JP3127903B2 - Printer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer, and more particularly, to a printer capable of providing a sound-based user interface.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a printer connected to a personal computer for printing, in general, a user can retrieve various information on the driving state of the printer from the personal computer on a monitor of the personal computer. In addition, printers that are controlled by a printer driver that provides information such as out-of-paper or out-of-ink printing or printing end to a user by driving a speaker of a personal computer are supplied to the market.

In recent years, with the spread of digital cameras, printers capable of reading a recording medium, such as a memory card, on which images are recorded by the digital camera, projecting the images on a television screen, and printing on paper, have been supplied to the market. Have been. In addition, a printer is provided on the market, in which a display device is provided, and an image can be designated and printed on the display device. According to these printers,
When printing an image recorded on a recording medium, the recording medium is inserted into a card slot, printing conditions are set, printing paper is set, and a print start command is issued. Printing conditions include various factors such as paper size, layout, paper type, number of prints, and image quality. In general, such a printer does not need to be connected to a personal computer, and therefore cannot provide a user interface by driving a speaker of the personal computer or displaying a monitor on the personal computer. Further, there is no function of providing a user interface by voice to the printer itself.

[0004]

However, the procedure for printing an image recorded on a recording medium by a digital camera is as follows.
For a user who is unfamiliar with the handling of electronic devices, it is very complicated, and a printer having an easy-to-understand user interface that can guide the user through this procedure is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been devised to meet this demand, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a printer which allows a user unfamiliar with the handling of electronic equipment to easily print an image recorded by a digital camera or the like by itself. Aim.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a printer which is easy to operate.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a printer which can switch a user interface according to a user.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a printer capable of providing information on a driving state by sound.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data acquisition section for acquiring electronic data from a recording medium, an input section for transmitting a print setting signal for setting printing conditions, and a predetermined section. a first sounding body emits a guiding sound,
When an operation to set print conditions is performed in the input unit
A second sounding body that emits a predetermined identification sound in response to the operation
And a guide section having a print setting signal, the driving state of the printing section and the transport section, or the guide section according to the electronic data of the data acquisition section, and the print setting signal of the input section and the electronic data of the data acquisition section. A control unit that controls the printing unit and the transport unit based on the first control unit , wherein the first sounding body emits a guide sound.
Control method and the third control method in which the second sounding body emits the identification sound,
A second control method in which one sounding body does not emit a guide sound and a second sounding body
3rd control system that generates identification sound or 1st sounding body guides
The second control method that does not emit a sound and the second sounding body emits an identification sound
Can be switched to any one of the fourth control methods
A switching unit. For this reason, when printing is performed by the printer alone, the user's operation can be assisted by the guide sound, and a printer with easy operation can be provided.
Here, the guide sound is a sound recognized as a word. guide
If you do not need the sound, you can turn off the guidance sound and print
You. Also print while confirming the operation on the input unit with sound
be able to. Here, the identification sound is determined by the pitch of the sound.
Sound output in a short time to distinguish the type of
Say. If the identification sound is not required, turn off the identification sound and print
be able to.

[0010]

[0011]

[0012]

[0013]

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment showing an embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in, the transport unit 1, the printing unit 2, the control unit 3,
It has a display unit 4, an input unit 5, a guide unit 6, a first data acquisition unit 7, a second data acquisition unit 8, and a switching unit 9. Transport unit 1, printing unit 2, control unit 3, display unit 4
, Input unit 5, guide unit 6, first data acquisition unit 7
The second data acquisition unit 8 and the switching unit 9 are provided in a box-shaped housing 10. The printer according to the present embodiment can print the electronic data obtained from the first data obtaining unit 7 or the second data obtaining unit 8 in the printing unit 2 driven by the control unit 3.

As shown in FIG. 2, the housing 10 has a display unit 4 and an input unit 5 on the upper surface, a first data acquisition unit 7, a power switch 91, and a warning lamp 92 for notifying that the ink is out or the paper is out. A guide unit 6 is provided, a second data acquisition unit 8 (not shown) is provided on the back surface, a switching unit 9 is provided on the side surface, and a transport unit 1, a printing unit 2, and a control unit 3 (not shown) are provided inside. A paper supply port 93 and a paper discharge port 94 are formed on the upper surface and the lower front surface of the housing 10, respectively. A paper tray 95 is detachably engaged with the sheet supply port 93, and a sheet receiver 96 is detachably engaged with the sheet discharge port 94.

