JP3449209B2 - Image display device, electronic device having the device, and image display method - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image display device for displaying a color printable image in monochrome in a tape printer, a word processor (word processor), etc., an electronic apparatus including the device, and an image display method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of color printable electronic equipment, a monochrome liquid crystal display has been widely used for its image display device because of the demand for low price of the equipment. When a color printable image is displayed on the monochrome liquid crystal display, the image is displayed in white or black or gray in between based on the gradation (brightness). That is,
If the gradation of the image is a value that expresses a light color,
While it is displayed in white or gray close to white, it is displayed in black or gray close to black when the gradation has a value expressing a deep color.

[0003]

As described above, when a color printable image is displayed on a monochrome liquid crystal display, the image has a gradation regardless of the color data of the three primary colors (red, green, blue). Only displayed based on. Therefore, even if the color data of the input character image (character image) and the color data of the background image (background image) of the image are different, if the gradations of both images are the same, , The character image and the background image are displayed in the same color (shading). Therefore, the character image on the monochrome liquid crystal display is displayed in a state of being buried in the background image, which makes it extremely difficult to identify the character image.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and even when a color printable image is displayed in monochrome, a character image and a background image can be easily and easily obtained. An object of the present invention is to provide an image display device that can be clearly identified, an electronic apparatus including the device, and an image display method.

[0005]

An image display apparatus according to the present invention provides a background image capable of color printing and a character image capable of color printing on the background image in four gradations of monochrome including white and black. Image display and character
If the image color is the same as the background image color, the image
An image display device for temporarily displaying a warning notification to the effect that the same is displayed in the indicated part, and when the gradation of the character image is the same as the gradation of the background image, the gradation is displayed between the gradations. It is characterized by having a gradation control means for changing the gradation of at least one of the images so that a gradation difference occurs.

According to the image display method of the present invention, a color printable background image and a color printable character image are displayed on the background image in four gradations of monochrome including white and black , and the character is displayed. Image color is background
If it is the same as the color of the image, it is the same in the image display area.
An image display method for temporarily displaying a warning notification to the effect that when the gradation of the character image is the same as the gradation of the background image, the gradation of the character image and the background image are displayed with different gradations. It is characterized by doing.

According to the above construction, when a character image and a background image having the same gradation are displayed in monochrome, the gradations of the two images are changed so that a difference in gradation occurs. It can be displayed tightly. Therefore, even if the character image is displayed over the background image, the character image can be easily and clearly identified with respect to the background image.

In this case, it is preferable that the gradation control means changes the gradation of the character image to a gradation expressing a darker color than the background image.

According to this structure, since the character image is displayed in a darker color than the background image, the character image can be made to stand out from the background image and can be more clearly identified.

Further, in this case, it is preferable that the gradation control means changes the gradation of the character image to a gradation expressing the darkest color.

According to this structure, since the character image is displayed in the darkest color, for example, when the image can be displayed in three or more gradations and the background image has a pattern, the floor that expresses the darkest color is displayed. The pattern of the background image can be displayed with two or more gradations excluding the tones. Therefore, the character image can be more clearly identified with respect to the background image, and
The pattern of the background image can also be clearly identified.

An electronic device according to the present invention is an image display device as described above, and a background image and a character image are color printed.
And a printing unit for performing the printing.

According to this structure, the image (character image and background image) displayed on the image display device can be clearly grasped before printing, so that the operations from inputting and editing characters to printing can be performed. It can be done easily and quickly.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Referring to the accompanying drawings, description will be given below of a case where an image display apparatus, an electronic apparatus including the apparatus and an image display method according to an embodiment of the present invention are applied to a tape printer. To do. As shown in FIG. 1, the tape printer 1 performs color printing on a tape T with a desired character, etc., which is keyed in, by an inkjet method.
The printed portion of the tape T is cut to create a label.

