JP7070741B1 - Print control device, print control method, and print control program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily and efficiently prevent erroneous recognition of printed contents. SOLUTION: A printing unit (30) for printing a print content input by a user on a printing medium (M), and a rotation difference in which the print content can be read as information having different meanings from both the top and bottom directions. When the determination unit (50) for determining whether or not the print content has the print content and the determination unit determines that the print content has rotational ambiguity, a countermeasure process for preventing erroneous recognition of the print content is executed. The print control device (10) includes a control unit (51, 52, 53). [Selection diagram] FIG. 9

Description

The present invention relates to a print control device, a print control method, and a print control program.

As a kind of printing apparatus, a label printer that prints on an elongated strip-shaped printed medium to create a label is widely used. The contents printed by the label printer are various, such as characters, numbers, symbols, and figures, but it is difficult to identify the orientation of the printed medium in the vertical direction (the short side direction of the printed medium) for specific printed contents. , There was a risk of misrecognizing (misreading) the content of the information to the user.

Specifically, even if the printed medium after printing is rotated 180 degrees and turned upside down, it can be read as complete information, and the meaning of the information is different from that before the rotation. There is print content. When a printable medium on which such a specific print content is printed is attached to an object, it may be attached in an upside-down state to represent information different from the originally intended information.

For example, as a printing medium to be printed by a label printer, a heat-shrinkable tube that shrinks by heating is known. The management and identification of electrical wiring is known as an application of such a heat-shrinkable tube, but when the above-mentioned specific print contents are printed, the information about the wiring differs depending on the direction in which the heat-shrinkable tube is attached. It ends up.

Patent Document 1 describes a printing device that prints an underline under a printed character string.

Patent Document 2 describes a printer in which the presence or absence of underline can be selected for any character.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 62-263081 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-7628

By printing underlined, the effect of being able to identify the orientation of the character string in the vertical direction with respect to the printed medium can be expected. However, the conventional technique has not focused on the printed content that can be read even if the top and bottom directions of the printed medium are reversed to improve the distinctiveness.

For example, even when the top-bottom direction can be identified by the characters and symbols included in the printed contents, it is wasteful in terms of printing cost and efficiency to uniformly underline the printing. Further, it is very troublesome and the printing productivity is poor if the user decides whether or not the print content can be read even if the top and bottom directions are reversed and the presence or absence of the underline is selected each time. Therefore, a measure that can prevent the occurrence of erroneous recognition has been desired only when erroneous recognition of the printed content is likely to occur.

An object of the present invention is to provide a print control device, a print control method, and a print control program capable of easily and efficiently preventing erroneous recognition of print contents.

The print control device according to one aspect of the present invention is a printing unit that prints print contents input by a user on a print medium, and rotation in which the print contents can be read as information having different meanings from both the top and bottom directions. In order to prevent erroneous recognition of the printed content when the discriminating unit for determining whether or not the print content has an ambiguity and the discriminating unit determine that the printed content has the rotational ambiguity. It is characterized by having a control unit that executes countermeasure processing.

In the print control method according to one aspect of the present invention, the print content is in the vertical direction of the print medium based on the print content input by the user for printing on the print medium by the printing unit of the printing apparatus. When the determination unit determines whether or not the print content has a rotation difference that can be read as information having different meanings from both, and the determination unit determines that the print content has the rotation difference. Is characterized in that the control unit executes a countermeasure process for preventing erroneous recognition of the printed content.

In the print control program according to one aspect of the present invention, the print content is printed based on the print content input by the user in order to have the computer provided in the print control device print on the print medium by the printing unit. When the discriminating unit determines whether or not the print content has a rotation difference that can be read as information having different meanings from both the top and bottom directions of the medium, and the discrimination unit determines that the print content has the rotation difference. When the determination is made, the control unit executes a countermeasure process for preventing erroneous recognition of the printed content.

According to each of the above aspects, it is possible to easily and efficiently prevent erroneous recognition of the printed content.

It is a perspective view of a printing apparatus. It is a figure of the state which attached the medium cassette to the cassette storage part of a printing apparatus. It is a block diagram which showed the hardware structure of a printing apparatus. It is a block diagram which showed the functional structure of a printing apparatus. It is a figure which shows the case where the print content which has a rotation difference is printed without attaching the identification information. It is a figure which shows the comparative example which used the print content which has a rotational ambiguity printed on the heat shrink tube. It is a figure which shows the case of printing by adding the identification information to the print content which has a rotation difference. It is a figure which shows the example which attached the identification information to the print content which has a rotational ambiguity, printed on the heat shrink tube, and used. It is a flowchart explaining the process performed by a printing apparatus.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the printing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment. The printing device 10 is a label printer that prints on a long printed medium M by a single-pass method using a thermal head, and is an example of a printing control device according to the present invention.

There are various types of the print medium M, such as a heat-shrinkable tube (see FIGS. 6 and 8) described later. The printed medium M is a general term for various printing targets in the printing apparatus 10. When printing on the heat-shrinkable tube with the printing device 10, the tubular heat-shrinkable tube is conveyed in the form of a flat tape.

Examples of the medium to be printed M other than the heat-shrinkable tube include an adhesive tape having an adhesive layer and a magnet tape having a sheet-shaped magnet. These tapes can be attached to an object using an adhesive layer or a magnet.

In the present embodiment, a thermal transfer printing device 10 using an ink ribbon will be described as an example, but the printing device and printing method to which the present invention is applied are not limited to this, and the printing contents described later can be printed. It should be. For example, thermal printing may be performed using a thermal tape as the printing medium. Further, the printing device is not limited to the thermal printer, and may be, for example, an inkjet printer, a laser printer, or the like.

As shown in FIG. 1, the printing device 10 has a device housing 11, an input unit 12 on the front side of the upper surface of the device housing 11, and a display device 13 and an opening / closing lid on the back side of the upper surface of the device housing 11. Has 14. Although not shown, a power cord connection terminal for connecting a power cord for power supply, an external device connection terminal for connecting to an external device, and a storage medium for inserting a storage medium such as a memory card are inserted into the device housing 11. A mouth, etc. are provided.

The input unit 12 includes a plurality of push button type input keys, cross keys, and the like, and the user of the printing device 10 can operate the input unit 12 to print characters, symbols, figures, and the like to be printed. Input of data (print data) related to the contents, input related to various operations including execution of printing, selection of other functions and settings, etc. are performed.

Further, print data may be transmitted to the printing device 10 from an external device such as a personal computer or a smartphone that is communicably connected via an external device connection terminal provided in the printing device 10 or a wireless communication module. Alternatively, the print data may be stored in a storage medium such as a memory card, and the print data may be input to the printing device 10 via the storage medium.

The display device 13 is provided with a display means such as a liquid crystal display panel, and displays print contents, a selection menu for various settings, messages related to various processes, a progress status of the print process, and the like. .. The display device 13 may be of a type that can accept input (such as a touch panel input method) so that the display device 13 has a function as an input unit 12.

