JP6394640B2 - Printing device, arithmetic device, and program - Google Patents

Description

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

  Characters input from a keyboard or other input device or output from other devices are stored in a tape cassette containing a print tape formed by laminating a print layer and a release layer. There is a printing apparatus that can create a unique label by printing the entire surface of the tape with a blank label on the entire surface of the tape, using no symbols, logos, characters, marks, and the like, and providing no margins at both ends of the entire width of the tape.

  In addition, as a printing tape used in a printing apparatus, conventionally, a tape having a narrow tape width used for managing documents and stationery has been generally used. However, in recent years, the tape width is large enough to be used as a display or a sign. A wide range of printers are also provided, and the usage of printing apparatuses is diverse. A label as a nameplate such as “meeting room” or “presidential room” may be created using a very wide printing tape.

  Further, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-22332 (Patent Document 1), when an image to be printed on a large-size sheet is divided and recorded, an unnecessary margin is formed in the short direction of the sheet as a recording medium. There has been proposed an information processing apparatus that records without occurrence and facilitates management of divided images recorded on a recording medium.

JP 2005-22332 A

  As described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, there is a case where there is a demand for printing without generating a margin on both ends of the short side direction (direction orthogonal to the transport direction) of the recording medium, and printing is performed using an ink ribbon. When printing on a long tape member, a burden is imposed on the entire width of the ink ribbon, and the ink ribbon may be melted or divided.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 11 (b), immediately before the cutting operation and / or immediately after the cutting operation, a single line in the short direction is printed twice in a state where the tape member is stopped without being conveyed. It is because there are times when it is done.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 10A, when half-cutting or full-cutting is performed at the cut line position, printing is stopped and conveyance of the tape member is stopped. Thereafter, the tape member is cut by pressing the blade against the iron plate. Next, printing is started again.

  At this time, the position of the line is different between the print end line in the tape short direction of the tape member when printing is stopped and the print start line in the tape short direction when printing is resumed. This is because the tape member is slightly pulled in the transport direction by the cutting operation. For this reason, as shown in FIG.10 (b), the gap which is not printed in a conveyance direction may generate | occur | produce before and after cutting.

  In order to prevent this, immediately before and / or immediately after the cutting operation, the same data is printed twice on one line in the short direction in a state where the tape member is stopped without being conveyed. Or almost inconspicuous. However, the ink ribbon may melt or break due to excessive heat stress.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and provides a printing apparatus, a calculation apparatus, and a program that do not have a risk of fusing and dividing the ink ribbon and that can perform printing processing quickly. With the goal.

A printing apparatus according to the present invention includes:
A line type print head that performs printing based on print dot data on a printing medium using an ink ribbon;
A roller for conveying the printing medium and the ink ribbon;
A controller for controlling the printing of the printing medium and the ink ribbon by the roller, and printing on the printing medium by the line-type print head,
The controller is
When it is necessary to temporarily interrupt the conveyance and the printing during the printing, the number of divided dot groups when performing printing immediately before or immediately after the temporary interruption of the conveyance and the printing is 2 or more, The print dot data is divided into a plurality of dot groups in the line direction so that the number of dot group divisions when performing printing other than immediately before or immediately after the conveyance and the temporary interruption of printing is 1 ,
For each of the divided dot groups, printing is performed on the printing medium by the line-type print head.
It is characterized by that.
Further, another printing apparatus according to the present invention is as follows.
A line type print head that performs printing based on print dot data on a printing medium using an ink ribbon;
A roller for conveying the printing medium and the ink ribbon;
A controller for controlling the printing of the printing medium and the ink ribbon by the roller, and printing on the printing medium by the line-type print head,
The controller is
When it is necessary to temporarily interrupt the conveyance and the printing during the printing, the number of divided dot groups when performing printing immediately before or immediately after the temporary interruption of the conveyance and the printing is determined by the conveyance and the printing. The print dot data is divided into a plurality of dot groups in the line direction so that the number of divisions is equal to or greater than the number of dot group divisions when printing other than immediately before or immediately after the temporary interruption of
When it is determined that the length of the ink ribbon in the line direction is shorter than the head length of the line-type print head, the print dot data is printed for each dot group.
It is characterized by that.
Further, another printing apparatus according to the present invention is as follows.
A line type print head that performs printing based on print dot data on a printing medium using an ink ribbon;
A roller for conveying the printing medium and the ink ribbon;
A controller for controlling the printing of the printing medium and the ink ribbon by the roller, and printing on the printing medium by the line-type print head,
The controller is
When it is necessary to temporarily interrupt the conveyance and the printing during the printing, the number of divided dot groups when performing printing immediately before or immediately after the temporary interruption of the conveyance and the printing is determined by the conveyance and the printing. The print dot data is divided into a plurality of dot groups in the line direction so that the number of divisions is equal to or greater than the number of dot group divisions when printing other than immediately before or immediately after the temporary interruption of
When it is determined that printing is not solid in the line direction of the ink ribbon, or when it is determined that the length of the ink ribbon in the line direction is longer than the head length of the line type print head, the print dot data is For each line, printing is performed on the printing medium by the line-type print head.
It is characterized by that.
Further, another printing apparatus according to the present invention is as follows.
A line type print head that performs printing based on print dot data on a printing medium using an ink ribbon;
A roller for conveying the printing medium and the ink ribbon;
A controller for controlling the printing of the printing medium and the ink ribbon by the roller, and printing on the printing medium by the line-type print head,
The controller is
When it is necessary to temporarily interrupt the conveyance and the printing during the printing, the number of divided dot groups when performing printing immediately before or immediately after the temporary interruption of the conveyance and the printing is determined by the conveyance and the printing. The print dot data is divided into a plurality of dot groups in the line direction so that the number of divisions is equal to or greater than the number of dot group divisions when printing other than immediately before or immediately after the temporary interruption of
When not printing the print dot data for each dot group, the print dot data is printed on the printing medium by the line type print head for each line,
The printing time for each dot group when printing the printing dot data for each dot group is set longer than the printing time for each line when printing the printing dot data for each line,
It is characterized by that.