The tape printer 1 includes a main body 2, a keyboard 3 for inputting and editing characters, a tape cartridge 4 containing a tape T as a print medium, and 4
An ink cartridge 5 (see FIG. 2) filled with color inks is provided, and the tape cartridge 4 and the ink cartridge 5 are detachably attached to the apparatus main body 2.

The apparatus body 2 has an outer shell formed by an apparatus case 6, and an opening / closing lid 7 for attaching and detaching the tape cartridge 4 and the ink cartridge 5 is widely provided on the upper portion of the apparatus case 6. A small window 9 corresponding to the image display unit 8 built in the apparatus body 2 is formed in the upper right portion of the front side (keyboard 3 side) of the opening / closing lid 7.
A transparent panel 9a is attached to the small window 9. A slit-shaped tape discharge port 10 for discharging the tape T to the outside is formed on the side surface of the device case 6.

As shown in FIG. 2, inside the apparatus case 6, a tape cartridge 4 in which a tape T is wound and accommodated, a tape feeding section 11 for feeding the tape T to the outside of the apparatus main body 2, and a print image is color printed. A printing unit 12, a cutting unit 13 for cutting the tape T, a circuit board 14 for controlling each unit of the tape printing apparatus 1, and the like are mounted.

The tape cartridge 4 comprises a printing tape T1 on which a printed image is printed, and a laminating tape T2 which is attached to the printing portion of the printing tape T1 from above. These printing tape T1 and laminating tape T
2 is wound and accommodated in a printing tape accommodating portion 4a and a laminating tape accommodating portion 4b, which are arranged on both left and right sides of the printing portion 12, respectively. The printing tape T1 includes a base tape, an adhesive layer coated on the back surface of the base tape,
It is composed of a release paper tape attached to the adhesive layer. On the other hand, the laminating tape T2 includes a base tape made of a transparent film and an adhesive layer coated on the back surface of the base tape. The base tape of the laminating tape T2 is formed to have substantially the same width as the printing tape T1, and is attached to the printing tape T1 so that both ends in the width direction are aligned during printing.

The printing unit 12 has a print head 121 having a large number of ink nozzles (not shown) aligned at the front end thereof, and a cartridge holder 2 provided above the print head 121.
1 and the print head 12 via the cartridge holder 21.
1, an ink cartridge 5 that is detachably mounted, and a carriage 22 that mounts the print head 121 and the ink cartridge 5. Ink cartridge 5
Includes an ink tank 5a filled with four color inks of yellow, cyan, magenta, and black.
When the ink cartridge 5 is attached to the print head 121, the ink tanks 5a for the respective colors of the ink cartridge 5 are
Is connected to the print head 121, and ink can be supplied.

The carriage 22 is slidably attached to a carriage guide shaft 23 extending in the width direction of the printing tape T1, and the carriage motor (CR motor) 1
22 (see FIG. 5) is driven in the forward and reverse directions through the timing belt (not shown) in the left-right direction (width direction of the printing tape T1).
It is designed to reciprocate. In addition, the carriage 22
A light-shielding plate (not shown) is provided on the printer. When the light-shielding plate faces the position detection sensor 98 (see FIG. 5) including a photo interrupter, the print head 121 is at the home position (not shown). By detecting this, position correction such as zero point correction is performed. That is, the home position is the standby position of the print head 121 and the reference position for printing. Therefore, by rotating the CR motor 122 by a predetermined number of steps from the reference position, the carriage 22 is moved to the print tape. The desired color printing is performed on the surface of the printing tape T1 by moving the printing head 121 to each position in the width direction of the printing range with high accuracy and driving the printing head 121 in synchronization therewith.

Further, the tape cartridge 4 is provided with an identification plate (not shown) indicating identification information by a bit pattern or the like, and an identification sensor 99 (see FIG. 5) mounted on the carriage 22 faces the identification plate. As a result, the type of the tape T, the print start position of the tape T on the printing tape T1, and the like are detected.