The opening / closing lid 14 is attached to the device housing 11 so as to be openable / closable. Inside the apparatus housing 11, a cassette storage portion 15 (see FIG. 2) covered with an opening / closing lid 14 in a closed state is provided. The details of the cassette storage unit 15 will be described later. The opening / closing lid 14 can be locked in the closed state shown in FIG. 1 by the locking mechanism. By pushing the unlock button 14a, the lock mechanism is unlocked and the opening / closing lid 14 can be opened. When the opening / closing lid 14 is opened, the cassette storage portion 15 is exposed.

A discharge port 11a leading to the cassette storage portion 15 is formed on the side surface of the device housing 11. The printed medium M printed inside the printing device 10 is discharged to the outside of the printing device 10 through the discharge port 11a.

FIG. 2 shows a state in which the medium cassette 20 is attached to the cassette storage portion 15 of the printing apparatus 10. The medium cassette 20 has a box-shaped cassette case 21, and a cylindrical tape core 22, an ink ribbon supply core 23, and an ink ribbon winding core 24, which are parallel to each other, are provided inside the cassette case 21. The print medium M is wound around the tape core 22 in a roll shape inside the cassette case 21. The ink ribbon K for thermal transfer is wound in a roll around the ink ribbon supply core 23, is drawn out from the ink ribbon supply core 23, and its tip is wound around the ink ribbon winding core 24.

In the cassette case 21, a thermal head insertion portion 25 is formed in the vicinity of the passing region of the printing medium M and the ink ribbon K. A plurality of engaging portions 26 are formed on the outer edge of the cassette case 21.

Inside the cassette storage unit 15, a thermal head 30 having a plurality of heat generating elements 30a (see FIG. 3) whose heat generation is controlled at the time of printing on the printing medium M is provided. The thermal head 30 is an example of a printing unit that prints on the printing medium M.

Further, inside the cassette storage unit 15, a platen roller 31, a tape core engaging shaft 32, and an ink ribbon winding drive shaft 33 are provided as portions related to the transfer of the printing medium M and the ink ribbon K.

A medium detection unit 35 (see FIG. 3) is further provided inside the cassette storage unit 15. The medium detection unit 35 is a detection unit that detects the type of the printed medium M accommodated in the medium cassette 20. The type of the printed medium M detected by the medium detecting unit 35 includes the width of the printed medium M in the lateral direction, the difference in material and shape such as the adhesive tape, the heat shrink tube, and the magnet tape. The medium cassette 20 is provided with information indicating the type of each printed medium M to be accommodated (such as the shape characteristics of the cassette case 21 and the electronic chip on which the information is recorded), and the medium detection unit 35 is provided with information such as these. Read the information.

A cutting mechanism 36 for cutting the printed medium M is provided at a position between the inside of the cassette storage unit 15 and the discharge port 11a. The cutting mechanism 36 has a cutter (blade) capable of protruding on the transport path of the print medium M. The cutting method by the cutting mechanism 36 is a full cut that cuts the entire thickness of the printed medium M, or a part of the thickness of the printed medium M (such as a peeling layer that can be peeled off from the adhesive layer of the tape). There is a half cut that does not cut.

In a state where the medium cassette 20 is housed in the cassette storage part 15, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of engaging parts 26 provided in the cassette case 21 are provided with a plurality of cassette receiving parts provided in the cassette storage part 15. Supported by 34, the position of the medium cassette 20 is determined. In this state, the thermal head 30 is inserted into the thermal head insertion portion 25 of the medium cassette 20. Further, the tape core 22 of the medium cassette 20 engages with the tape core engaging shaft 32, and the ink ribbon winding core 24 engages with the ink ribbon winding drive shaft 33. Then, the printing medium M drawn out from the tape core 22 and the ink ribbon K spanning the ink ribbon supply core 23 and the ink ribbon winding core 24 are overlapped with each other between the thermal head 30 and the platen roller 31. It will be possible to pass.

When an instruction to execute a print job is input to the printing apparatus 10, the platen roller 31 is rotationally driven and the printed medium M is unwound from the tape core 22. At this time, the ink ribbon winding drive shaft 33 is rotated in synchronization with the platen roller 31, and the ink ribbon K is fed out from the ink ribbon supply core 23 together with the printing medium M. As a result, the printing medium M and the ink ribbon K are conveyed in an overlapping state, and the relative position with the thermal head 30 changes in the printing traveling direction. Then, when the ink ribbon K is heated by the thermal head 30 as it passes between the thermal head 30 and the platen roller 31, the ink adhering to the ink ribbon K is transferred to the printing medium M, and printing is performed. It will be done.

The used ink ribbon K that has passed between the thermal head 30 and the platen roller 31 is wound around the ink ribbon winding core 24. The printed printed medium M that has passed between the thermal head 30 and the platen roller 31 is cut by the cutting mechanism 36, and is discharged from the discharge port 11a to the outside of the cassette storage unit 15.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the hardware structure of the printing apparatus 10. This block diagram includes the above-mentioned input unit 12, display device 13, thermal head 30, platen roller 31, medium detection unit 35, and cutting mechanism 36. The printing device 10 further includes a control device 40, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 41, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 42, a display device drive circuit 43, a head drive circuit 44, a transfer motor drive circuit 45, a transfer motor 46, and a cutter. A motor drive circuit 47 and a cutter motor 48 are provided. At least the control device 40, the ROM 41, and the RAM 42 constitute the computer of the printing device 10. Further, the ROM 41 and the RAM 42 form a storage unit of the printing device 10.

The control device 40 includes a processor 40a such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control device 40 controls the operation of each part of the printing device 10 by reading and executing the program stored in the ROM 41.

The ROM 41 stores a print control program for printing on the print medium M, various data necessary for executing the print control program (for example, a font of characters, an energization table related to energization control of the thermal head 30 and the like). The RAM 42 stores print data indicating a pattern (image) of print contents input to the printing device 10.

The display device drive circuit 43 includes a display driver that drives the display device 13. The print contents based on the print data stored in the RAM 42, the progress of the print process, and various other notification contents are displayed on the display device 13 by driving the display device drive circuit 43 under the control of the control device 40. To.

The head drive circuit 44 drives the thermal head 30 based on the printing control signal supplied from the control device 40.

The thermal head 30 is a print head having a plurality of heat generating elements 30a arranged in the main scanning direction. The main scanning direction substantially coincides with the lateral direction of the printed medium M passing between the thermal head 30 and the platen roller 31. The head drive circuit 44 selectively applies a voltage to the plurality of heat generating elements 30a of the thermal head 30 in response to the printing control signal supplied from the control device 40, whereby the print data (more specifically, the print data). The heat generating element 30a at the location corresponding to the developed line data) generates heat.

The print medium M is conveyed to the position of the thermal head 30 by moving in the sub-scanning direction in the longitudinal direction in the sub-scanning direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction. Then, by controlling the heat generation of each heat generating element 30a of the thermal head 30 while transporting the printed medium M in the sub-scanning direction, the thermal head 30 extends in the main scanning direction with respect to the printed medium M by thermal transfer. Print line by line. That is, by changing the relative positions of the thermal head 30 and the printed medium M in the sub-scanning direction and controlling the heat generated by each heat generating element 30a of the thermal head 30, a plurality of printing lines are sequentially transferred to the printed medium M by thermal transfer. It will be printed.