The arithmetic device according to the present invention is:
Printing is performed based on the print dot data by the line type print head on the printing medium using the ink ribbon,
The printing medium and the ink ribbon are conveyed by a roller,
When it is necessary to temporarily interrupt the conveyance by the roller and the printing by the line type print head, the number of divided dot groups when printing is performed immediately before or immediately after the temporary interruption of the conveyance and the printing is two or more. The print dot data is divided into a plurality of dot groups in the line direction so that the number of dot group divisions when performing printing other than immediately before or immediately after the temporary interruption of the conveyance and the printing is 1,
For each of the divided dot groups, printing is performed on the printing medium by the line-type print head.
In addition, another arithmetic device according to the present invention is:
Printing is performed based on the print dot data by the line type print head on the printing medium using the ink ribbon,
The printing medium and the ink ribbon are conveyed by a roller,
When it is necessary to temporarily interrupt the conveyance by the roller and the printing by the line-type print head, the number of divided dot groups when performing printing immediately before or immediately after the temporary interruption of the conveyance and the printing is calculated as follows. The print dot data is divided into a plurality of dot groups in the line direction so that the number of divisions is equal to or greater than the number of divisions of the dot group when printing other than immediately before or immediately after the conveyance and temporary suspension of printing,
When it is determined that the length of the ink ribbon in the line direction is shorter than the head length of the line-type print head, the print dot data is printed for each dot group.
In addition, another arithmetic device according to the present invention is:
Printing is performed based on the print dot data by the line type print head on the printing medium using the ink ribbon,
The printing medium and the ink ribbon are conveyed by a roller,
When it is necessary to temporarily interrupt the conveyance by the roller and the printing by the line-type print head, the number of divided dot groups when performing printing immediately before or immediately after the temporary interruption of the conveyance and the printing is calculated as follows. The print dot data is divided into a plurality of dot groups in the line direction so that the number of divisions is equal to or greater than the number of divisions of the dot group when printing other than immediately before or immediately after the conveyance and temporary suspension of printing,
When it is determined that printing is not solid in the line direction of the ink ribbon, or when it is determined that the length of the ink ribbon in the line direction is longer than the head length of the line type print head, the print dot data is For each line, printing is performed on the printing medium by the line-type print head.
It is characterized by that.
In addition, another arithmetic device according to the present invention is:
Printing is performed based on the print dot data by the line type print head on the printing medium using the ink ribbon,
The printing medium and the ink ribbon are conveyed by a roller,
When it is necessary to temporarily interrupt the conveyance by the roller and the printing by the line-type print head, the number of divided dot groups when performing printing immediately before or immediately after the temporary interruption of the conveyance and the printing is calculated as follows. The print dot data is divided into a plurality of dot groups in the line direction so that the number of divisions is equal to or greater than the number of divisions of the dot group when printing other than immediately before or immediately after the conveyance and temporary suspension of printing,
When not printing the print dot data for each dot group, the print dot data is printed on the printing medium by the line type print head for each line,
The printing time for each dot group when printing the printing dot data for each dot group is set longer than the printing time for each line when printing the printing dot data for each line,
It is characterized by that.
The program according to the present invention is:
When executed by a computer,
Printing is performed based on the print dot data by the line type print head on the printing medium using the ink ribbon,
The printing medium and the ink ribbon are conveyed by a roller,
When it is necessary to temporarily interrupt the conveyance by the roller and the printing by the line type print head, the number of divided dot groups when printing is performed immediately before or immediately after the temporary interruption of the conveyance and the printing is two or more. The print dot data is divided into a plurality of dot groups in the line direction so that the number of dot group divisions when performing printing other than immediately before or immediately after the temporary interruption of the conveyance and the printing is 1,
For each of the divided dot groups, printing is performed on the printing medium by the line-type print head.
Another program according to the present invention is as follows:
When executed by a computer,
Printing is performed based on the print dot data by the line type print head on the printing medium using the ink ribbon,
The printing medium and the ink ribbon are conveyed by a roller,
When it is necessary to temporarily interrupt the conveyance by the roller and the printing by the line-type print head, the number of divided dot groups when performing printing immediately before or immediately after the temporary interruption of the conveyance and the printing is calculated as follows. The print dot data is divided into a plurality of dot groups in the line direction so that the number of divisions is equal to or greater than the number of divisions of the dot group when printing other than immediately before or immediately after the conveyance and temporary suspension of printing,
When it is determined that the length of the ink ribbon in the line direction is shorter than the head length of the line-type print head, the print dot data is printed for each dot group.
Another program according to the present invention is as follows:
When executed by a computer,
Printing is performed based on the print dot data by the line type print head on the printing medium using the ink ribbon,
The printing medium and the ink ribbon are conveyed by a roller,
When it is necessary to temporarily interrupt the conveyance by the roller and the printing by the line-type print head, the number of divided dot groups when performing printing immediately before or immediately after the temporary interruption of the conveyance and the printing is calculated as follows. The print dot data is divided into a plurality of dot groups in the line direction so that the number of divisions is equal to or greater than the number of divisions of the dot group when printing other than immediately before or immediately after the conveyance and temporary suspension of printing,
When it is determined that printing is not solid in the line direction of the ink ribbon, or when it is determined that the length of the ink ribbon in the line direction is longer than the head length of the line type print head, the print dot data is For each line, printing is performed on the printing medium by the line-type print head.
It is characterized by that.
Other programs according to the present invention are:
When executed by a computer,
Printing is performed based on the print dot data by the line type print head on the printing medium using the ink ribbon,
The printing medium and the ink ribbon are conveyed by a roller,
When it is necessary to temporarily interrupt the conveyance by the roller and the printing by the line-type print head, the number of divided dot groups when performing printing immediately before or immediately after the temporary interruption of the conveyance and the printing is as follows. The print dot data is divided into a plurality of dot groups in the line direction so that the number of divisions is equal to or greater than the number of divisions of the dot group when printing other than immediately before or immediately after the conveyance and temporary suspension of printing,
When not printing the print dot data for each dot group, the print dot data is printed on the printing medium by the line type print head for each line,
The printing time for each dot group when printing the printing dot data for each dot group is set longer than the printing time for each line when printing the printing dot data for each line,
It is characterized by that.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a printing apparatus, a calculation apparatus, and a program that do not cause the ink ribbon to be melted or divided and that perform a printing process quickly.