The transport unit 1 (not shown) is provided inside the housing 10 between a paper supply port 93 and a paper discharge port 94.
It has a transport roller driven by a motor, and a driven roller that contacts the transport roller and transports the paper by friction. The transport roller and the driven roller are made of a non-slip material such as rubber. The transport unit 1 is a mechanism that transports a sheet from a sheet supply port 93 to a sheet discharge port 94 by rotating a transport roller and a driven roller.

A printing section 2 (not shown) is provided adjacent to the transport section 1 and has a carriage on which an ink tank and an ink jet head are mounted, a step motor, and a carriage rail provided in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the paper is transported. And The printing unit 2 performs printing by a known inkjet method. Specifically, a carriage driven by a step motor reciprocates on a carriage rail at a position facing the sheet, and performs printing by ejecting ink in an ink tank from an inkjet head onto the sheet conveyed by the conveyance unit 1. Note that a laser method, a dot impact method, or the like can be used as the printing unit 2.

The control unit 3 (not shown) includes a CPU, a ROM in which a control program and audio data described later are recorded.
And a memory for temporarily storing electronic data.
The control unit 3 extracts various information from the electronic data acquired from the first data acquisition unit 7 or the second data acquisition unit 8 and displays the information on the display unit 4 or drives the guide unit 6 to provide a user interface; The input unit 5 receives an input and controls the printing unit 2 to perform printing.

The input section 5 is provided on the upper surface of the housing 10 and has various keys on a key panel 50 as shown in FIG.

The print start key 501 is connected to the key panel 5
0, that is, on the side close to the first data acquisition unit 7, has the most conspicuous appearance among all keys, and the operation surface is made of a transparent material, and an unillustrated LED (light) is provided inside the operation surface. emitteddiode) is provided. This LED is controlled to blink in a state where printing can be started. The print start key 501 sends a print setting signal to set print conditions in the control unit 3.

All print key 502 and index key 50
3 is provided next to the print start key 501 at the forefront of the key panel 50, is the second largest among the keys after the print start key 501, has a rectangular shape with rounded corners, and the operation surface is transparent. LEDs (not shown) are provided inside the respective operation surfaces.

The range designating key 505 and the one-frame key 504 are provided in the back of the all-printing key 502 and the index key 503, have an elliptical shape slightly smaller than those, and the operation surface is made of a transparent material. An LED is provided inside each operation surface.

All print key 502, index key 50
3. The range designation key 505 and the one-frame key 504 are keys for selecting any one of them, and the LED of the selected key emits light.

The upper key 506 and the lower key 507 are provided vertically in the back of the one-frame key 504, that is, on the side closer to the display unit 4, and each have a line-symmetric triangular shape.

The right key 509 and the left key 508 are adjacent to the up key 506 and the down key 507, respectively.
1 are provided side by side in the back and each has a line-symmetric triangular shape. The right key 509 and the left key 508 change details of printing conditions in each section of the display unit 4.

Frame key 510 and filter key 511
Is provided behind the print start key 501 and before the right key 509 and the left key 508, and has the smallest and inconspicuous appearance among all keys.

The stop key 512 is the print start key 50
1 and is slightly larger than the frame key 510 and the filter key 511. Cancel key 512
Is pressed, the control unit 3 deletes all the print setting data stored in the task list.

The display unit 4 is provided on the upper surface of the housing 10 adjacent to the back of the input unit 5. The display unit 4 is a segment type liquid crystal panel, and includes a selection section 401, a paper type section 402 for displaying details of printing conditions, a paper size section 403, a layout section 404,
Photo size section 405, photo selection section 40
6, an image section 407, an image quality section 408, and an automatic adjustment section 409. FIG. 3 shows a state in which all segments of the liquid crystal panel are turned on. The display content selected on the display unit 4 is a print start key 501.
Is pressed, and a print setting signal is transmitted, whereby the print condition is set in the control unit 3.