The transport motor drive circuit 45 drives the transport motor 46 according to the control of the control device 40, and the transport motor 46 rotates the platen roller 31. The platen roller 31 is rotated by the power of the transport motor 46 to transport the print medium M in the longitudinal direction (sub-scanning direction) of the print medium M. At least the platen roller 31 and the transport motor 46 form a transport unit of the printing apparatus 10.

The cutter motor drive circuit 47 drives the cutter motor 48. The cutting mechanism 36 operates the cutter by the power of the cutter motor 48 to cut the printed medium M.

The printing device 10 can print various contents such as characters, numbers, symbols, figures, and images (icons and illustrations) on the printing medium M. In the following description, individual characters, numbers, symbols, figures, and images printed on the printed medium M by the printing apparatus 10 are referred to as display elements. The printing apparatus 10 prints a print content composed of one or a plurality of display elements on a print medium M to create a product such as a label. When the print content includes a plurality of display elements, the plurality of display elements are arranged in the longitudinal direction (sub-scanning direction) of the printed medium M.

By the way, it may be difficult to identify the orientation of a specific print content on the print medium M. In particular, it can be read as complete information from either side of the printed medium M in the vertical direction (the short side direction of the elongated printed medium M), and moreover, it can be read from either side of the printed medium M in the vertical direction. In some cases, the printed content that the meaning of the information differs (is different) depending on whether it is viewed or not. Such print contents that can be read as information having different meanings from both the top and bottom directions of the printed medium M are defined as "print contents having rotational ambiguity". In other words, before and after rotating the printed medium M 180 degrees in the vertical direction, the content of the information that can be read from the printed medium M changes, but in any case, all the display elements are oriented in the vertical direction. A set of printed contents that can be recognized as a consistent information display is a printed content having a rotation difference.

For example, one character in the character string that is the printed content is recognized as a meaningful character only when viewed from one side in the top-bottom direction, and the meaning is unknown when viewed from the other side in the top-bottom direction (meaning). Can not be read, it can be identified that the orientation in the vertical direction is incorrect). The character string viewed from the other side in the vertical direction does not correspond to "complete information" because the meaning is incomplete at the part of one character described above. Therefore, the character string is not a print content having a rotation difference, but a normal print content capable of identifying the top-bottom direction with the above-mentioned one character as a guide.

When a predetermined display element is rotated 180 degrees, the displayed element after rotation is erroneously recognized as a display element having a different meaning from the display element before rotation, or the display element after rotation is displayed before rotation. It may be recognized as a display element that has the same meaning as the element. The former type of display element, which is erroneously recognized as having different meanings before and after rotation, is referred to as a first display element group. The latter type of display element, which is recognized as having the same meaning before and after rotation, is referred to as a second display element group.

Since the individual display elements of the second display element group have the same meaning when viewed from either the top or bottom direction by themselves, the printed content does not have rotational ambiguity. However, when a plurality of these display elements are lined up, the printed content tends to have a rotational difference.

For example, the Arabic numerals "0" and "8" and the alphabets "H", "I", "O", "X" and the like have a vertically symmetrical shape depending on the font. In addition, symbols such as "■", "●", "◆", and "=" tend to have a vertically symmetrical shape. Among the second display element group, such a vertically symmetrical display element is referred to as a vertically symmetrical type display element.

The vertically symmetric type display element does not change its meaning by itself even if it is rotated 180 degrees, and the printed content does not have a rotation difference. However, when a plurality of vertically symmetrical type display elements are lined up, the printed content may have rotational ambiguity. As an example, in a printed content in which "0" and "8" are lined up, it can be read as "08" when viewed from one side in the vertical direction, and "80" when viewed from the other side. (Can be read as information with different meanings). That is, the printed content has a rotation difference.

Further, the letters "Z" and "N" and the symbol "%" have a vertically asymmetrical shape, but depending on the font, they have the same or similar shape when rotated 180 degrees. Among the second display element group, a display element having such a vertically asymmetric shape and having the same shape when rotated 180 degrees is defined as a rotation symmetry type display element.

Similar to the vertically symmetric type display element, the rotationally symmetric type display element does not produce the printed content having the rotational symmetry by itself, but the printed content may have the rotational symmetry when a plurality of them are lined up. As an example, in a printed content in which "Z" and "N" are lined up, it can be read as "ZN" when viewed from one side in the vertical direction, and "NZ" when viewed from the other side in the vertical direction, both of which are complete. Since it can be recognized as a character string, the printed content has a rotation difference.

Even if a plurality of vertically symmetric type display elements and rotationally symmetric type display elements are arranged side by side, the printed content may not have rotational symmetry. For example, this corresponds to the case where the same vertically symmetric type display elements are lined up such as "00" and "88", and the case where the same rotationally symmetric type display elements are lined up such as "ZZ" and "NN". do. In addition, vertically symmetric type display elements and rotationally symmetric type display elements are arranged in an invertable arrangement (arrangement order with symmetry in the sub-scanning direction) such as "080" and "ZNZ". If so, this also applies.

Unlike the second display element group, the display element of the first display element group can be a print content having rotational ambiguity not only in a combination of different display elements but also in a single display element or when the same display element is lined up. ..

For example, the Arabic numerals "6" and "9" and the alphabets "b" and "q" have similar or the same shape when rotated 180 degrees, and each has. Since the meaning is different, it corresponds to the display element of the first display element group. Then, when viewed from one side in the vertical direction, it can be read as "6" or "b", and when viewed from the other side in the vertical direction, it can be read as "9" or "q". ..

In the above, the first display element group and the second display element group have been described individually, and FIG. 5 shows an example in which the display elements of each type are combined to form a print content having a rotational difference. In FIG. 5, the case where the printed medium M is viewed from one side in the top-bottom direction is shown in (A), and the case where the printed medium M is viewed from the other side in the top-bottom direction is shown in (B). That is, the printed medium M is rotated 180 degrees in (A) and (B).

The first (left side) example of FIG. 5 is a printout of the contents in which a plurality of symbols are lined up. Of these symbols, "■", "◆", "◎", and "=" are the vertically symmetrical type display elements of the second display element group, and "~", "%", and "#" are the first. 2 It is a rotationally symmetric type display element of the display element group.

The second (center) example of FIG. 5 is a printout of contents in which a plurality of alphabets are lined up. Of these alphabets, "H", "I", "O", and "X" are vertically symmetrical type display elements of the second display element group, and "N", "S", and "Z" are the first. 2 The display elements of the rotation symmetry type of the display element group, and "b" and "q" are the display elements of the first display element group.

The third (right side) example of FIG. 5 is a printout of the contents in which a plurality of Arabic numerals are lined up. Among these Arabic numerals, "0" and "8" are vertically symmetrical type display elements of the second display element group, and "6" and "9" are display elements of the first display element group.

In each of the three examples shown in FIG. 5, the entire display column of symbols, characters, and numbers on the printed medium M is displayed both when viewed in the orientation (A) and when viewed in the orientation (B). It can be read as meaningful (not including meaningless display elements). In other words, none of the three examples includes a display element that can clearly recognize that the top and bottom of the printed medium M are upside down in both (A) and (B). The meanings of the information shown on the printed medium M are different between the case of (A) and the case of (B).