1 is a plan view of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an enlarged view of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention and a perspective view of a tape cassette. It is the figure which mounted the tape cassette of the printing apparatus which concerns on the Example of this invention. 1 is a functional block diagram of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the tape member and ink ribbon which concern on the Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the tape member which concerns on the Example of this invention, and a thermal head. It is a figure which shows the example of the enlarged printing by the tape member which concerns on the Example of this invention. 6 is a time chart of divided printing and normal printing by the printing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart regarding division printing and normal printing by the printing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing of the division printing by the conventional printing apparatus. It is a time chart regarding division printing by a printing apparatus.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a printing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a tape cassette 21 used in the printing apparatus 1 and a part of an internal structure of the printing apparatus 1. It is. The printing apparatus 1 includes a tape member 31 (a long covering) formed by laminating a printing tape layer having a printing surface on the front surface and an adhesive surface on the back surface, and a peeling tape layer attached to the adhesion surface. This is a device for printing characters and the like on a printing tape made of a printing medium.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printing apparatus 1 includes a touch panel display unit 3 that includes a liquid crystal display device on the upper surface of a housing 2 and displays a virtual keyboard by a software keyboard function. Further, the touch panel display unit 3 is provided with a touch panel input unit 4 which is a transparent pressure switch as a character input device on the upper surface of the display screen of the liquid crystal display device.

  The display screen of the touch panel display unit 3 includes character / symbol input keys (hereinafter collectively referred to as character keys) such as alphabetic character keys, numeric keys, and symbol keys, conversion keys to kanji characters, non-conversion keys, and A keyboard area 3a for displaying a virtual keyboard having control keys such as an execution key and a character editing area 3b for displaying characters input from the keyboard area 3a are provided. The keyboard area 3a displays each key of the touch panel input unit 4 as an image, and inputs the coordinate position data of each key by pressing the position of each key displayed on the display screen as the touch panel input unit 4. The touch panel display unit 3 and the touch panel input unit 4 constitute a software keyboard.

  Then, inside the opening / closing lid prepared on the back of the apparatus for loading the tape cassette 21, a cassette for loading the tape cassette 21 containing the tape member 31 and the ink ribbon 35 as shown in FIG. A loading portion 8 is formed. In the cassette loading unit 8, a tape printing mechanism 45 and a cassette receiving unit 15 for supporting the tape cassette 21 at a predetermined position are formed.

  The tape printing mechanism 45 includes a thermal head 11 serving as a print head arranged in the vertical direction, a platen roller 12 that sandwiches and transports the tape member 31 and the ink ribbon 35 between the thermal head 11, and printing. And a ribbon take-up shaft for taking up the ink ribbon 35 used in the tape cassette 21.

  In addition, a tape feeding portion 7 that communicates with the outside of the housing 2 is formed at one end of the cassette loading portion 8. In this tape feeding portion 7, the printing tape layer and the release tape layer of the tape member 31 are arranged in the width direction. A full cut mechanism 17 as a full cut part to be cut and a half cut mechanism 18 as a half cut part to cut only the printing tape layer of the tape member 31 are incorporated.

  Further, the tape cassette 21 includes a cassette case 22, in which a tape core 23 around which a tape member 31 is wound, a ribbon supply core 24 around which an unused ink ribbon 35 is wound, a use Ribbon take-up cores 25 for taking up the used ink ribbon 35 are accommodated. The cassette case 22 of the tape cassette 21 is formed with a head placement portion 27 where the thermal head 11 is located when the tape cassette 21 is loaded in the cassette loading portion 8.

  Further, an engaged portion 29 that is engaged with and supported by the cassette receiving portion 15 of the cassette loading portion 8 is formed at the corner of the cassette case 22. The engaged portion 29 of the cassette case 22 has a predetermined unevenness corresponding to the type of the tape cassette 21 (not shown). The cassette receiving portion 15 of the cassette loading portion 8 has a tape cassette 21. A tape width detection switch 16 is formed for discriminating irregularities formed in the engaged portion 29 of the cassette case 22 when the is loaded.

  When the cassette case 22 is loaded in the cassette loading unit 8, the printing apparatus 1 uses the tape width detection switch 16 formed in the engaged portion 29 of the cassette case 22 and the cassette receiving unit 15 of the cassette loading unit 8. Some or all of them are engaged, and the engaged tape width detection switch 16 is pressed, and the combination of the tape width detection switch 16 that is turned on can determine the type of the tape width of the printing tape. ing.

