JP2569629B2 - Tape printing device capable of normal image printing and mirror image printing - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a tape printing apparatus for printing on a printing tape, and more particularly to a tape printing apparatus capable of normal image printing and mirror image printing.

<Background Art> Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-31260 discloses a printing apparatus which is not a tape printing apparatus but has a function of printing stored information by reversing the front and back of each line. This is to selectively perform normal image printing (normal printing of a pattern to be read) on normal printing paper and mirror image printing of a reverse pattern on transparent paper by switching. The print head has a dot row in a direction orthogonal to the print line, and the dot row prints while moving in one direction along the print,
The sheet is line-fed one line at a time in a direction perpendicular to the sheet.

When the normal image printing is selected, the dot pattern of the print character is sequentially read from one end (leading side), and the dot row operates according to the pattern while the print head moves in one direction, so that the normal image pattern is obtained. Is printed. On the other hand, when the mirror image printing is selected, the moving direction of the print head is the same as that of the normal image printing, but the dot pattern of the printing character is read from the opposite end (end side) in reverse, and accordingly, The mirror array pattern is printed by operating the dot rows. The printing direction is the same and the reading direction is reversed.

In the case of a tape printing apparatus, generally, a print tape is sent to a fixed print head in one predetermined direction in a longitudinal direction, and one line of printing is performed by a dot row of the print head. Although line feed is not planned, the idea of selectively performing normal image printing and mirror image printing as described above can be applied.

<Problems to be solved by the invention> However, when the dot pattern of the print character is read in the opposite direction to the normal image print for mirror image print,
Since the printing direction, that is, the direction of tape feed is determined in one direction, printing is performed with a mirror image pattern read from the end of the printing line. Therefore, the user checks the result of the mirror image printing from the tail side of the print character according to the tape feed. In other words, it is natural to check the printing result from the beginning of the sentence. In the case of normal image printing, it is natural that it is natural.

<Means for Solving the Problems> The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and the feature of the tape printing apparatus according to the present invention is to input characters to be printed such as characters and symbols. An input device, a print head that is provided at a fixed position and performs printing on a print tape that is sent in the longitudinal direction with a dot row that is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, and the print tape is reversed with respect to the print head in the longitudinal direction. A tape feeder that selectively feeds the printhead in different directions, a storage unit that stores the dot pattern of the character, and a tape feeder that feeds the print tape in the forward direction while reading the dot pattern from one end and prints a normal image on the printhead Print control means for reading out the dot pattern from the above one end and performing mirror image printing while sending the dot pattern in the reverse direction, a normal image printing mode and a mirror image printing mode. And switching means for switching between the two modes.

<Operation and Effect> According to such a tape printing apparatus, the read direction of the dot pattern of the print character does not change with the switching from normal image printing to mirror image printing, and the tape feeding direction changes from the forward direction to the reverse direction. change. That is, the reading direction is the same and the tape feeding direction is opposite, which is in sharp contrast to the above-described printing apparatus in which the reading direction is opposite and the printing direction is the same.

As a result, in both normal image printing and mirror image printing, printing is always performed from the beginning of the sentence. As a result, the user follows the forward feed of the print tape for normal image printing and the reverse feed of the print tape for mirror image printing.
It is possible to confirm the printing result sequentially from the beginning of each sentence, and a natural and easy-to-use tape printing apparatus is realized.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 shows the overall configuration of a tape printer according to one embodiment of the present invention. This tape printer includes a keyboard unit 10 as an input device for inputting data of a character to be printed, and a printer unit 12 for performing printing in accordance with the data. The keyboard unit 10 is provided with a number of character keys 14 such as characters, symbols, and codes, and the characters input by keys are displayed on a liquid crystal display 18. The keyboard section 10 is also provided with a plurality of necessary function keys 30, such as a mode switching key 20 for normal image printing and mirror image printing, a print command key 22, a kana / kanji conversion key 24, and the like.