The example shown in FIG. 5 is a small example of the print content having the rotation difference, and other combinations of various characters, numbers, symbols, figures, images, etc. are the print contents having the rotation difference. obtain.

As shown in FIG. 5, the printed medium M printed with print contents having rotational ambiguity may be attached to an object with the top-bottom direction reversed, and as a result, represents information different from the originally intended information. There is a risk of printing.

For example, as a printing medium to be printed by a label printer such as a printing apparatus 10, a heat-shrinkable tube that shrinks by heating is known. FIG. 6 shows a comparative example in which printing contents having a rotational difference with respect to the heat-shrinkable tube 60 are printed by a printing device different from the printing device 10 of the present embodiment.

As an example of the use of the heat shrink tubing 60, management and identification of electrical wiring are known. As shown in step 1 of FIG. 6, the wiring cable 61 is inserted into the heat-shrinkable tube 60 printed by the printing apparatus. Subsequently, as shown in step 2 of FIG. 6, the heat-shrinkable tube 60 is arranged at a desired position in the longitudinal direction of the cable 61, and hot air is blown by the industrial dryer 62. Then, as in step 3 of FIG. 6, the heat-shrinkable tube 60 contracts and comes into close contact with the outer surface of the cable 61. Then, the heat-shrinkable tube 60 is attached to the cable 61 to be in a completed state.

The content printed on the heat-shrinkable tube 60 in the comparative example shown in FIG. 6 can be read as "X6-809" when viewed from one side of the heat-shrinkable tube 60 in the vertical direction, and the heat-shrinkable tube 60 can be read. When viewed from the other side in the vertical direction, it can be read as "608-9X", which is a printed content having a rotational ambiguity. Therefore, when the heat-shrinkable tube 60 was created, the heat-shrinkable tube 60 was attached to the cable 61 even though the information "X6-809" shown in FIG. 6 was intended to be displayed. May be read as "608-9X" in the opposite direction. Such misrecognition of the printed content may cause a mistake in the wiring destination when using the cable 61. Further, if only the printed content having the rotational difference is printed on the heat-shrinkable tube 60, it should be inserted from either side of the heat-shrinkable tube 60 in the step 1 of inserting the cable 61 into the heat-shrinkable tube 60. There is also the problem that it is difficult to understand and the workability is poor.

Further, even when the printing medium is a magnet tape, if the printed content having a rotation difference is printed, the printed content is attached to the object in the wrong direction in the vertical direction, which tends to cause erroneous recognition of the printed content.

In the printing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, when creating or editing print data, it is determined whether or not the print content has a rotation difference, and if the print content has a rotation difference, the print content is as follows. Performs misrecognition countermeasure control (measure processing to prevent misrecognition of printed contents).

As a first measure, when printing print contents having rotation ambiguity, identification information (identification display) that indicates the top-bottom direction of the print medium M and makes the print contents identifiable is printed on the print medium M. do. Instead of printing the identification information uniformly at all printing times, the printing device 10 determines whether or not the print content has a rotational difference, and prints the identification information as necessary.

As a second measure, when printing the print content having a rotation difference, the user is notified by using the notification means. The user who receives the notification pays attention to the orientation of the printed medium M printed by the printing device 10 in the vertical direction, or selects printing of the identification information on the printed medium M when printing on the printing device 10. , Etc. can be handled.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the printing apparatus 10 relating to false recognition countermeasure control. FIG. 4 mainly shows the functional configuration of the control device 40 included in the printing device 10. The control device 40 includes a discrimination unit 50, an identification information data generation unit 51, a head control unit 52, and a notification control unit 53. Among the control devices 40, the functional block including the identification information data generation unit 51, the head control unit 52, and the notification control unit 53 is a countermeasure process for preventing erroneous recognition of the printed content according to the discrimination result of the discrimination unit 50. It constitutes a control unit involved in execution. The control device 40 does not necessarily include individual electronic components or circuits corresponding to each functional block shown in FIG. 4, and a predetermined electronic component or circuit may or may not serve as a plurality of functional blocks. In some cases, it is established as one functional block by the cooperation of electronic parts and circuits.

Among the ROM 41, the conceptual functional block for storing the print control program is referred to as the print control program storage unit 41a. The processes and operations described below are performed by being controlled by the control device 40 based on the print control program.

The individual display elements (the first display element group and the second display element group described above) that may constitute the print content having the rotation difference are stored in a database in advance, and the candidate data of the ROM 41 is stored as the rotation difference candidate data. It is stored in the storage unit 41b. The candidate data storage unit 41b functions as a storage unit for storing the database.

Further, the rotation difference candidate data is categorized like the first display element group and the second display element group described above, and the print content having the rotation difference when the display elements of each type are arranged in any combination. The pattern data in which the pattern is patterned is stored in the pattern data storage unit 41c of the ROM 41.

For example, if the same display elements included in the second display element group are simply arranged side by side, such as "00", the meaning does not change even if the display elements are rotated 180 degrees, so printing with rotation ambiguity is achieved. Not included in the content pattern. On the other hand, when the display elements included in the second display element group are arranged in an asymmetrical arrangement in the sub-scanning direction, such as "00-0", the meaning changes when the display elements are rotated 180 degrees. It is included in the pattern of the print contents to have.

The identification information storage unit 41d of the ROM 41 stores identification information that makes it possible to identify the printing medium M and the top-bottom direction of the print content. As an example of the identification information, in FIG. 7, the underlined form identification information 65 displayed on the lower side of the printed content, the dot (dot) form identification information 66 displayed on the leading side of the printed content, and the arrow. The identification information 67 in the form of a shape is shown. The data for expressing the underline, dots, and arrow shapes of the identification information 65, 66, and 67 are stored in the identification information storage unit 41d.

At least one type of identification information is stored in the identification information storage unit 41d. A plurality of types of identification information may be stored in the identification information storage unit 41d. That is, the printing device 10 may print at least one type of identification information, and may be able to select and print from a plurality of types of identification information having different display forms.

The print data of the print contents to be printed by the printing apparatus 10 is stored in the print data storage unit 42a of the RAM 42. The print data may be generated by the printing device 10 or may be generated by a device other than the printing device 10. When the printing apparatus 10 generates print data, for example, desired print contents (display elements such as characters and numbers) are input via the input unit 12. When the print data is generated by a device other than the printing device 10, the print contents are input to an external device such as a personal computer or a smartphone. Then, the print data generated by the external device is input to the printing device 10 by using communication between the external device and the printing device 10 or a storage medium such as a memory card attached to and detached from the printing device 10.

The determination unit 50 determines whether or not the print content of the print data stored in the print data storage unit 42a of the RAM 42 is a print content having a rotation difference. As an example of discrimination in the discrimination unit 50, the rotation difference candidate data stored in the candidate data storage unit 41b of the ROM 41 is referred to, and each display element included in the print data is registered as the rotation difference candidate data. Check if it is applicable. When all the display elements included in the print data correspond to those registered in the rotation ambiguity candidate data, the discriminating unit 50 refers to the pattern data stored in the pattern data storage unit 41c and refers to these display elements. It is determined whether or not the arrangement order and the arrangement relationship are patterns that result in print contents having rotational inconsistencies.