The selection section 401 is a section for displaying a triangle selectively pointing to another section by the up key 506 and the down key 507 and activating that section. In the active section, the display can be switched by the right key 509 and the left key 508.

The paper type section 402 is a section in which the display of options is switched to plain paper, photo print paper and super fine paper.

The paper size section 403 includes a postcard,
This is a section where the display of options is switched to a photo card and A4.

The layout section 404 includes
This is a section where the display of options is switched to lower side, center, whole, with index and cutting guide.
It is possible to print the image with register marks.

The photo size section 405 is 4L, 2
This is a section where the display of options is switched to L, 4 × 6, L, E and a card. The display of the photo size section 405 is determined by setting the paper size and the layout.

The photo selection section 406 is mainly composed of 0 to 19 as the total number of image data recorded on the recording medium.
This is a section for displaying numbers up to 9.

The number section 407 is a section for displaying a number from 0 to 199 mainly as the number of prints.

The image quality section 408 includes high quality, high speed,
This section switches the display of options to ultra-high image quality.

The automatic adjustment section 409 is a section in which the display of options is switched without the automatic photo fine. When the auto photo fine is selected, the photographic image is automatically adjusted in image quality and printed.

The guide section 6 is provided below the front surface of the housing 10. The guide section 6 has a speaker 61 which is also driven by the control section 3 and serves as a first sounding body and a second sounding body, and outputs voice data read from the ROM as a guide sound. The voice data called out from the ROM and output as the guide sound includes the following data.

[0040]

[Table 1]

The voice data called out from the ROM and output as the discrimination sound include those shown in the following table.

[0042]

[Table 2]

The changeover section 9 has a changeover switch 901. The changeover switch 901 is a combination of a beginner mode in which a first control method and a third control method for outputting a guide sound and an identification sound are combined, and a second control method and a third control method in which only an identification sound is output. The switch switches between a general mode and a silent mode in which the second control method and the fourth control method are combined. It is possible to switch whether or not to output the identification sound and the guidance sound from the output unit 6 by the changeover switch 901.

The first data acquisition section 7 is provided above the front surface of the housing 10 as shown in FIG.
1 and a reader (not shown) for reading data recorded on a recording medium and transmitting the data to the control unit 3. In the card slot 71, a recording medium such as a PCMCIA standard memory card or a compact flash card generally used for digital cameras can be inserted together with an adapter as a recording medium.

The second data acquisition section 8 (not shown) is provided on the back of the housing 10 and has a plurality of connectors. Second
The data acquisition unit 8 is an interface for connecting to a personal computer or a digital camera, and transmits data extracted from those externally connected devices to the control unit 3.

A memory card which records a program for printing images with various types of frames attached thereto is attached as an accessory of the printer. In addition, by recording this program in the ROM of the control unit 3, it is possible to execute a special effect print, which will be described later, in the same manner as providing this program with a memory card.

Hereinafter, the operation of the above-described printer will be described. For the sake of explanation, printing by a printer is classified into normal printing, one-touch printing, two-touch printing, additional printing, and special effect printing.

When the power switch 91 is turned on, the control program starts up, and the guide section 6 emits a guide sound V4 prompting insertion of a recording medium (hereinafter referred to as a memory card) on which image data is recorded.

(1) Normal print control unit 3 monitors both the first data acquisition unit 7 and the second data acquisition unit 8 and preferentially processes the earliest data. Therefore, when a personal computer is connected to the second data acquisition unit 8 by a cable and a print instruction is issued from the personal computer,
The display on the display unit 4 disappears, and thereafter the printer is driven under the control of the personal computer. When driven by a personal computer, the guide section 6 outputs guide sounds of V1, V2, V3, and V8 depending on the drive states of the transport section 1 and the printing section 2.

(2) One-touch printing After the power switch 91 is turned on, the card slot 71
When the memory card on which the image data is recorded is inserted, the identification sound C4 is output, the print start key 501 flashes, all the print keys 502 are turned on, and the guide sound V6 is output. As shown in FIG. 4, the display unit 4 displays a paper type section 402 as a default setting of the control program.
The photo print paper, the postcard on the paper size section 403, the whole on the layout section 404, the L on the photo size section 405, the high quality on the image quality section 408, the auto photo fine in the automatic adjustment section 409, and the readout from the memory card in the photo selection section 406 The total number of image data that has been displayed is displayed.
At 07, one is displayed as the number of prints.