The tape feeding section 11 is provided with a printing tape side feeding mechanism 11a and a laminating tape side feeding mechanism 11b which are provided on the upstream side and the downstream side in the feeding direction with the print head 121 interposed therebetween. The printing tape side feed mechanism 11a includes a feed roller 41 in which a feed driven roller 42 and a feed drive roller 43 are vertically arranged, and a tape feed motor (PF) for rotationally driving the feed drive roller 43.
Motor) 111 (see FIG. 5).

The feed drive roller 43 is provided in the apparatus main body 2, and the feed driven roller 42 is provided in the tape cartridge 4. When the tape cartridge 4 is attached to the apparatus main body 2, the feed driven roller 42 presses the print tape T1 so as to sandwich it between the feed driven roller 43 and the feed drive roller 43. Then, by rotating the tape feed motor 111 in this state, the printing tape T1 sandwiched between the feed driven roller 42 and the feed drive roller 43 is fed to the other side.

On the other hand, the laminating tape side feed mechanism 11b
Is provided with a laminating roller 44 in which a lami driven roller 45 and a laminating drive roller 46 are arranged vertically, and a laminating motor (not shown) for rotationally driving the laminating drive roller 46. The laminating motor and the tape feeding motor are the same (PF motor 111), and the power is branched via a reduction gear train (not shown) to operate the feeding roller 41 and the laminating roller 44, respectively. ing.

The laminating drive roller 46 and the laminating driven roller 45 are provided in the apparatus main body 2 and the tape cartridge 4, respectively, like the feeding driving roller 43 and the feeding driven roller 42. When the tape cartridge 4 is mounted on the apparatus main body 2, the lami driven roller 45 presses the printing tape T1 and the laminating tape T2 such that they are sandwiched between the laminating drive roller 46 and the laminating drive roller 46. And. By rotating the laminating motor in this state, the printing tape T1 and the laminating tape T2 sandwiched between the lami driven roller 45 and the lami drive roller 46 are sent to the other side while being adhered.

The cutting unit 13 is composed of a cutter 51 and a cutter motor 131 (see FIG. 5) for cutting the cutter 51. After printing is completed, tape T is PF motor 1
Stepping is performed by 11 for a predetermined distance and then stopped. Immediately thereafter, the cutter motor 131 is driven to cut the printed portion of the tape T.

The keyboard 3 is attached to the apparatus main body 2 so as to be able to move up and down. Therefore, the tape printer 1
When using, the keyboard 3 is pulled down (see FIG. 1), the tape printer 1 is carried,
Alternatively, when it is stored, the keyboard 3 is raised. In this way, the tape printer 1
Since the entire device is compact when being carried or stored, it has excellent portability and storability.

FIG. 3 is a key layout diagram of the keyboard 3. As shown in the figure, the keyboard 3 includes a large number of character keys 310 for inputting characters such as characters and symbols, and a plurality of function keys 320 and 320 above and below the character keys 310, respectively. Is provided. Each of the character keys 310 is formed in a circular convex shape, and hiragana, alphabets, numbers, or symbols are written on the surface or on the upper side thereof (FIG. 3).
Then some are listed). On the other hand, the upper and lower function keys 320,
Most of the keys of 320 are formed in a rectangular convex shape,
The function and the like of each key are described on the surface and the upper side (a part is shown in FIG. 3).

The upper function key 320 is mainly provided with a key for changing the operation mode of the tape printer 1 to various editing modes. Therefore, by pressing these keys, the operation mode is changed to, for example, a background edit mode for setting the background of the input character image or a character color edit mode for setting the character color of the character image. Can be made. A print key 321 for instructing a print operation is arranged at the left end.