Specifically, in each of the print contents shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, all characters, numbers, and symbols correspond to the rotation ambiguity candidate data (the first display element group and the second display element group described above). It is composed of any of). A plurality of display elements are arranged in a pattern having no symmetry in the sub-scanning direction, and correspond to the type of pattern data stored in the pattern data storage unit 41c. Therefore, the discriminating unit 50 determines that the print content shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is a print content having rotation ambiguity.

In the discrimination in the discrimination unit 50, the discrimination is performed in consideration of the font in each display element. The print data includes font data that specifies a font in each display element, and a font corresponding to the font data is read from the ROM 41 at the time of printing. Even if the display elements are the same, the appearance differs depending on the font. For example, the Arabic numeral "1" is displayed as a simple linear shape extending up and down in a specific font, so that it has the same shape even when rotated 180 degrees. In another font, so-called "beard" is attached to the upper end and the lower end, so that it cannot be read as "1" when rotated 180 degrees, and it can be identified that the top and bottom are reversed.

In this way, in a specific font, it becomes an element that constitutes a print content having a rotation anomaly, but in another font, it becomes a display in which the top-bottom direction can be identified (that is, it does not constitute a print content having a rotation anomaly). In some cases. For this reason, the accuracy of discrimination can be improved by performing discrimination in consideration of the content of the font based on the font data in the discrimination performed by the discrimination unit 50.

An example of discrimination considering fonts is shown. In the construction of the rotation anomaly candidate data to be stored in the candidate data storage unit 41b, each display element is selected for each font, and a font having a possibility of constituting a print content having a rotation anomaly is registered as a specific font. In the discrimination in the discrimination unit 50, the individual display elements included in the print data and the font data thereof are combined to refer to the rotation difference candidate data, and the display element is included in the rotation difference candidate data and the font data is the display. When both of the fact that it corresponds to the specific font of the element is satisfied, it is determined that "it corresponds to the display element registered as the rotation anomaly candidate data".

The contents of the font are hierarchized, and even if the font name is the same, it may be possible to select a character type such as bold, italic, fine, superscript, or subscript. In such a case, since the appearance of the printed content differs depending on the character type, the determination unit 50 distinguishes and discriminates the font data having the same font name but different character types.

In the above, an example is shown in which the discriminating unit 50 discriminates by referring to the rotation difference candidate data stored in the candidate data storage unit 41b and the pattern data stored in the pattern data storage unit 41c. Not limited to this.

For example, image processing is performed on the print content based on the print data read from the print data storage unit 42a, and the discrimination unit 50 uses image recognition and image analysis to determine whether or not the print content has rotational ambiguity. It is also possible to do. In this discrimination method, the overall appearance of the printed content is discriminated imagewise, so it can be realized without using rotation illusion candidate data for filtering individual display elements and pattern data related to the arrangement of display elements. be.

As an option for discrimination performed by the discrimination unit 50, it is possible to include the type of the printed medium M in the discrimination criterion. For example, when the printed medium M is the heat-shrinkable tube or magnet tape described above, erroneous recognition of the printed content is likely to occur during use. Therefore, the determination may be made only when printing is performed on a specific type of printed medium M such as a heat-shrinkable tube or a magnetic tape. In the printing apparatus 10, since the type of the printed medium M can be automatically discriminated by the medium detecting unit 35, the type of the printed medium M can be included in the discriminating process of the discriminating unit 50. Alternatively, it is also possible for the user to manually input the type of the printed medium M into the printing apparatus 10.

The discrimination result of the discrimination unit 50 is sent to the identification information data generation unit 51. The identification information data generation unit 51 generates identification information print data for printing the identification information when the discrimination result of the discrimination unit 50 is “print content having rotational ambiguity”. The identification information data generation unit 51 reads the identification information from the identification information storage unit 41d of the ROM 41, sets the layout such as where to print the identification information with respect to the original print content, and performs the identification information print data. Is output as. In the layout setting performed by the identification information data generation unit 51, the print position is adjusted so that the identification information does not overlap with the original print content.

When there are a plurality of types of identification information stored in the identification information storage unit 41d as in the identification information 65, the identification information 66, and the identification information 67 shown in FIG. 7, the identification information print data in the identification information data generation unit 51 At the time of generation, the user may be able to select which identification information to print. It is possible to inform the user that the identification information can be selected by the notification process in the flowchart described later.

If there is a history of the user selecting the identification information last time, the identification information data generation unit 51 processes to use the previously selected identification information as the default when generating the identification information print data. You may.

The identification information print data generated by the identification information data generation unit 51 is sent to the head control unit 52. The head control unit 52 generates a print control signal for controlling the thermal head 30 based on the print data acquired from the print data storage unit 42a and the identification information print data sent from the identification information data generation unit 51. .. Then, the control device 40 supplies a printing control signal to the head drive circuit 44, and controls the thermal head 30 via the head drive circuit 44. When the identification information print data is not input to the head control unit 52, only the print content based on the print data acquired from the print data storage unit 42a is printed. When the identification information print data is input to the head control unit 52, the identification information based on the identification information print data is printed in addition to the original print contents based on the print data acquired from the print data storage unit 42a.

When printing is performed based on the control and processing by the above control device 40, identification information is printed when the print content has rotational ambiguity, and the top-bottom direction of the printed medium M is identified by the printed identification information. Will be possible.

FIG. 7 shows an example in which the identification information is printed on the printed medium M by the printing apparatus 10. The underlined identification information 65 is displayed on the lower side of the printed content, which means that the side with the identification information 65 is on the lower side. Therefore, it is easy to see that FIG. 7A shows the correct orientation of the printed medium M in the vertical direction, and FIG. 7B shows the printed medium M rotated 180 degrees with respect to the correct orientation. Can be identified.

Since there is a conventional wisdom that the underline is attached to the lower side of the display element, the identification information 65 itself contains information that specifies the top and bottom of the printed medium M, and has an advantage of being excellent in directional discrimination. .. Further, since the linear identification information 65 extending in the longitudinal direction of the printed medium M occupies a narrow range in the vertical direction, even if the printed medium M has an elongated shape with restrictions on the dimensions in the vertical direction, the print content can be printed. It has the advantage of being easy to print on the bottom.

The identification information 66, which is in the form of dots, is displayed on the left side (head side) of the print content, and the correct orientation is that the printed medium M is arranged so that the identification information 66 is at the left end when viewed from the user. It means that it is. Therefore, it is easy to see that FIG. 7 (C) shows the correct orientation of the printed medium M in the vertical direction, and FIG. 7 (D) shows the printed medium M rotated 180 degrees with respect to the correct orientation. Can be identified. The identification information may be printed on the right side (terminal side) of the printed content, contrary to the identification information 66.

The identification information located before and after the print content, such as the identification information 66, can be printed without protruding from the height of the original print content in the vertical direction. Therefore, the identification information 66 has an advantage that it can be printed even when a margin for printing the identification information cannot be secured in the vicinity of the upper edge or the lower edge of the printed medium M.