In the printer section 12, a print tape 32 is fed in the longitudinal direction, and a thermal head 34 functioning as a print head performs printing on the print tape 32. The thermal head 34 is provided in the printer unit 12 at a fixed position, and has a dot row composed of a number of heating elements in a direction perpendicular to the feed direction of the print tape 32, and a platen roller via the ink ribbon 36 and the print tape 32. Pressed to 40. Then, the dot array is heated in a predetermined pattern, and the heat transfers the ink of the ink ribbon 36 to the printing tape 32, thereby printing a normal image of a normal pattern to be read and a pattern in which the normal image is turned right and left. And the mirror image printing can be selectively performed.

The platen roller 40 is rotatable about an axis parallel to the dot row, and is urged in a direction approaching the thermal head 34 by an urging device (not shown). ink ribbon
The ink ribbon 36 is accommodated in a ribbon cassette 42, drawn out from the supply spool 44 between the thermal head 34 and the platen roller 40, and the transferred ink ribbon 36 is taken up by a take-up spool 46.

The printing tape 32 is, as is apparent from FIG.
The spool 48 is held in a state wound around the spool 48, and the spool 48 is selectively fitted into the spool shaft 50 and the spool shaft 52. Spool shafts 50 and 52 are thermal head 3
4 are provided at positions symmetrical to each other.

In the path of the printing tape 32 passing through the thermal head 34, the spool shaft 52 is symmetrical with respect to the thermal head 34.
Side-separable tape sequential feed rollers 53 and 54
However, tape reverse feed rollers 56 and 58 which are located on the spool shaft 50 side and which can be brought into and out of contact with each other are provided in a pressed state. When the spool 48 of the printing tape 32 is mounted on the spool shaft 50, the rollers 53 and 54 are driven to rotate in opposite directions to each other to feed the printing tape 32 in the forward direction to the left in FIG. Numeral 58 plays a role of rotating the print tape 32 in the opposite direction and feeding the print tape 32 in the opposite direction to the right when the spool 48 of the print tape 32 is mounted on the spool shaft 52.

A forward motor 50 for driving the rollers 53 and 54, and a reverse motor 62 for driving the rollers 56 and 58 are provided, and are selectively activated based on the operation of the mode switching key 20, Rollers 53 and 54 and rollers 56 and 58
In addition, it constitutes a tape feeder for selectively feeding the print tape 32 in the forward direction and the reverse direction.

In addition, spool drive shafts 64 and 66 for winding the ribbon 36 in order to supply the ink ribbon 36 in the forward and reverse directions are provided in accordance with the forward and backward feeding of the print tape 32, and the ribbon cassette 42 Spools 44 and 46 are mounted. The spool drive shaft 64 is driven in the counterclockwise direction in the figure by the above-described forward feed motor 60 in accordance with the drive of the rollers 53 and 54, and the spool drive shaft 66 is driven by the above-described reverse feed motor 62 to the rollers 56 and 58. Is driven in the clockwise direction in the figure in accordance with the driving of the motor.

 FIG. 6 shows a control system of the above apparatus.

The keyboard unit 10 includes a microcomputer (hereinafter, referred to as a microcomputer).
(Abbreviated as a microcomputer) 70. The input interface 72 is connected to a CPU 76, a ROM 78, a RAM 80, a character generator for printing and display (hereinafter referred to as CG-ROM) 82, 83 by a bus line 74.
And an output interface 84.

The CPU 76 plays a central role in general signal processing throughout the control system, and receives an operation signal of the mode switching key 20 to set one of a normal image printing mode and a mirror image printing mode. In the present embodiment, the mode switching key 20 operated to select either normal image printing or mirror image printing and the CPU 76 that receives the signal and switches between the two modes constitute switching means. is there.