On the other hand, the lower function key 320 is provided with a key for converting Kanji when the operation mode is the input mode, and for designating a desired one from the options when the operation mode is the edit mode. There is. Therefore, for example, when converting an input character into Kanji, the conversion key 326, the cursor key 327, and the selection key 328 are appropriately operated. The shift key 324 is the character key 31.
By pressing 0 and other function keys 320 at the same time,
This is for inputting characters and the like written on the upper side of the character key 310 and for performing the functions written on the upper side of the function key 320. Reference numeral 325 is a power key of the tape printer 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view showing the image display section 8. The image display unit 8 includes a display screen 81 that displays an image of the input character and the like. This display screen 8
Reference numeral 1 denotes a monochrome liquid crystal display, which is provided around the liquid crystal display unit 82 and a liquid crystal display unit 82 for displaying the above-described images and a plurality of indicators 85 to be described later, and the meanings of the respective indicators 85 are previously described. It is configured by the described mode description section 83. In the liquid crystal display unit 82, the display unit 84, which occupies most of the liquid crystal display unit 82, displays a character image, an image image (print image) when the image is printed, menus and options at the time of image editing, and the like. Further, when displaying a print image, the liquid crystal display unit 82 displays the image in four gradations (4
Gradation display).

In the tape printer 1, the input state from the keyboard 3 (Roman character input, Kana input, etc.), the typeface of the character image at the time of printing (Mincho typeface, Gothic typeface, etc.), the printing style (vertical writing, fixed length printing Etc.) and the background of the character image (solid color, decoration, etc.) (hereinafter, referred to as “mode / style”), the indicator 85 is turned on to indicate what mode / style is set at the time of use. It is supposed to be displayed. Therefore, for example, when the input state is roman alphabet input, the indicator 85 located immediately below the "roman alphabet" is lit, and when the Gothic font is designated as the typeface of the character image, "Gothic font" is displayed. The indicator 85 located immediately below is lit.

Next, referring to FIG. 5, the tape printer 1
The basic configuration of the control system in will be described. As shown in the figure, the control of the tape printing apparatus 1 is based on the input signals from the keyboard 3, the position detection sensor 98, and the identification sensor 99, and the control unit 200 mounted on the circuit board 14 controls the drive circuit unit 280. The printing unit 12, the tape feeding unit 11, the cutting unit 13, and the image display unit 8 are controlled via the.

The control unit 200 includes a CPU 210 and a ROM 2
20, character generator ROM (CG-ROM)
230, RAM 240, input interface 250 and output interface 260, which are connected to each other by a bus 270.

The ROM 220 stores a color conversion table 221 and a character decoration table 222 as well as a control program processed by the CPU 210. CG-ROM2
Reference numeral 30 stores the font data of characters such as characters, symbols, and figures prepared in the tape printer 1, and outputs the corresponding font data when code data specifying the character is given.

The RAM 240 includes various register groups 241 and
A text memory 242 that stores text data of characters input from the keyboard 3, a display image data memory 243 that stores display image data of the display screen 81,
Print image data memory 244 for storing print image data
It is used as a work area for control processing. The RAM 240 is adapted to be supplied with power by a backup circuit (not shown) so as to retain the stored data even when the power is turned off.

The input interface 250 is connected to the keyboard 3, the position detection sensor 98, the identification sensor 99, etc., and various commands and input data from the keyboard 3, the position detection signal from the position detection sensor 98, and the identification from the identification sensor 99. This is a circuit for fetching information signals and the like into the bus 270. Also, the output interface 260 is C
This is a circuit for outputting data and control signals output from the PU 210 or the like to the bus 270 to the drive circuit unit 280.

The position detecting sensor 98 is used for the print head 121.
Detects that the home position has been reached by the identification sensor 99.
Detects the types of the tape cartridge 4 and the tape T and the print start position, and outputs the respective detection signals.
It is designed to be input into.