Since the dot-shaped identification information 66 itself does not include information for designating the top and bottom of the printed medium M, the user understands a condition such as "the side with the identification information 66 is the head side of the print content". Keep it. Alternatively, the identification information 66 may be printed at a position deviated from the center of the printed medium M in the vertical direction, and may have the meaning that the side with the identification information 66 is upward (or downward).

The arrow-shaped identification information 67 means that the tip end side of the arrow is upward. Therefore, it is easy to see that FIG. 7 (E) is the correct orientation of the printed medium M in the vertical direction, and FIG. 7 (F) is a state in which the printed medium M is rotated 180 degrees with respect to the correct orientation. Can be identified.

The arrow-shaped identification information 67 includes information for designating the top and bottom of the print medium M, and has an advantage of being excellent in identification. However, there are cases where the tip of the arrow is interpreted as pointing upward and cases where it is interpreted as pointing downward. In the example of FIG. 7, the identification information 67 is printed in an arrangement shifted upward from the center of the printed medium M so that it is easy to intuitively recognize that the side pointed by the arrow is upward.

The identification information 65, 66, 67 shown in FIG. 7 is an example, and various other identification information can be used. For example, characters that directly express the direction, such as "upper" and "lower", may be used as identification information. Further, a plurality of types of identification information may be used in combination.

When a plurality of types of identification information are stored in the identification information storage unit 41d, the control device 40 may select the identification information according to the print content. For example, when the display element constituting the print content is a symbol such as "■" or "◆", the identification information of the symbol type arranged in the longitudinal direction of the printed medium M such as the identification information 66 and the identification information 67 is used. If used, it may be difficult for the user to determine whether the print content is the original print content or the identification information. Therefore, in such a case, it may be automatically changed to another type of identification information such as the identification information 65, or the user may be notified to propose the change of the identification information.

FIG. 8 shows an example in which printing is performed on the heat-shrinkable tube 60, which is an example of the printing medium M, by the printing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment. Unlike the comparative example of FIG. 6 described above, the heat-shrinkable tube 60 is printed with the underlined identification information 68 on the lower side of the printed content. By referring to the identification information 68, the top and bottom of the printed content can be clarified, and it can be easily identified that "X6-809" is the correct printed content.

In both step 1 and step 2 of FIG. 8, the presence of the identification information 68 allows the work to be performed while recognizing that the heat-shrinkable tube 60 is in the correct orientation, and is excellent in workability. Then, in the heat-shrinkable tube 60 in the completed state where the attachment to the cable 61 is completed through the step 3, the user refers to the identification information 68 to prevent erroneous recognition that the printed content is rotated 180 degrees, which is correct. You can read the information of the printed contents. As a result, it is possible to prevent a mistake in the wiring destination when using the cable 61.

Returning to the description of the functional configuration of FIG. The discrimination result of the discrimination unit 50 is also sent to the notification control unit 53. The notification control unit 53 causes the determination unit 50 to execute a predetermined notification process when the determination result of the determination unit 50 is "printed content having rotation difference". In the present embodiment, the notification means controlled by the notification control unit 53 is the display device 13, and when performing notification, the notification control unit 53 sends a notification control signal to the display device drive circuit 43. The display device drive circuit 43 drives the display device 13 based on the notification control signal to display the notification content.

There are various contents to be notified via the display device 13 under the control of the notification control unit 53. First, there is a notification that "the content to be printed corresponds to the print content having a rotation difference". As a response to the notification, the first response is to perform only the notification and not to print the identification information, and the second response is to let the user select whether or not to print the identification information after performing the notification. A third measure is to perform the above and automatically print the identification information. The user may be able to select in advance which of these measures is to be adopted from the setting menu of the printing apparatus 10.

In the case of the first correspondence, the identification information is not printed on the created product created by the printing device 10, but the user can be warned that there is a possibility of erroneous recognition of the printed content, so that the erroneous recognition suppressing effect can be obtained. The same applies when the user selects not to print the identification information in the second response.

When printing the identification information in the second correspondence, the notification control unit 53 notifies the display device 13 that there are a plurality of identification information, and allows the user to select which identification information to print. May be good. At that time, based on the print data and the identification information print data, a print image with the respective identification information may be generated and displayed (previewed) on the display device 13.

When the determination unit 50 determines by adding the font of each display element and there is a font that has a rotation difference and a print content that does not have a rotation difference, the notification control unit 53 corresponds to the font. The information may be notified by the display device 13. Further, at present, the display device 13 notifies the display device 13 of the proposal content that the print content has a rotation difference, but the print content does not have the rotation difference due to the change of the font, and the user selects which font to use. May be done. At that time, a print image when the font is changed may be generated based on the print data and the font data and displayed (previewed) on the display device 13. By having a measure of changing the font as an option other than printing the identification information, the user has more choices and the convenience is improved.

In the present embodiment, various notifications are performed by the display on the display device 13. The use of the display device 13 as the notification means is excellent in that there are abundant variations in the expression content that can be notified, and that it is easy to present options after notification. In particular, it is preferable to use a high-resolution display device 13 having many display pixels because it is possible to transmit a complicated message and present a highly accurate preview of the printed content.

However, the notification means is not limited to the display device 13. For example, it is also possible to perform notification by the voice emitted from the speaker 37 (FIG. 4) included in the printing device 10. Further, if the content of the notification is simple, it is possible to notify by changing the light emitting color and the light emitting mode in the light emitting device 38 (FIG. 4) provided with a light emitting means such as an LED.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a process performed by the printing apparatus 10. The series of processes shown in FIG. 9 is executed by the control device 40 operating each part of the printing device 10 under the control of the printing control program. Therefore, if the control subject is not specified in the explanation, the control device 40 is assumed to be the control subject.

The process of FIG. 9 is performed in the process from the generation of the print job in the printing apparatus 10 to the execution of the print job. At the start of the process, print data indicating the print content is stored in the print data storage unit 42a of the RAM 42.

In step S100, the discriminating unit 50 of the control device 40 reads the print data stored in the print data storage unit 42a. The print data also includes font data that specifies a font for each display element.

In step S101, the determination unit 50 determines whether or not the print content has a rotation difference based on the print data. The method of discrimination is as described above. For example, each display element included in the print content is filtered by the rotation difference candidate data, and further, it is determined whether the arrangement of each display element matches the specific pattern in the pattern data. Alternatively, the print content is image-processed for determination.

At the time of discrimination in step S101, the discrimination unit 50 refers to the font data and makes a discrimination in consideration of the difference in the display mode for each font. If it is determined that the print content of a specific font does not have a rotation difference, but the print content of another font does not have a rotation difference, the other font is retained as alternative font data.

Further, at the time of determination in step S101, the determination unit 50 refers to the type of the printed medium M input from the medium detection unit 35, and executes the determination that the print content has rotational ambiguity. It may be limited to a specific print medium M. By making the determination in consideration of the type of the printed medium M in this way, it is possible to take measures focusing on the heat-shrinkable tube, the magnet tape, etc., in which erroneous recognition of the printed content is likely to occur during use.