When the flashing print start key 501 is pressed after inserting the memory card into the card slot 71, the identification sound C5 and the guide sound V9 are output, and are recorded on the memory card according to the display on the display unit 4. All the image data are printed one by one. Printing in this manner is hereinafter referred to as one-touch printing.

(3) Two-touch print After inserting the memory card into the card slot 71, when the index key 503 is pressed, the identification sound C1 is output, all the print keys 502 are turned off, and the index key 503 is turned on. As shown in FIG. 5, the display unit 4 displays the photo print paper and the paper size section 4 in the paper type section 402 as default settings of the control program.
In the postcard 03, the index is displayed in the layout section 404, the high speed and the total number of image data read from the memory card are displayed in the picture selection section 406 in the image quality section 408, and 1 is displayed as the number of prints in the number section 407.

After inserting a memory card into the card slot 71 and pressing the index key 503, pressing the blinking print start key 501 causes the identification sound C5 and the guide sound V9.
Is output, the thumbnail image data recorded on the memory card is read out, and as shown in FIG.
The image of 16 frames is printed as an index with the identification code 102 in the column. Since the thumbnail image data is read and printed, the printing speed is very high. Printing in this manner is hereinafter referred to as two-touch printing.

(4) Additional printing After the index is printed by two-touch printing, when the one-frame key 504 is pressed, the identification sound C1 is output.
The index key 503 disappears, and the one-frame key 504 lights up. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the display unit 4 includes, as default settings of the control program, photo paper in the paper type section 402, postcard in the paper size section 403, and the whole in the layout section 404.
L in photo size section 405, image quality section 40
8, 1 is displayed in the high image quality, automatic adjustment section 409, auto photo fine and photo selection section 406, and number section 407. At this time, the photo selection section 406 is active.

Next, by operating the right key 509 or the left key 508, the identification code of the image to be printed out of the images printed in the index is designated in the photo selection section 406. When the right key 509 or the left key 508 is pressed, the identification sound C
6 is output. Flashing print start key 501
When is pressed, the identification sound C5 and the guidance sound V9 are output, and the image of the specified identification code is printed according to the settings displayed on the display unit 4.

After the index is printed by two-touch printing, when the range designation key 505 is pressed, the identification sound C1 is output, the index key 503 is turned off, and the range designation key 505 is turned on. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the display unit 4 displays photo print paper in the paper type section 402 as default settings of the control program.
The postcard is displayed in the paper size section 403, the whole is displayed in the layout section 404, the L is displayed in the photo size section 405, the high image quality is displayed in the image quality section 408, the auto photo fine is displayed in the automatic adjustment section 409, and 1 is displayed as the first frame in the photo selection section 406. In the number section 407, the total number of image data read from the memory card as the last frame is displayed. At this time, the photo selection section 406 is active.

Next, in the photo selection section 406, the right key 509 or the left key 508 is operated to designate the first number of the range to be printed out of the images printed in the index. Further operate the down key 507 to set the number of sheets section 40.
7 is activated, and the right key 509 or the left key 508 is operated to designate the last number of the range to be printed out of the images printed in the index. When the down key 507, the right key 509, or the left key 508 is pressed, the identification sound C6 is output. When the blinking print start key 501 is pressed, the identification sound C5 and the guide sound V9 are output, and the image in the specified range is printed according to the settings displayed on the display unit 4.

After printing the index by two-touch printing, one frame key 504 or range designation key 5
Pressing 05 for printing is hereinafter referred to as additional printing.

(5) Special effect print After turning on the power switch 91, the frame key 510
When is pressed, the guide section 6 emits a guide sound V5 for prompting insertion of a memory card on which a frame program is recorded.
When a memory card on which a frame program is recorded is inserted, a discriminating sound C4 is output, and the display unit 4 has a postcard as a default setting of the control program in a paper size section 403, a seal in a layout section 404, and a photo selection. In the section 406, the total number and the number of the frame programs recorded on the memory card are displayed. In the section 407, 0 is displayed as the frame number. At this time, the number section 407 is active.