The ROM 78 includes a program memory 86 for storing a program for controlling the entire operation of the tape printing apparatus, and a dictionary memory 88 used for kana / kanji conversion and the like. RAM80
Is the input buffer 90, print buffer 92 and display buffer 9
In addition to 4, it has necessary counters and registers. CG
The ROM 82 serves as a storage unit for storing the dot pattern of the character to be printed, and outputs the dot pattern of the print character corresponding to the code data of the input character. The CG-ROM 83 generates a dot pattern of a display character displayed on the liquid crystal display 18. A head drive circuit 96, a motor drive circuit 98, and a display drive circuit 100 are connected to the output interface 84, and the thermal head 34, the tape forward / reverse feed motors 60 and 62, and the liquid crystal display 18 are connected to each of them.

Next, the operation of the above-described tape printer will be described.

The character to be printed is the keyboard part 10 as described above.
The character data 14 is input through an input buffer 90, the code data is converted into a dot pattern for display by a CG-ROM 83, and displayed on a liquid crystal display 18 via a display buffer 94. The input character code data is converted into a dot pattern for printing by the CG-ROM 82, and the pattern is developed and stored in the print buffer 92 of the RAM 80. For example, a dot pattern "B" as shown in FIG. 7 is generated in the CG-ROM 82 and transferred to the print buffer 92. However, this figure is for the purpose of explanation only, and does not show the actual number of dots and the pattern. In this way, the dot patterns of the print characters are sequentially stored in the print buffer 92 in the order of input.

When the normal image printing mode is selected by operating the mode switching key 20, the spool 48 around which the printing tape 32 is wound is mounted on the right spool shaft 50 as shown in FIG. The ribbon cassette 42 has a take-up spool 46 on a spool drive shaft 64 and a supply spool 44 on a spool drive shaft 66.
It is attached in a state where it is fitted to each.

When the print command key 22 is pressed, the progressive motor 60 is started by a command from the CPU 76, and the tape progressive rollers 53, 54 are started.
And the spool drive shaft 64 is driven. As a result, the printing tape 32 is sent to the left in FIG. 1 while being pulled out from the spool 48, and the ink ribbon 36 is also sent in the same direction in accordance with the sending. At this time, the tape reverse feed rollers 56 and 58 rotate freely and function as guide rollers. In accordance with the tape feed in the forward direction, the CPU 76 reads the dot pattern of the print character stored in the print buffer 92 one line at a time from the left end (that is, the beginning of the sentence) to the right as conceptually shown in FIG. By supplying this data from the output interface 84 to the head drive circuit 96, the thermal head
The 34 dot rows are sequentially heated by the read pattern. As a result, a normal image is printed on the print tape 32 sent in the forward direction as illustrated in FIG. 3, and the print result is normally confirmed from the beginning of the sentence.

On the other hand, when the mirror image printing mode is selected by operating the mode switching key 20, as shown in FIG. 4, the spool 48 on which the printing tape 32 is wound is mounted on the left spool shaft 52, and the ribbon cassette 42 Are turned upside down, and the take-up spool 46 is fitted to the spool drive shaft 66 and the supply spool 44 is fitted to the spool drive shaft 64, respectively.

As the printing tape 32 used for mirror image printing, a tape having transparency such as transparent or translucent is generally used. At the time of mirror image printing, a ribbon cassette 42 containing an ink ribbon for preparing a pressure transfer tape may be mounted. In other words, the mirror image printing part is formed with ink with good transferability,
It is pressure-transferred to an object.

When the print command key 22 is pressed, the reverse feed motor 62 is started by a command from the CPU 76, and the tape reverse feed rollers 56, 58
And the print tape 32 to drive the spool drive shaft 66.
Is sent rightward in FIG. 4, and the ink ribbon 36 is also sent in the same direction. That is, the print tape 32 is pulled out from the spool 48 and is supplied to the thermal head 34 in the reverse direction via the tape rotating rollers 53 and 54 that rotate freely.