  In other words, since the type of the tape cassette 21 differs depending on the width of the tape member 31 incorporated in the printing apparatus 1, the width of the printing tape can be identified by determining the type of the tape cassette 21, The control unit 40 can create print data suitable for the tape width.

  In the printing apparatus 1, when a printing instruction is given, the tape member 31 and the ink ribbon 35 are fed out from the tape cassette 21, and the tape member 31 and the ink ribbon 35 are placed between the platen roller 12 and the thermal head 11. It is sandwiched and transported in a superposed state.

  Then, the thermal head 11 is driven to generate heat based on the print data, the ink of the ink ribbon 35 is thermally transferred to the print tape of the tape member 31, printing is performed on the print tape, and when printing is completed, the full cut mechanism 17 or The half-cut mechanism 18 is actuated to cut the tape member 31 in the width direction, thereby creating a single tape-like label.

  Then, when continuous printing is performed on the printing tape, which is a tape member 31 made of a roll-shaped tape, by enlarged printing as shown in FIG. 3, the thermal head 11 and the cutter in the half-cut mechanism 18 which is a cutting portion are transported. An interval L is generated between the two and the cut line to be cut during the printing process when the second and subsequent labels are created.

  Accordingly, when the half-cut cutting process is executed, the conveyance of the tape member 31 is stopped. Therefore, the ink ribbon 35 heated to the tape member 31 stopped by the heating process by the thermal head 11 is applied to the ink ribbon 35. It will give you a lot of stress.

  Therefore, in the present invention, in order to reduce the burden on the ink ribbon 35, the printing process is divided at a stage where the conveyance speed immediately before and after the cutting process is reduced, so that the stress on the ink ribbon 35 is reduced. Is to alleviate.

  Next, the circuit configuration of the printing apparatus 1 will be described. The printing apparatus 1 includes a control unit 40 as shown in FIG. The controller 40 is connected with a ROM 41 and a RAM 42 as storage units. The control unit 40 is connected with a touch panel input unit 4 as an input unit for inputting character data, font size, and the like in response to a user's key operation. The control unit 40 is connected to a touch panel display unit driving circuit 63 that drives the touch panel display unit 3 that is a display unit that displays various information such as input information.

  Further, the control unit 40 includes a head drive circuit 51 for driving the thermal head 11, a transport motor drive circuit 52 for driving the transport motor 46, a cutter motor drive circuit 53 for driving the cutter motors 48 and 49, Is connected.

  The controller 40 is connected to a tape width detection switch 16 that is a cartridge discriminating unit that discriminates the type of cartridge.

  The control unit 40 is a CPU, which is a key input signal from the touch panel input unit 4, or a system program automatically stored in advance in the ROM 41, a control program stored in a memory card, or a control program read from an external device. And the like, and the operation of each part of the circuit is controlled using the RAM 42 as a work memory.

  The ROM 41 stores a program for displaying and printing set character string data and the like, a print font, diagonal lines used for filling, meshes, dot patterns, and the like, and a program readable by the control unit 40 is stored. It also functions as a storage medium.

  The ROM 41 has a display CG (character generator) 41a for storing font pattern data for display. The ROM 41 also has a printing CG (character generator) 41b for storing printing pattern data.

  The RAM 42 has a print data memory area 42a for storing print pattern data in which input print information is expanded, a display data memory area 42b for storing pattern data to be displayed on the touch panel display unit 3, and the like. Also, a work area 42c such as a register or a counter for temporarily storing data necessary for the printing process is provided.

  The head drive circuit 51 controls the thermal head 11 as a printing unit in accordance with print information and format setting information, and causes the tape member 31 to execute printing. The conveyance motor drive circuit 52 is a circuit that drives the conveyance unit, and controls the conveyance motor 46 such as a stepping motor that rotates the platen roller 12 and the ribbon take-up shaft, and is a tape member in the longitudinal direction at a predetermined speed. 31 is conveyed. The cutter motor drive circuit 53 is a drive circuit that controls cutting parts such as a full cut part and a half cut part, and is used in a stepping motor or the half cut mechanism 18 as the cutter motor 48 used in the full cut mechanism 17. A DC motor or the like as the cutter motor 49 is controlled.

  In the printing apparatus 1, the control unit 40 controls the head drive circuit 51 that is a printing unit, the conveyance motor drive circuit 52 that is a conveyance unit, the cutter motor drive circuit 53 that is a cutting unit, and the like as a control process. By doing so, a character string can be printed on the tape member 31, and a label can be created by cutting the printed part.

  In addition, the control unit 40 sets the print mode to the enlarged print mode, thereby dividing the print data such as enlarged characters and enlarged designs that exceed the tape width of the tape member 31 into a plurality of partial data. The partial data is divided into a plurality of areas in the length direction of the tape and printed, and the printing process is executed while performing full cut or half cut at a predetermined position. Then, an enlarged large label can be created by pasting the created labels in the tape width direction from top to bottom.

  Here, enlarged printing in the printing apparatus 1 having a cutting mechanism as well as a printing mechanism having an ink ribbon will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the tape member 31 and the ink ribbon 35 that are printed by the printing apparatus 1.