If it is determined in step S101 that the print content does not have a rotation difference, the result is NO, and the process proceeds to step S102. In step S102, upon receiving the input of the print job execution signal, the head control unit 52 controls the head drive circuit 44 to print with the print content based only on the print data from the print data storage unit 42a. Send a signal. Then, the head drive circuit 44 drives the thermal head 30 to execute printing with contents that do not change the font or add identification information (that is, the contents according to the original print data).

If it is determined in step S101 that the print content has a rotation difference, the result is YES, and the process proceeds to step S103. In step S103, the notification control unit 53 sends a notification control signal to the display device drive circuit 43, and causes the display device 13 to display (notify) the determination result that the print content has a rotation difference. Then, the process proceeds to step S104.

In step S104, the discrimination unit 50 determines whether or not the above-mentioned alternative font data exists. If the alternative font data exists, the result is YES, and the process proceeds to step S105. In step S105, the notification control unit 53 sends a notification control signal to the display device drive circuit 43, and causes the display device 13 to display the proposal content that "the use of the alternative font eliminates the print content having rotation ambiguity". Then, the process proceeds to step S106 in a state of accepting the necessity selection of the use of the alternative font, and waits.

If the user chooses to use an alternative font, the result is YES in step S106, and the process proceeds to step S107. In step S107, data editing is performed to change the font data among the print data stored in the print data storage unit 42a to a substitute font. Then, upon receiving the input of the execution signal of the print job, printing is executed in step S108.

In step S108, the head control unit 52 sends a print control signal to the head drive circuit 44 so as to execute printing based on the changed print data to the alternative font. The head drive circuit 44 drives the thermal head 30 to execute printing with the print content changed to the alternative font.

If it is determined in step S104 that the alternative font data does not exist, or if it is selected not to perform printing using the alternative font in step S106, the result is NO and the process proceeds to step S109.

In step S109, the notification control unit 53 sends a notification control signal to the display device drive circuit 43, and causes the display device 13 to display the content proposing printing of the identification information. In addition, the display device 13 displays the content that allows the user to select whether or not to print the identification information according to the proposal. Then, the process proceeds to step S110 in a state of accepting the necessity selection of printing of the identification information, and waits.

If the user chooses to print the identification information, the result is YES in step S110, and the process proceeds to step S111. In step S111, the identification information print data is generated by the identification information data generation unit 51 and sent to the head control unit 52. Although omitted in the flowchart of FIG. 9, a process of selecting arbitrary identification information from a plurality of types of identification information may be incorporated between steps S110 and S111.

Upon receiving the input of the print job execution signal, printing is executed in step S112. In step S112, the head control unit 52 sends a print control signal to the head drive circuit 44 so as to add the identification information based on the identification information print data to the print content based on the original print data and execute printing. The head drive circuit 44 drives the thermal head 30 to execute printing with the content including the identification information.

If it is selected not to print the identification information in step S110, the result is NO, and the process proceeds to step S102. As described above, in step S102, printing is executed with the content that does not change the font or add the identification information.

The flowchart of FIG. 9 described above is for a case where the user selects whether or not to print the identification information (second correspondence described above).

In the case of the first response that only the notification that the print content has a rotational difference is performed and the identification information is not printed, the control is such that after the processing of step S103, the process does not proceed to step S104 but proceeds to step S102. realizable.

In the case of the third correspondence of performing the notification and automatically printing the identification information, it can be realized by the control of skipping to step S111 after the processing of step S103.

It is also possible to omit the notification to the user and automatically print the identification information. In this case, it can be realized by the control that if the process proceeds to YES in step S101, the process skips to step S111.

In addition, it is also possible to make a distinction that takes into account the font and not to change the font. In this case, it can be realized by not incorporating the font data into the discrimination standard by the discrimination unit 50 in step S101. As a result, the substitute font data is not presented, so that step S104 is always NO, and the process from step S105 to step S108 regarding the use of the substitute font does not proceed.

Alternatively, when an alternative font exists, it is possible to omit the user's selection and automatically print the print content using the alternative font. In this case, it can be realized by controlling to skip steps S105 and S106.

In this way, the misrecognition countermeasure control performed by the printing device 10 is a countermeasure of printing identification information, a countermeasure of notification using a notification means, and a countermeasure of printing by replacing with an alternative font, either independently or in combination. Will be realized. There are variations in each measure, and they can be used in combination as appropriate.

As described above, in the printing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, measures for printing the identification information on the print medium M, measures for notifying the print contents having rotation ambiguity, measures for printing by changing to an alternative font, and measures for printing. By executing the misrecognition countermeasure control including the above, it is possible to reduce the possibility of misrecognition in which the printed content is read by reversing the top and bottom of the printed medium M.

Since the countermeasure processing is performed only when the control device 40 determines that the possibility of erroneous recognition is high, it is necessary to print the identification information rather than uniformly adding the identification information to all the print contents. Power consumption and processing time can be saved. Further, it is not necessary for the user to judge the possibility of erroneous recognition in each print content, and it is only necessary to make a minimum selection by a proposal from the printing device 10 as necessary, so that the user is not burdened. Excellent printing productivity.

The above embodiments show specific examples for facilitating the understanding of the invention, and the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and various modifications are made without departing from the gist of the invention. , Can be changed. Hereinafter, a modification different from the above embodiment will be described.

In the above embodiment, the printing device 10 performs determination of whether or not the print content has rotational ambiguity and editing of print data (addition of identification information and change of font) performed in response to the determination result. There is. Unlike this, processing such as generation of print data, determination of whether or not the print content has rotation ambiguity, and editing of print data in response to the determination may be performed by an external device different from the printing device. It is possible. The external device is, for example, a personal computer or a smartphone. Then, at the stage of sending the print data from the external device to the printing device, the data adjustment (misrecognition countermeasure control) when printing with the identification information added or when printing with the font changed is completed. .. The printing device performs printing based on the adjusted print data.

In such a modification, the external device includes a discrimination unit that discriminates print data and a control unit that performs countermeasure processing, and the printing device includes a printing unit that executes printing. In the "print control device" in the present invention, the control unit is included in the printing device 10 as in the above embodiment, and the control unit is included in an external device different from the printing device as in the modified example. It is a concept that includes all cases.

In the above embodiment, erroneous recognition countermeasure control for preventing erroneous recognition by reversing the top and bottom is performed for each print content. In other words, for print contents that do not have rotational ambiguity and are not likely to be erroneously recognized, countermeasure processing such as printing of identification information is not performed. Unlike this, a plurality of print contents are continuously printed on the print medium, and the print contents having the rotation difference and the print contents having no rotation difference are mixed (at least one). When one is a print content having a rotation difference), identification information may be added to all the print contents. That is, in the case of continuous printing in terms of content or time, an exception may be provided in which the identification information is printed even for the printed content having no rotation difference.

As a result, it is possible to make a plurality of labels and the like have a uniform design. For example, when serial numbers are printed on a plurality of labels, it is difficult to see if labels with identification information and labels without identification information are mixed. Therefore, it is preferable to print the identification information on all labels to unify the layout. Rather than simply adding identification information to all print contents, after determining the presence or absence of print contents with rotation independence, only when at least a part of the print contents with rotation independence is included. It differs from existing technology in that it prints identification information.