The drive circuit section 280 includes a head drive circuit 281, a motor drive circuit 282 and a liquid crystal drive circuit 2.
It is composed of 83. The head drive circuit 281 is
The print head 121 of the printing unit 12 is driven according to the control signal output from the control unit 200. Similarly, the motor drive circuit 282 drives the CR motor 122 of the printing unit 12, the PF motor 111 of the tape feeding unit 11, and the cutter motor 131 of the cutting unit 13 according to an instruction from the control unit 200. Similarly, the liquid crystal drive circuit 283 controls the control unit 200.
The image display unit 8 is controlled in accordance with the instruction.

In the control system configured as described above, the CPU 210 of the control unit 200 follows various commands and various data from the keyboard 3 and the position from the position detection sensor 98 via the input interface 250 according to the control program in the ROM 220. The detection signal, the identification information signal from the identification sensor 99, and the like are input, the font data from the CG-ROM 230, various data in the RAM 240, and the like are processed, and the drive circuit unit 2 is output via the output interface 260.
A control signal is output to 80. As a result, printing control, display control of the display screen 81, and the like are performed, and the print head 121 is controlled to perform color printing on the tape T under predetermined printing conditions, thereby controlling the entire tape printing apparatus 1.

In the case of this tape printer 1, the image display device of the present invention, the electronic apparatus equipped with the device, and the image display method are mainly realized by the image display unit 8, the control unit 200, and the keyboard 3. With reference to FIG. 6 to FIG. 14, the characteristic operation will be described below while showing the operation procedure until the label is created.

First, when the power supply is turned on and the tape printer 1 is started up, the display screen 81 displays an image of the state immediately before the power supply was turned off at the previous start-up. That is, in this tape printer 1, the power source is OF
Even if it is set to F, in addition to the various settings registered by the user,
The data of the previous image is stored in the RAM 240 together with the edited data (including mode / style data), and the image based on the image data and the edited data is displayed on the display screen 81 immediately after the start. Is displayed. In addition, when the power is turned off by erasing all the images of input characters or the like at the previous startup, or when the tape printer 1 is used for the first time, as shown in FIG. Is displayed on the display unit 84 of the display screen 81.

Here, when only the line head mark shown in FIG. 6 is displayed, the character string of "CAUTION" is input,
Various procedures will be sequentially described until the character string is variously edited and then printed to create a label.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the display section 84 immediately after the character string "Handling attention" is input. As shown in the figure, when a character string of "Handling caution" is input, in addition to the character string of "Handling caution", a print image of "Handling caution" and its image are displayed on the upper half of the display unit 84. The length of the label (hereinafter referred to as "tape length") is displayed.

This print image is displayed on the display section 84 by developing the data of the character string of "Handling" in the RAM 240 for the print image and outputting the control signal to the liquid crystal drive circuit 283. There is. on the other hand,
The tape length is calculated based on the character size, the number of characters, and the inter-character distance of each character in "Handling", and the value obtained by adding the front and rear margins to the value is displayed. In addition, in the tape printer 1, in order to create a label of a fixed length (fixed length printing), the user can also set the length by himself. In this case, the tape length is set as the setting. The length is displayed.

After the character string of "Handling caution" is input as described above, it is of course possible to print the label as it is, but the tape printer 1
It is possible to perform various edits on the input character, and thereby a label with rich expressiveness can be created. Therefore, as an example of editing, a case of setting the character background and character color will be described below.

The operation mode is the input mode (see FIG. 7).
8), if the predetermined function key 320 for setting the background is appropriately operated, the operation mode transits from the input mode to the background edit mode, the display unit 84 switches to the background edit screen, and various types shown in FIG. 8 are displayed. A background (hereinafter, a background having a pattern is referred to as a “decorative background”) is displayed. In other words, based on the background editing command from the keyboard 3, the CP
U210 reads various decorative backgrounds from ROM220,
These are displayed on the display section 84 of the display screen 81 via the liquid crystal drive circuit 283.

