and yellow ink from the nozzles has been described. However, the print head 160 may eject single-color or two-color ink, It may eject four or more colors of ink. In addition, although an example of an ink jet type in which the print head 160 is provided with nozzles arranged in a line has been described, the print head 160 may be a thermal type or another type. .

  In addition, a handy printer 100 including a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like, and a central part that performs a transmission process and a printing process executed by the terminal device 200 are not related to a dedicated system, but a normal information portable terminal (smart phone, It can be executed using a tablet PC) or a personal computer. For example, a computer program for executing the above-described operation is stored on a computer-readable recording medium (flexible disc, CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disc Read Only Memory), etc.). An information terminal that performs the above-described processing may be configured by storing and distributing and installing this computer program in an information portable terminal or the like. Alternatively, the computer program may be stored in a storage device included in a server device on a communication network such as the Internet, and the information processing device may be configured by being downloaded by a normal information processing terminal or the like.

  Further, when the functions of the handy printer 100 and the terminal device 200 are realized by sharing an OS (Operating System) and an application program, or by cooperation between the OS and the application program, only the application program portion is stored in a recording medium or the like. You may store in a memory | storage device.

  It is also possible to superimpose a computer program on a carrier wave and distribute it via a communication network. For example, this computer program may be posted on a bulletin board (BBS: Bulletin Board System) on a communication network and distributed through the network. The computer program may be started and executed in the same manner as other application programs under the control of the OS, so that the above-described processing can be executed.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments, and the present invention includes the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof. included. Hereinafter, the invention described in the scope of claims of the present application will be appended.

(Appendix 1)
A print head;
A housing having the print head on the bottom surface;
Scanning distance detection means for detecting a distance by which the casing is scanned in the sub-scanning direction;
A print area detecting means for detecting a print area for printing the print target;
Print head control means for causing the print head to print the print object in the print area detected by the print area detection means;
A printing apparatus comprising:

(Appendix 2)
A scanner that reads an image of the scanned area;
The printing area detecting means detects the printing area from an image read by the scanner;
The printing apparatus according to Supplementary Note 1, wherein

(Appendix 3)
The printing area detecting means detects, as the printing area, a portion having a luminance greater than a reference luminance from an image read by the scanner;
The printing apparatus according to Supplementary Note 2, wherein

(Appendix 4)
The printing area detecting means detects a portion having a luminance lower than a reference luminance from the image read by the scanner as a printing prohibited area;
The print head control means prints the print object in a portion other than the print prohibited area;
The printing apparatus according to Supplementary Note 2 or 3, wherein:

(Appendix 5)
The print area detecting means obtains a color or pattern from an image read by the scanner, and detects the print area or print prohibited area based on the color or the pattern;
The printing apparatus according to any one of appendices 2 to 4, characterized in that:

(Appendix 6)
The printing area detecting means detects an edge, and detects the inside of the edge as the printing area;
The printing apparatus according to any one of supplementary notes 1 to 5, wherein:

(Appendix 7)
The printing area detecting means detects a printing medium as the printing area;
The printing apparatus according to any one of supplementary notes 1 to 6, wherein:

(Appendix 8)
The print head has a plurality of printing elements arranged in a line in the main scanning direction,
The print head control means prints the print object by the print element on the print area among the plurality of print elements based on the detection results of the scanning distance detection means and the print area detection means. Controlling the print head;
The printing apparatus according to any one of appendices 1 to 7, characterized in that:

(Appendix 9)
A print head;
A housing having the print head on the bottom surface;
Scanning distance detection means for detecting a distance by which the casing is scanned in the sub-scanning direction;
Using a printing device comprising
A print area detecting step for detecting a print area for printing the print target;
A print head control step of causing the print head to print the print object in the print area detected by the print area detection step;
A printing method comprising:

(Appendix 10)
A print head;
A housing having the print head on the bottom surface;
Scanning distance detection means for detecting a distance by which the casing is scanned in the sub-scanning direction;
A computer for controlling a printing apparatus comprising:
A print area detecting means for detecting a print area for printing a print target;
Print head control means for causing the print head to print the print object in the print area detected by the print area detection means;
Function as
A program characterized by that.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Printing system, 100 ... Handy printer, 101 ... Housing | casing, 110, 210 ... Control part, 111, 211 ... Print object acquisition part, 112 ... Indicator display control part, 113 ... Print area detection part, 114 ... Print head control , 120 ... determination button, 130 ... indicator, 140 ... scanning distance detector, 150 ... scanner, 160 ... print head, 160M ... magenta print head, 160C ... cyan print head, 160Y ... yellow print head, 170, 220 Communication unit, 180, 250 ... ROM, 190, 260 ... RAM, 200 ... Terminal device, 212 ... Print target transmission unit, 230 ... Display, 240 ... Operation unit, R ... Medium to be printed, d1-d4 ... Reference distance

Claims (10)

A print head;
A housing having the print head on the bottom surface;
Scanning distance detection means for detecting a distance by which the casing is scanned in the sub-scanning direction;
A print area detecting means for detecting a print area for printing the print target;
Print head control means for causing the print head to print the print object in the print area detected by the print area detection means;
A printing apparatus comprising: A scanner that reads an image of the scanned area;
The printing area detecting means detects the printing area from an image read by the scanner;
The printing apparatus according to claim 1. The printing area detecting means detects, as the printing area, a portion having a luminance greater than a reference luminance from an image read by the scanner;
The printing apparatus according to claim 2. The printing area detecting means detects a portion having a luminance lower than a reference luminance from the image read by the scanner as a printing prohibited area;
The print head control means prints the print object in a portion other than the print prohibited area;
The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the printing apparatus is a printer. The print area detecting means obtains a color or pattern from an image read by the scanner, and detects the print area or print prohibited area based on the color or the pattern;
The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the printing apparatus is a printer. The printing area detecting means detects an edge, and detects the inside of the edge as the printing area;
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing apparatus is a printer. The printing area detecting means detects a printing medium as the printing area;
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing apparatus is a printer. The print head has a plurality of printing elements arranged in a line in the main scanning direction,
The print head control means prints the print object by the print element on the print area among the plurality of print elements based on the detection results of the scanning distance detection means and the print area detection means. Controlling the print head;
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing apparatus is a printer. A print head;
A housing having the print head on the bottom surface;
Scanning distance detection means for detecting a distance by which the casing is scanned in the sub-scanning direction;
Using a printing device comprising
A print area detecting step for detecting a print area for printing the print target;
A print head control step of causing the print head to print the print object in the print area detected by the print area detection step;
A printing method comprising: A print head;
A housing having the print head on the bottom surface;
Scanning distance detection means for detecting a distance by which the casing is scanned in the sub-scanning direction;
A computer for controlling a printing apparatus comprising:
A print area detecting means for detecting a print area for printing a print target;
Print head control means for causing the print head to print the print object in the print area detected by the print area detection means;
Function as
A program characterized by that.

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