  As described above, since the type of the tape cassette 21 differs depending on the width of the tape member 31 incorporated in the printing apparatus 1, for example, by determining the type of the tape cassette 21, for example, 9 mm width, 12 mm width, 18 mm width, and A print tape having a width of 36 mm or the like can be identified, and the control unit 40 can create print data suitable for the tape width.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the tape member 31 of each tape width is narrower than the printing ink ribbon 35, so that there is no gap to the tape edge in the width direction of the tape member 31. By configuring the ink ribbon 35 to be positioned, it is possible to print the entire surface up to the end surface of the tape edge.

  Note that the printing apparatus 1 is small and light, and may be a thermal head 11 whose head length is shorter than the tape width of the tape cassette 21 that can be mounted. That is, if the tape width is 9 mm, 12 mm, and 18 mm in the printing apparatus 1, the thermal head length is longer than the width of the ink ribbon 35 as shown in FIG. 6. If the printing apparatus 1 has a width of 36 mm which is the maximum size that can be mounted, the width of the tape member 31 and the ink ribbon 35 is larger than the thermal head length, and margins are formed at both ends of the tape.

  Therefore, if the tape width is 9 mm width, 12 mm width, and 18 mm width, when performing solid printing in the tape width direction in enlarged printing, each label is printed up to the width direction, as shown in FIG. Label can be formed. In this case, the thermal head 11 heats the ink ribbon 35 in a single line so as to protrude in the ink ribbon width direction.

  Next, the flow of printing control in the printing apparatus 1 for reducing the burden on the ink ribbon 35 will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 8 is a time chart of divided printing control and normal printing control for reducing the burden on the ink ribbon 35 in the printing apparatus 1.

  As described above, the printing apparatus 1 divides image data in accordance with the width of the tape to be used in the enlarged printing, and continuously prints the divided divided images.

  As a method for dividing the image data, when the print dot data is 100 dots in one line in the main scanning (line) direction of the line type print head, the upper half is 50 dots and the lower half is 50 dots. There is a method of performing division printing.

  Also, as the image data dividing method, the odd numbered dots such as the first, third, fifth,..., The second, the fourth, the sixth,. There is a method of performing divided printing in divided times.

  In order to prevent the ink ribbon 35 from fusing and dividing as a printing cycle, the printing apparatus 1 outputs at least the first dot of print dot data for each line immediately before and / or immediately after the temporary interruption by the cut line. As divided printing in which printing is performed by dividing into a plurality of dot groups such as a group and a second dot group, as shown in FIG. 8A, when printing one line, the first half energization and the latter half energization are divided into two groups. One line is printed, and one cycle is formed together with the non-energization time as the dot switching timing. The printing apparatus 1 performs printing by dividing the print dot data for each line into a plurality of dot groups such as at least a first dot group and a second dot group immediately before and / or immediately after the temporary interruption. Do.

  When performing divided printing, the energizing time for the first half energization or the second half energization is made 30% to 50% longer than the normal energization time, so that the length of one dot is 30% or more than the normal dot. It may be an oval dot that is about 50% longer.

  Further, the printing apparatus 1 performs printing with print dot data of all dots when printing one line, as shown in FIG. 8B, during normal printing such as the cutting process is not synchronized as a print cycle. One period is formed together with the non-energization time as the dot switching timing.

  Here, a flow of executing divided printing or normal printing in the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 9 is a flowchart relating to a flow of executing divided printing or normal printing in the printing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

    In the continuous printing mode such as enlarged printing, the control unit 40 conveys the printing tape, and stops the conveyance of the printing tape, and the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction that is the full cut or half cut position of the printed label. A cut line determination (step S101) is performed to determine whether or not the same data is printed twice on one line in the short direction and the cut line that needs to be printed twice is transported. Double-printing the same data twice at the same position is for the purpose of eliminating printing gaps, for example, the same line without carrying it immediately before stopping at the half-cut stop line and / or immediately after resuming printing. To do. However, if the ink is simply hit twice, the ink ribbon is melted and cut due to excessive heat stress on the ink ribbon, so that the ribbon breakage is prevented by dividing one line of printing.

  If it is not a cut line in the cut line determination (step S101), it is assumed that normal printing that does not require division is executed, and the process proceeds to normal printing processing (step S120) as shown in FIG. If it is determined that has reached the cut line, the process proceeds to tape width determination (step S105).

  In the tape width determination (step S <b> 105), the control unit 40 determines whether the length in the width direction of the ink ribbon 35 formed based on the mounted tape width is longer than the head length of the thermal head 11. To do.

  If it is determined in the tape width determination (step S105) that the length in the width direction of the ink ribbon 35 is longer than the head length of the thermal head 11, it is determined that the thermal stress on the ink ribbon 35 is low, and normal printing is performed as it is. When it is determined that the process proceeds to the normal printing process (step S120) and it is determined that the printing range is short, the control unit 40 executes a printing range determination (step S110) for determining whether the printing range is solid printing in the tape width length.

  In the print range determination (step S110), if it is determined that the tape width is solid printing, the division printing process (step S1) is performed in which conveyance and printing are temporarily suspended and division printing is performed in order to reduce thermal stress on the ink ribbon 35. The process proceeds to S115), and if it is not solid printing, the process proceeds to normal printing processing (step S120).

  In the divided printing process (step S115), the control unit 40 normally has one cycle of the first half energization, the second half energization, and the non-energization as shown in FIG. However, by performing an operation for performing a printing process having a longer printing time than the normal printing process, as shown in FIG. 11A, the same data is printed twice so that there is no gap. The solid printing is performed and the process is terminated.