The CPU 76 reads the dot pattern of the print character stored in the print buffer 92 in accordance with the tape feeding in the reverse direction, and the read direction is the same as in the normal image printing. If FIG. 7 is taken as an example again, the reading is performed rightward from the left end corresponding to the beginning of the sentence toward the end of the sentence, and the dot row of the thermal head 34 generates heat sequentially corresponding to the read pattern data.

As a result, the reading direction of the dot pattern and the tape feeding direction are reversed. In other words, the tape feeding is performed in reverse while the reading direction is constant, so that the mirror image is printed from the beginning of the sentence as illustrated in FIG. The Rukoto. Therefore, even in the case of mirror image printing, the printing result can be confirmed from the beginning of the sentence. In addition, such a mirror image printing is a printing tape
Since 32 is transparent, the platen roller 40
Is viewed as a normal image from the side.

As is clear from the above description, in this embodiment,
The CPU 76 constitutes a printing control means, and controls the tape tape 32 to be sent in the forward direction and the normal image printing to be sent in the reverse direction to perform the mirror image printing while keeping the reading direction constant. is there.

In this embodiment, the mode switching key 20 is provided as switching means between normal image printing and mirror image printing. Instead of this, a switch for detecting the presence or absence of the spool 48 of the printing tape 32 is provided with both spools. It is also possible to provide modes near the shafts 50 and 52 and perform mode switching according to which switch is in the ON state. In this case, the switch and the CPU that determines the ON state are switching means. Is equivalent to

Also, instead of providing dedicated motors 60 and 62 for the forward and reverse feeds of the print tape 32, respectively, the driving force of one tape feed motor is transmitted by the rotation transmitting system to the tape forward rollers 53 and 54 and the tape reverse rollers. It is also possible to adopt a configuration for selectively transmitting the rotation transmission to the gears 56 and 58.In this case, by arranging a gear train constituting a rotation transmission system on, for example, a rotatable switching lever and operating the lever, Transmission or blocking of rotation can be performed. In this embodiment, the mechanical switching lever is mainly used to constitute the printing mode switching means.

In addition, the present invention can be embodied with various modifications and improvements based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing a printer section of a tape printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, which also serves as an explanatory diagram of a normal image printing mode. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the tape printing apparatus, and FIG. 3 is a front view showing a specific example of normal image printing. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the mirror image printing mode, corresponding to FIG. FIG. 5 is a front view showing a specific example of mirror image printing. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a control circuit of the tape printer of FIG. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a dot pattern in association with a reading direction. 10: Keyboard part, 12: Printer part 14: Character key, 18: Liquid crystal display 20: Mode switching key, 22: Print command key 30: Function key, 32: Printing tape 34: Thermal head, 36: Ink ribbon 40: Platen Roller, 42: Ribbon cassette 53, 54: Tape forward feed roller 56, 58: Tape reverse feed roller 60: Tape forward feed motor 62: Tape reverse feed motor 70: Microcomputer

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Yujiro Ishikawa 9-35, Horita-dori, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi Prefecture Inside Brother Industries, Ltd. (72) Inventor Takashi Sakai 9-35, Horita-dori, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi, Japan Inside Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Eiji Yuki 9-35 Horitadori, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture Brother Industries, Ltd.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] An input device for inputting a character to be printed such as a character or a symbol, a print head provided at a fixed position and performing printing on a print tape fed in a longitudinal direction by a dot row orthogonal to the longitudinal direction; A tape feeder for selectively feeding a print tape to the print head in a forward direction and a reverse direction in a longitudinal direction; storage means for storing a dot pattern of the character; Print control means for reading out the dot pattern from one end and reading the dot pattern from the one end and performing mirror image printing while reading the dot pattern from one end while reading the dot pattern from one end thereof, and causing the print head to perform normal image printing; A tape capable of normal image printing and mirror image printing, comprising: switching means for switching between a normal image printing mode and a mirror image printing mode. Shaped apparatus.