Hereinafter, the inventions described in the scope of claims at the time of filing the application of the present application will be added.
[Appendix 1]
A printing unit that prints the print content entered by the user on the printed medium, and
A determination unit for determining whether or not the print content is print content having a rotational difference that can be read as information having different meanings from both the top and bottom directions.
When the discriminating unit determines that the printed content has the rotational difference, a control unit that executes countermeasure processing for preventing erroneous recognition of the printed content, and a control unit.
A print control device characterized by being equipped with.
[Appendix 2]
When a predetermined display element is rotated 180 degrees, the first display element group in which the displayed element after rotation is erroneously recognized as a display element having a different meaning from the display element before rotation, and the display element after rotation are A second display element group recognized as a display element having the same meaning as the display element before rotation, and a storage unit for storing as a database are further provided.
When the discriminating unit determines whether or not the print content has rotational ambiguity, the display element constituting the print content is a combination of display elements of the first display element group, or the first display element. It is determined whether or not it is composed of a combination of display elements and display elements of the second display element group.
The print control device according to Appendix 1, wherein the print control device is characterized by the above.
[Appendix 3]
As the countermeasure process, the control unit causes the printing unit to print identification information indicating the top-bottom direction of the printing medium.
The print control device according to Appendix 1 or 2, wherein the print control device is described.
[Appendix 4]
When at least one of the control units continuously prints a plurality of different print contents having the rotation difference, the printing unit also outputs the identification information to the print contents having no rotation difference. Let me print
The print control device according to Appendix 3, wherein the print control device is characterized by the above.
[Appendix 5]
The control unit further notifies the user of the content of selecting whether or not to print the identification information by the notification means as the countermeasure process.
The print control device according to Appendix 3 or 4, wherein the print control device is described.
[Appendix 6]
As the countermeasure process, the control unit notifies by the notification means that the print content is the print content having the rotation difference.
The print control device according to Appendix 1 or 2, wherein the print control device is described.
[Appendix 7]
The discrimination unit refers to the font data included in the print content in the discrimination, and refers to the font data.
As the countermeasure process, the control unit causes the notification means to notify an alternative font in which the print content is no longer the print content having the rotation difference.
The print control device according to Appendix 6, wherein the print control device is characterized by the above.
[Appendix 8]
The control unit causes the notification to be performed by at least one of display on a display device, sound from a speaker, and light emission of a light emitting device.
The print control device according to any one of Supplementary Provisions 5 to 7, wherein the print control device is described.
[Appendix 9]
The discrimination unit refers to the font data included in the print content in the discrimination, and refers to the font data.
As the countermeasure process, the control unit causes the printing unit to print the printing content by using an alternative font in which the printing content is not the printing content having the rotation difference.
The print control device according to Appendix 1 or 2, wherein the print control device is described.
[Appendix 10]
Based on the print content input by the user to be printed on the print medium by the printing unit of the printing device, the print content can be read as information having different meanings from both the top and bottom directions of the print medium. Whether or not the print content has a characteristic is determined by the determination unit, and
A print control method, characterized in that, when the discriminating unit determines that the printed content has the rotational difference, the control unit executes a countermeasure process for preventing erroneous recognition of the printed content.
[Appendix 11]
For computers equipped with print control devices
Based on the print content input by the user to be printed on the print medium by the printing unit, the print content has a rotational ambiguity that can be read as information having different meanings from both the top and bottom directions of the print medium. Whether or not it is the print content is determined by the determination unit, and it is determined.
When the discriminating unit determines that the printed content has the rotational difference, the control unit causes the control unit to execute a countermeasure process for preventing erroneous recognition of the printed content.
A print control program characterized by this.

10 Printing device (print control device)
13 Display device (notification means)
15 Cassette storage 20 Medium cassette 30 Thermal head (printing section)
31 Platen roller 35 Medium detector 37 Speaker (notification means)
38 Light emitting device (notifying means)
40 Control device (computer, control unit)
41 ROM (computer, storage unit)
42 RAM (computer, storage unit)
50 Discrimination unit 51 Identification information data generation unit (control unit)
52 Head control unit (control unit)
53 Notification control unit (control unit)
60 Heat-shrinkable tube (printed medium)
65 Identification information 66 Identification information 67 Identification information 68 Identification information M Printed medium

Claims (11)

A printing unit that prints the print content entered by the user on the printed medium, and
A determination unit for determining whether or not the print content is print content having a rotational difference that can be read as information having different meanings from both the top and bottom directions.
When the discriminating unit determines that the printed content has the rotational difference, a control unit that executes countermeasure processing for preventing erroneous recognition of the printed content, and a control unit.
A print control device characterized by being equipped with. When a predetermined display element is rotated 180 degrees, the first display element group in which the displayed element after rotation is erroneously recognized as a display element having a different meaning from the display element before rotation, and the display element after rotation are A second display element group recognized as a display element having the same meaning as the display element before rotation, and a storage unit for storing as a database are further provided.
When the discriminating unit determines whether or not the print content has rotational ambiguity, the display element constituting the print content is a combination of display elements of the first display element group, or the first display element. It is determined whether or not it is composed of a combination of display elements and display elements of the second display element group.
The print control device according to claim 1. As the countermeasure process, the control unit causes the printing unit to print identification information indicating the top-bottom direction of the printing medium.
The print control device according to claim 1 or 2. When at least one of the control units continuously prints a plurality of different print contents having the rotation difference, the printing unit also outputs the identification information to the print contents having no rotation difference. Let me print
The print control device according to claim 3. The control unit further notifies the user of the content of selecting whether or not to print the identification information by the notification means as the countermeasure process.
The print control device according to claim 3 or 4. As the countermeasure process, the control unit notifies by the notification means that the print content is the print content having the rotation difference.
The print control device according to claim 1 or 2. The discrimination unit refers to the font data included in the print content in the discrimination, and refers to the font data.
As the countermeasure process, the control unit causes the notification means to notify an alternative font in which the print content is no longer the print content having the rotation difference.
The print control device according to claim 6. The control unit causes the notification to be performed by at least one of display on a display device, sound from a speaker, and light emission of a light emitting device.
The print control device according to any one of claims 5 to 7. The discrimination unit refers to the font data included in the print content in the discrimination, and refers to the font data.
As the countermeasure process, the control unit causes the printing unit to print the printing content by using an alternative font in which the printing content is not the printing content having the rotation difference.
The print control device according to claim 1 or 2. Based on the print content input by the user to be printed on the print medium by the printing unit of the printing device, the print content can be read as information having different meanings from both the top and bottom directions of the print medium. Whether or not the print content has a characteristic is determined by the determination unit, and
A print control method, characterized in that, when the discriminating unit determines that the printed content has the rotational difference, the control unit executes a countermeasure process for preventing erroneous recognition of the printed content. For computers equipped with print control devices
Based on the print content input by the user to be printed on the print medium by the printing unit, the print content has a rotational ambiguity that can be read as information having different meanings from both the top and bottom directions of the print medium. Whether or not it is the print content is determined by the determination unit, and it is determined.
When the discriminating unit determines that the printed content has the rotational difference, the control unit causes the control unit to execute a countermeasure process for preventing erroneous recognition of the printed content.
A print control program characterized by this.

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