  That is, when printing one line, the operation of dividing one group into two groups, the first half energization and the second half energization, is repeated twice. One period is formed by combining the energization time and the non-energization time for conveying the printing tape by the rotation of the motor. The printing apparatus 1 performs printing by dividing the print dot data for each line into a plurality of dot groups such as a first dot group and a second dot group immediately before and / or immediately after the temporary interruption. . Note that one line of divided printing may be divided into at least two dot groups and energized twice, and may be divided into three or more dot groups and divided printing may be performed three or more times.

  Although some embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples. For example, the print tape conveyance speed is slowed down or temporarily stopped based on re-development of print data. In such a case, excessive heating of the ink ribbon 35 can be reduced by performing the same process. Further, the present invention is not limited to enlarged printing, and can also be applied to the case where the entire surface is printed over the full width.

  Further, the division printing performed in a state where the conveyance is stopped is not limited to hitting one line twice, but may be any number of times such as three times, four times, etc. This makes it possible to fill the gap even more reliably.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the printing apparatus having the printing mechanism having the ink ribbon 35, the transport mechanism, and the cutting mechanism is used to print twice only just before and just after stopping the tape when performing full surface printing. By performing the above-described divided printing and performing printing without division in normal printing, it is possible to provide a printing apparatus 1 and a printing method capable of performing a rapid printing process without the risk of fusing and dividing the ink ribbon. .

  Further, according to the present embodiment, in the cut line, when the conveyance mechanism is stopped and the printing mechanism is controlled to temporarily stop printing, the cutting mechanism is controlled to perform the half-cut process or the full-cut process on the tape member 31. By doing so, it is possible to print the entire area in the tape width direction.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, when the enlarged print mode is set in the cut line, the transport mechanism is stopped and the printing mechanism is controlled to temporarily stop printing, thereby damaging the ink ribbon. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of problems and to perform the entire area printing quickly.

  According to this embodiment, when printing is performed by dividing into a plurality of dot groups, the printing time of each dot group is set longer than the printing time when printing dot data for each line is printed once. Therefore, it is possible to perform solid coating that does not make the gap formed by shifting the printing position due to the resumption of transfer.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, in the divided printing, the ink ribbon 35 is formed by alternately forming the print dot data of the first dot group and the second dot group in the dots on one line. The thermal stress in can be evenly distributed.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, in divided printing, the print dot data of the first dot group and the second dot group is formed by grouping into upper dots and lower dots in the dots on one line. The thermal stress in the ink ribbon 35 can be reduced while suppressing the printing position deviation.

  Furthermore, the processing shown in the flowchart in the present embodiment is applied to various apparatuses as a program that can be realized by a computer, for example, written in a storage medium such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, or a semiconductor memory, or a communication medium. It is also possible to transmit by using and apply to various devices. As described above, by storing each processing described in the present embodiment in a desired storage medium and causing the program to be executed by another computer or the like, it is possible to obtain the same operational effects as in the case of using the apparatus of the present embodiment. The computer is not limited to the computer built in the apparatus described in the present embodiment, but can read a program stored in a storage medium and can perform a control operation according to the read program. Includes any computer equipped with a computing device.

  Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

The invention described in the first claim of the present application will be appended below.
[1] A printing mechanism including an ink ribbon for printing on a long print medium;
A transport mechanism for transporting the printing medium and the ink ribbon;
A cutting mechanism for cutting the printing medium;
Immediately before and / or immediately after the temporary interruption of printing by stopping the conveyance by the conveyance mechanism and controlling the printing mechanism during printing, at least the first dot group The printing mechanism and the print unit are printed separately for the second dot group, and the print dot data for each line is printed at one time except immediately before the temporary interruption and / or immediately after the temporary interruption. A control unit for controlling the transport mechanism;
A printing apparatus comprising:
[2] The printing medium is a tape member,
The control unit performs an operation of printing the print dot data for each line divided into at least the first dot group and the second dot group at least twice, stops the transport mechanism, and When the printing mechanism is controlled to suspend printing temporarily, the cutting mechanism is controlled to cause the tape member to perform a half cut process or a full cut process.
[3] The printing according to [2], wherein the control unit stops the conveyance mechanism and controls the printing mechanism to temporarily stop printing when the enlarged printing mode is set. apparatus.
[4] When the control unit performs printing in the plurality of dot groups, the printing time for each dot group is set longer than the printing time for printing the print dot data for each line at one time. The printing apparatus according to any one of the above [1] to [3].
[5] The control unit according to the above [1], wherein the print dot data of the first dot group and the second dot group is formed by alternately grouping dots in one line. Thru | or the printing apparatus in any one of said [4].
[6] The control unit may form the print dot data of the first dot group and the second dot group by grouping them into upper dots and lower dots in dots on one line. The printing apparatus according to any one of [1] to [4].
[7] A printing mechanism including an ink ribbon for printing on a long print medium;
A transport mechanism for transporting the printing medium and the ink ribbon;
A cutting mechanism for cutting the printing medium;
A printing method for a printing apparatus comprising:
Normally, the printing mechanism is driven, printing dot data for each line is printed at once, a process for stopping the transport mechanism during printing is performed, and the printing mechanism is controlled to temporarily print. When interrupting, immediately before the temporary interruption and / or immediately after the temporary interruption, a process for printing the print dot data for each line is divided into at least the first dot group and the second dot group. A printing method characterized by the above.
[8] The printing medium is a tape member,
When the transport mechanism is stopped and the printing mechanism is controlled to temporarily suspend printing, the cutting mechanism is controlled to execute a process of causing the tape member to perform a half cut or a full cut. The printing method according to [7].
[9] The printing method according to [8], wherein when the enlarged printing mode is set, the conveyance mechanism is stopped and the printing mechanism is controlled to temporarily stop printing. .
[10] When printing is performed by dividing into the plurality of dot groups, a process is performed in which the printing time of each dot group is made longer than the printing time when printing dot data for each line is printed once. The printing method according to any one of [7] to [9], wherein the printing method is characterized.
[11] The above [7] to [7], wherein the print dot data of the first dot group and the second dot group is formed by alternately grouping the dots on one line. [10] The printing method according to any one of [10].
[12] The above-mentioned process, wherein the print dot data of the first dot group and the second dot group is formed by grouping into upper dots and lower dots in dots on one line. 7] to the printing method according to any one of [10] above.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printing apparatus 2 Case 3 Input part 4 Display part 5 Opening / closing lid 7 Tape feeding part 8 Cassette loading part 11 Thermal head 12 Platen roller 13 Ribbon take-up shaft 15 Cassette receiving part 16 Tape width detection switch 17 Half cut mechanism 18 Full cut Mechanism 21 Tape cassette 22 Cassette case 23 Tape core 24 Ribbon supply core 25 Ribbon take-up core 27 Head arrangement part 29 Engaged part 31 Tape member 35 Ink ribbon 40 Control part 41 ROM
41a CG for display
41b CG for printing
42 RAM
42a print data memory area 42b display data memory area 42c work area 45 tape printing mechanism 46 transport motor 48 cutter motor 49 cutter motor 51 head drive circuit 52 transport motor drive circuit 53 cutter motor drive circuit