As shown in FIG. 8, a title of background editing (in this case, "decorative background") is displayed on the upper portion of the display section 84, and a plurality of selectable items (one screen in the case of the present embodiment) are displayed below the title. 3) are displayed. Specifically, an image image of a decorative background is displayed on the left half of the display unit 84, and its name (background name) is displayed on the right half together with a serial number assigned in advance to each decorative background. It should be noted that this serial number is for facilitating the user's selection based on the list of decorative backgrounds provided in advance and printed in color.

As shown in FIG. 8, in the background editing screen,
One of the background names is reversed in black and white (“Darkness” in FIG. 8), indicating that the background has been set at the previous startup. Here, the cursor key 327 is appropriately operated to move the cursor (black and white inversion) to the background name of the desired decorative background, and then the selection key 328 is pressed. As a result, the desired decorative background is set as the background of the character string “Handling Caution”. If the cursor key 327 of the down arrow (“↓”) is further pressed when the cursor is aligned with “Flower Gala”, the decorative background and the background name are sequentially scrolled upward, and the decorative background and the background name outside the figure are displayed. Is displayed on the display unit 84.

In this background editing, it is assumed that a decorative background (background name: warning) shown in FIG. 9 is set. When the "warning" decoration background is printed in color, the whole is yellow, the triangular mark at the left end is black, and the "!" Mark in the triangular mark is white.

When the setting of the background is completed, the operation mode transits from the background editing mode to the input mode again, and the display unit 8
4 switches to the screen shown in FIG. That is, in the upper half portion of the display unit 84 where the print image is displayed, the print image of the character string of “Handling” and the print image of the decoration background of “Warning” set above are superimposed as the background. Is displayed. In addition, the background name is displayed along with the tape length at the left end of the upper half of the display unit 84. In this case, the indicator 85 (second from the upper left in FIG. 4) indicating that the decorative background is set is lit.

On the display section 84, the print image of the character string of "Handling" and the print image of the decorative background of "Warning" are both shaded based on the gradation of the color data in the respective print data. Is displayed. That is, since the display unit 84 is composed of a monochrome liquid crystal display, the image of the print image is displayed in white or gray close to white when the gradation has a value expressing a light color, When the gradation has a value that expresses a deep color, it is displayed in black or gray close to black. Therefore, if the gradation of the printing data of the character string of "handling" and the printing data of the decorative background of "warning" are the same and both print images are displayed on the display unit 84 at the gradation, for example, Even if the color of the character string of "Handling" when printing in color differs from the color of the decorative background of "Warning" (background color), both print images are displayed in the same color (shade). .

Therefore, in this tape printer 1, the gradation of the character print image is set to the gradation representing the darkest color that can be displayed by the display section 84, and the gradation of the print image of the decorative background is set to the other gradation. Both print images are displayed on the display unit 84 as the gradation of the. Specifically, CPU2
10 controls the gradation of both print images stored in the RAM 240 as described above. Therefore, CP
The U210, the RAM 240 and the like constitute the gradation control means.

The display of the print image of the character and the print image of the decorative background on the display section 84 will be described in more detail. The display section 84 is configured to display the print image in monochrome four gradations as described above. ing. Therefore, the print image of the character is displayed in one gradation representing the darkest color, while the print image of the decorative background is displayed in the other three gradations.

By displaying the print image in four gradations in this manner, the print image of the character and the decorative background can be displayed in an extremely good state. That is, when a print image is displayed with gradations exceeding 4 gradations, the gradation of the character print image and the gradation representing the darkest color of the decorative background print image are displayed in 4 gradations. The print image of the character on the ornamental background may be difficult to identify as compared with the case of. On the contrary, when the print image is displayed with less than 4 gradations, for example, 3 gradations, the gradation that can be used for the print image of the decorative background is 2 gradations, and only a simple decorative background pattern is displayed. You will not be able to do it.