Next, as shown in FIG.
At 07, the right key 509 or the left key 508 is operated to designate a frame number to be selected, and a program for setting the corresponding frame is written in the memory. Right key 50
When the user presses 9 or the left key 508, an identification sound C6 is output. Thereafter, the operation automatically proceeds to the additional printing operation, and the guide section 6 outputs a guide sound V4 prompting insertion of the memory card on which the image data is recorded. The image data specified by the additional printing is processed by the filter processing program written in the memory, and the frame 10
0 is added, and as shown in FIG. 10, printing is performed on a dedicated postcard-size sticker sheet 101 according to the displayed settings.

Pressing the frame key 510 after turning on the power switch 91 to perform printing is hereinafter referred to as special effect printing.

When the cancel key 512 is pressed after the print start key 501 is pressed in the above index print, additional print, and detailed setting print,
The guide sound V7 is output, all the settings of the printing conditions are erased, and the printing of the paper being printed is stopped halfway and discharged.

The operation in each print described above has been described assuming that the changeover switch 901 is in the beginner mode. When the changeover switch 901 is set to the general mode, all guide sounds are not output, and when set to the silent mode, all guide sounds and identification sounds are not output.

As shown in FIG. 11, a user who uses a digital camera can be a beginner who is completely unfamiliar with the handling of electronic devices such as a computer and a printer, and an intermediate user who can read a manual to some extent and can use those electronic devices. It is considered that there is an advanced user who can freely handle such electronic devices. A and B represent users who can perform the simplest one-touch print and two-touch print, respectively. C and D represent users who can perform additional printing and detailed setting printing, each of which has a somewhat complicated operation. E represents a user who can perform printing by connecting to a special effect print or a personal computer with the most complicated operation.

According to the printer of the first embodiment of the present invention,
It is possible to provide a printing environment according to the user's proficiency in operating a printer or a personal computer. In other words, the beginner can operate in the beginner mode to know the order of the operation with the guide sound, so that an image recorded by a digital camera or the like can be easily printed. On the other hand, intermediate and advanced users who are accustomed to the operation to some extent may feel the guide sound annoying. In such a case, printing can be performed comfortably by operating in the general mode or the silent mode.

Further, a very easy-to-understand user interface is provided by the shape of the keys, the arrangement of the keys, the blinking of the keys, the guide sound, and the like, and there is an advantage that a beginner can operate without reading a manual.

Further, when the printer is connected to a personal computer to control the printer, when the user wants to provide information on the driving state by voice, information such as out of ink can be obtained by a guide sound by printing in a beginner mode.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a display unit and an input unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a display unit and an input unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a display unit and an input unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an index according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a display unit and an input unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a display unit and an input unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a display unit and an input unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing a sticker sheet printed in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining print modes according to a beginner, an intermediate, and an advanced user in the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Conveying part 2 Printing part 3 Control part 5 Input part 6 Guide part 7 First data acquisition part 8 Second data acquisition part 9 Switching part

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-8-297439 (JP, A) JP-A-2-259779 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41J 29/46 B41J 29/00 B41J 29/38

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A printer comprising: a printing section for performing printing; and a transport section for transporting paper to the printing section, a data acquisition section for acquiring electronic data from a recording medium, and a print setting for setting printing conditions. An input unit for transmitting a signal, a first sounding body for emitting a predetermined guidance sound, and
When an operation to set print conditions is performed by
A guide unit having a second sounding body that emits a predetermined identification sound according to the print setting signal, the driving states of the printing unit and the transport unit,
Or controls the guide portion in accordance with the electronic data of the data acquisition unit, and a control unit for controlling the printing unit and the conveyance unit based on electronic data of the print setting signal and the data acquisition unit of the input section And a first control method in which the first sounding body emits the guide sound.
A third control method in which the second sounding body emits the identification sound;
A second control method in which the first sounding body does not emit the guide sound;
A third control method or a second control method in which the second sounding body emits the identification sound.
The second control method in which the first sounding body does not emit the guide sound
A fourth control method in which the second sounding body does not emit the identification sound.
Pre-switching unit that can switch to one of
Nta.