Claims (13)

A line type print head that performs printing based on print dot data on a printing medium using an ink ribbon;
A roller for conveying the printing medium and the ink ribbon;
A controller for controlling the printing of the printing medium and the ink ribbon by the roller, and printing on the printing medium by the line-type print head,
The controller is
When it is necessary to temporarily interrupt the conveyance and the printing during the printing, the number of divided dot groups when performing printing immediately before or immediately after the temporary interruption of the conveyance and the printing is 2 or more, The print dot data is divided into a plurality of dot groups in the line direction so that the number of dot group divisions when performing printing other than immediately before or immediately after the conveyance and the temporary interruption of printing is 1 ,
For each of the divided dot groups, printing is performed on the printing medium by the line-type print head.
A printing apparatus characterized by that. A line type print head that performs printing based on print dot data on a printing medium using an ink ribbon;
A roller for conveying the printing medium and the ink ribbon;
A controller for controlling the printing of the printing medium and the ink ribbon by the roller, and printing on the printing medium by the line-type print head,
The controller is
When it is necessary to temporarily interrupt the conveyance and the printing during the printing, the number of divided dot groups when performing printing immediately before or immediately after the temporary interruption of the conveyance and the printing is determined by the conveyance and the printing. The print dot data is divided into a plurality of dot groups in the line direction so that the number of divisions is equal to or greater than the number of dot group divisions when printing other than immediately before or immediately after the temporary interruption of
When it is determined that the length of the ink ribbon in the line direction is shorter than the head length of the line-type print head, the print dot data is printed for each dot group.
A printing apparatus characterized by that. A line type print head that performs printing based on print dot data on a printing medium using an ink ribbon;
A roller for conveying the printing medium and the ink ribbon;
A controller for controlling the printing of the printing medium and the ink ribbon by the roller, and printing on the printing medium by the line-type print head,
The controller is
When it is necessary to temporarily interrupt the conveyance and the printing during the printing, the number of divided dot groups when performing printing immediately before or immediately after the temporary interruption of the conveyance and the printing is determined by the conveyance and the printing. The print dot data is divided into a plurality of dot groups in the line direction so that the number of divisions is equal to or greater than the number of dot group divisions when printing other than immediately before or immediately after the temporary interruption of
When it is determined that printing is not solid in the line direction of the ink ribbon, or when it is determined that the length of the ink ribbon in the line direction is longer than the head length of the line type print head, the print dot data is For each line, printing is performed on the printing medium by the line-type print head.
A printing apparatus characterized by that. A line type print head that performs printing based on print dot data on a printing medium using an ink ribbon;
A roller for conveying the printing medium and the ink ribbon;
A controller for controlling the printing of the printing medium and the ink ribbon by the roller, and printing on the printing medium by the line-type print head,
The controller is
When it is necessary to temporarily interrupt the conveyance and the printing during the printing, the number of divided dot groups when performing printing immediately before or immediately after the temporary interruption of the conveyance and the printing is determined by the conveyance and the printing. The print dot data is divided into a plurality of dot groups in the line direction so that the number of divisions is equal to or greater than the number of dot group divisions when printing other than immediately before or immediately after the temporary interruption of
When not printing the print dot data for each dot group, the print dot data is printed on the printing medium by the line type print head for each line,
The printing time for each dot group when printing the printing dot data for each dot group is set longer than the printing time for each line when printing the printing dot data for each line,
A printing apparatus characterized by that. The controller is
When it is determined that printing is not solid in the line direction of the ink ribbon, or when it is determined that the length of the ink ribbon in the line direction is longer than the head length of the line type print head, the print dot data is For each line, printing is performed on the printing medium by the line-type print head.
The printing apparatus according to claim 4. Printing is performed based on the print dot data by the line type print head on the printing medium using the ink ribbon,
The printing medium and the ink ribbon are conveyed by a roller,
When it is necessary to temporarily interrupt the conveyance by the roller and the printing by the line type print head, the number of divided dot groups when printing is performed immediately before or immediately after the temporary interruption of the conveyance and the printing is two or more. The print dot data is divided into a plurality of dot groups in the line direction so that the number of dot group divisions when performing printing other than immediately before or immediately after the temporary interruption of the conveyance and the printing is 1,
For each of the divided dot groups, printing is performed on the printing medium by the line-type print head.
An arithmetic device characterized by that. Printing is performed based on the print dot data by the line type print head on the printing medium using the ink ribbon,
The printing medium and the ink ribbon are conveyed by a roller,
When it is necessary to temporarily interrupt the conveyance by the roller and the printing by the line-type print head, the number of divided dot groups when performing printing immediately before or immediately after the temporary interruption of the conveyance and the printing is calculated as follows. The print dot data is divided into a plurality of dot groups in the line direction so that the number of divisions is equal to or greater than the number of divisions of the dot group when printing other than immediately before or immediately after the conveyance and temporary suspension of printing,