Therefore, as described above, the gradation of the print image of the character is expressed as the darkest color, and the print image of the character and the decorative background is displayed by displaying the gradation of four gradations. Even if the images are overlaid on each other, both print images can be easily and clearly identified, and a somewhat complicated decorative background can also be clearly identified. Further, by using a monochrome liquid crystal display of four gradations in the tape printer 1, it is possible to suppress an increase in manufacturing cost of the entire device.

The gradation of the print image of the character is not limited to the gradation that always expresses the darkest color as described above, and the gradation of both the print image of the character and the decorative background is If they are the same, at least one of the gray levels may be changed so that there is a gray level difference between the two gray levels. In such a case, the print image of the character and the print image of the decorative background can be clearly identified. Further, in this case, it is preferable that the gradation of the character print image is a gradation that expresses a darker color than the gradation of the decoration background print image. Can be clearly identified.

Regarding the background editing of the character,
Besides setting a decorative background such as the above-mentioned "warning", it is also possible to select a desired color (background color) and set a plain background. In this case, a "solid color" indicator 85 indicating that a solid background is set
(The left end on the upper side of FIG. 4) lights up. If the set background color is the same as the character color of the set character, which will be described later, a warning notice as shown in FIG. 11 is temporarily displayed on the display portion of the print image, and the user is warned. It is designed to evoke.

Next, the case of setting the character color of the character string of "handling" will be described. Also in this case, similarly to the above background editing, by operating the function keys 320 as appropriate,
The operation mode is changed from the input mode to the character color edit mode. Then, the display unit 84 switches to the character color editing screen, and various character colors shown in FIG. 12 are displayed. Then, the cursor key 327 is appropriately operated to move the cursor to a desired character color, and the selection key 328 is pressed. As a result, the character color of the "handling" character string is set.

In the editing of the character color, it is assumed that red is set for the entire "Handling precautions". In this case, "Handling precautions"
Even when the gradation of the character string of and the gradation of the decorative background of the above “warning” are the same, as described above,
The print image of "Handling" is displayed in the gradation that expresses the darkest color, and the print image of the decorative background of "Warning" is displayed in other gradations (see FIG. 10).

In the above, the case where the background and character color of the character are set has been described as an example of editing. However, the tape printer 1 is capable of many other editing operations. Although a detailed setting procedure is omitted, Table 1 below shows some of the other edits including the above edits.

[0062]

[Table 1]

It should be noted that in Table 1 above, the edits in which "..." is described in the "Specific example of option" column indicate that there are other options than those described. Further, although “round frame, square frame, ...” Is described in the specific example of the outer frame, the shape of the outer frame is actually displayed (FIG. 13).
(See (f) and (g)).

As shown in Table 1 above, editing
Editing of the image itself (“Character color” to “Outer frame” in Table 1)
In addition, the margin lengths before and after the printing condition when printing an image on the printing tape T1 and the length (tape length) of the label to be created are also included. When setting these print conditions, the display unit 84 is switched to the edit screen as in the above-described edit.

As described above, the input character may be edited and then immediately printed. However, in the tape printer 1, the edited contents set for each edit before printing can be easily performed. You can check it. That is, the information (print information) based on the edited contents can be collectively displayed on the display section 84 of the display screen 81. In addition, this function,
Hereinafter referred to as "property display function".

When executing the property display function,
A predetermined function key 320 on the keyboard 3 is pressed. Then, the operation mode changes from the input mode to the print information display mode, the display unit 84 switches to the screen shown in FIG. 13A, and the print information is displayed on the display unit 84.

In the property display function, the RAM 24
The print information by each edit of the above Table 1 stored in 0 is CP.
The data is read out by U210 and is scrollably displayed on the display unit 84 via the liquid crystal drive circuit 283.

Actually, three items of each print information are displayed on the display section 84, and by appropriately operating the cursor key 327, the print information is scrolled as shown in FIGS. Is displayed. At the right end of the display section 84, an upward or downward triangle mark is displayed,
By pressing the cursor key 327 in that direction,
It shows that each print information can be scrolled to display other print information.