When it is determined that the length of the ink ribbon in the line direction is shorter than the head length of the line-type print head, the print dot data is printed for each dot group.
An arithmetic device characterized by that. Printing is performed based on the print dot data by the line type print head on the printing medium using the ink ribbon,
The printing medium and the ink ribbon are conveyed by a roller,
When it is necessary to temporarily interrupt the conveyance by the roller and the printing by the line-type print head, the number of divided dot groups when performing printing immediately before or immediately after the temporary interruption of the conveyance and the printing is calculated as follows. The print dot data is divided into a plurality of dot groups in the line direction so that the number of divisions is equal to or greater than the number of divisions of the dot group when printing other than immediately before or immediately after the conveyance and temporary suspension of printing,
When it is determined that printing is not solid in the line direction of the ink ribbon, or when it is determined that the length of the ink ribbon in the line direction is longer than the head length of the line type print head, the print dot data is For each line, printing is performed on the printing medium by the line-type print head.
An arithmetic device characterized by that. Printing is performed based on the print dot data by the line type print head on the printing medium using the ink ribbon,
The printing medium and the ink ribbon are conveyed by a roller,
When it is necessary to temporarily interrupt the conveyance by the roller and the printing by the line-type print head, the number of divided dot groups when performing printing immediately before or immediately after the temporary interruption of the conveyance and the printing is calculated as follows. The print dot data is divided into a plurality of dot groups in the line direction so that the number of divisions is equal to or greater than the number of divisions of the dot group when printing other than immediately before or immediately after the conveyance and temporary suspension of printing,
When not printing the print dot data for each dot group, the print dot data is printed on the printing medium by the line type print head for each line,
The printing time for each dot group when printing the printing dot data for each dot group is set longer than the printing time for each line when printing the printing dot data for each line,
An arithmetic device characterized by that. When executed by a computer,
Printing is performed based on the print dot data by the line type print head on the printing medium using the ink ribbon,
The printing medium and the ink ribbon are conveyed by a roller,
When it is necessary to temporarily interrupt the conveyance by the roller and the printing by the line type print head, the number of divided dot groups when printing is performed immediately before or immediately after the temporary interruption of the conveyance and the printing is two or more. The print dot data is divided into a plurality of dot groups in the line direction so that the number of dot group divisions when performing printing other than immediately before or immediately after the temporary interruption of the conveyance and the printing is 1,
For each of the divided dot groups, printing is performed on the printing medium by the line-type print head.
A program characterized by that. When executed by a computer,
Printing is performed based on the print dot data by the line type print head on the printing medium using the ink ribbon,
The printing medium and the ink ribbon are conveyed by a roller,
When it is necessary to temporarily interrupt the conveyance by the roller and the printing by the line-type print head, the number of divided dot groups when performing printing immediately before or immediately after the temporary interruption of the conveyance and the printing is calculated as follows. The print dot data is divided into a plurality of dot groups in the line direction so that the number of divisions is equal to or greater than the number of divisions of the dot group when printing other than immediately before or immediately after the conveyance and temporary suspension of printing,
When it is determined that the length of the ink ribbon in the line direction is shorter than the head length of the line-type print head, the print dot data is printed for each dot group.
A program characterized by that. When executed by a computer,
Printing is performed based on the print dot data by the line type print head on the printing medium using the ink ribbon,
The printing medium and the ink ribbon are conveyed by a roller,
When it is necessary to temporarily interrupt the conveyance by the roller and the printing by the line-type print head, the number of divided dot groups when performing printing immediately before or immediately after the temporary interruption of the conveyance and the printing is calculated as follows. The print dot data is divided into a plurality of dot groups in the line direction so that the number of divisions is equal to or greater than the number of divisions of the dot group when printing other than immediately before or immediately after the conveyance and temporary suspension of printing,
When it is determined that printing is not solid in the line direction of the ink ribbon, or when it is determined that the length of the ink ribbon in the line direction is longer than the head length of the line type print head, the print dot data is For each line, printing is performed on the printing medium by the line-type print head.
A program characterized by that. When executed by a computer,
Printing is performed based on the print dot data by the line type print head on the printing medium using the ink ribbon,
The printing medium and the ink ribbon are conveyed by a roller,
When it is necessary to temporarily interrupt the conveyance by the roller and the printing by the line-type print head, the number of divided dot groups when performing printing immediately before or immediately after the temporary interruption of the conveyance and the printing is calculated as follows. The print dot data is divided into a plurality of dot groups in the line direction so that the number of divisions is equal to or greater than the number of divisions of the dot group when printing other than immediately before or immediately after the conveyance and temporary suspension of printing,
When not printing the print dot data for each dot group, the print dot data is printed on the printing medium by the line type print head for each line,
The printing time for each dot group when printing the printing dot data for each dot group is set longer than the printing time for each line when printing the printing dot data for each line,
A program characterized by that.

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