The display of the print information is not limited to the scroll display as described above, and it is displayed on the display unit 84 by appropriately operating a predetermined function key (cursor key or the like) 320. The print information may be switched and displayed for each print information to be displayed. In such a case, since the print information is switched and displayed for each display information display item number (3 in the case of the embodiment) by pressing the predetermined function key once, the user can print the print information before printing. All of can be confirmed quickly.

Then, after confirming the print information, the print key 321 of the keyboard 3 is pressed to print a print image reflecting the editing set above on the print tape T1, and the laminated tape T2 is printed on the print portion. Is attached. After that, the printed portion of the tape T is the tape outlet 10.
Is discharged from the outside to the outside and is cut by the cutting unit 13,
A label as shown in FIG. 14 is completed. In addition, the character of "Handling attention" shown in the figure is a shadow character, and the character color and the shadow color are color printed in red and black, respectively. The entire background is yellow, the triangular mark and the outer frame are black, and the "!" Mark is white.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the images of the print images of the color printable background and the characters are displayed on the display unit 84 in a superimposed manner. Even if it is composed of a monochrome liquid crystal display, since a gradation difference occurs between the gradations of both images, it is possible to easily and clearly identify the character print image with respect to the background print image. . Further, since the print information is collectively displayed on the display section 84, all the print information can be easily confirmed by a simple operation. Therefore, the operations from inputting and editing characters to printing can be performed easily and quickly, and the image to be printed can be visualized in detail before printing.

In the embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the tape printer has been described, but it goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to a word processor or the like.

[0073]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Even when the color printable character image and the background image are displayed in an overlapping manner and both images are displayed in monochrome, the character image and the background image are displayed in order to prevent a gradation difference between the gradations of both images. The image and the image can be easily and clearly distinguished.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a tape printer to which a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional structural view showing the inside of the main body of the tape printer.

FIG. 3 is a key layout diagram of a keyboard.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view showing an image display unit.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a control system of the tape printer.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an initial screen of a display unit in the tape printer.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a display unit when a character is input.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an editing screen when setting a background.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a background (decorative background) of a background name “warning”.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a display unit after a background is designated.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a display unit when a warning notification is issued.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an editing screen for setting a character color.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a case where print information is scroll-displayed on a display unit.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a printed (color printed) label.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 tape printer 2 device body 3 keyboard 4 tape cartridges 5 ink cartridges 8 Image display section 11 Tape feeder 12 Printing department 81 Display screen 82 LCD display 84 display 121 print head 200 Control unit 210 CPU 220 ROM 240 RAM 280 drive circuit section 283 LCD drive circuit T tape T1 printing tape T2 laminated tape

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A color printable background image and a color printable character image on the background image are displayed in four gradations of monochrome including white and black.
In addition, the color of the character image is the same as the color of the background image.
In the case of, a warning that it is the same as the image display part
An image display device for temporarily displaying a notification , wherein when the gradation of the character image is the same as the gradation of the background image, at least one of the gradations is adjusted so that a gradation difference occurs between the gradations. An image display device comprising a gradation control means for changing the gradation of an image. 2. The image according to claim 1, wherein the gradation control means changes the gradation of the character image to a gradation expressing a darker color than the background image. Display device. 3. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein the gradation control unit changes the gradation of the character image to a gradation expressing the darkest color. 4. An electronic device comprising: the image display device according to claim 1; and a printing unit that prints the background image and the character image in color. 5. A color printable background image and a color printable character image on the background image are displayed in four gradations of monochrome including white and black.
In addition, the color of the character image is the same as the color of the background image.
In the case of, a warning that it is the same as the image display part
An image display method for temporarily displaying a notification , wherein when the gradation of the character image is the same as the gradation of the background image, the gradations of the character image and the background image are different from each other. An image display method characterized by displaying.