JPH06199003A - Tape printing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To establish freely the width and space of a character with a size which is set up automatically on the basis of the width of a tape used. CONSTITUTION:In the set processing of a character size, when an 'automatic' character size is set (S50: Yes), the character size is determined referring to a table which corresponds to the tape width and the character size stored previously in ROM on the basis of the tape width detected by a tape width detector (S52), and the character is printed on a tape according to the determined character size and the character width and space established through a keyboard. In this way, the character width and space for a character having a size set automatically can be established freely, so that various character-printed tapes can be made according to an operator's intention.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tape printer using a tape having a plurality of tape widths and printing characters or the like on the tape through a printing means. The present invention relates to a tape printer that automatically sets a character size based on a tape width and can freely set a character width and a character spacing for a character having the set character size.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various types of tape printers have been proposed. In such tape printers, generally, a desired character size is selected from a plurality of predetermined character sizes and the selected character size is selected. About size Character width (set from "Full-width", "Half-width", "Double-width")
Or character spacing (multiple types of character spacing, for example, "normal",
After setting "narrow" or "wide"), characters or the like are printed on the long tape via the printing means.

A tape printer having a tape width detector for printing characters on the tape according to a character size automatically set based on the tape width of the tape detected by the tape width detector. Is also proposed. Furthermore, by dividing the length obtained by subtracting the text length from these tape lengths by the number of characters, etc., based on the tape length set at the time of printing and the text length such as characters to be printed within the tape length. There is also a tape printer having a so-called even allocation function that automatically calculates the character spacing.

[0004]

However, among the above-mentioned tape printers, the tape printer that sets the character width and the character interval for the selected character size is not suitable for characters of a predetermined character size. You can only set the character width and character spacing. Therefore, the types and combinations of characters that can be printed on the tape are extremely limited, and it is impossible to create a variety of character-attached tapes according to the operator's intention. There was a problem.

Further, in the tape printer which automatically sets the character size based on the tape width detected by the tape width detector, the characters of the automatically set character size are It was not possible to freely set the character width and character spacing. As a result, in the tape created by such a tape printer, the character size of characters etc. is automatically set according to the tape width,
The character width and character spacing of the characters printed on the tape are uniquely determined, and similarly to the above, there is a problem that it is not possible to create a variety of character-attached tapes according to the operator's intention. , Still remained.

Further, in the tape printer having the evenly allocating function, the interval between characters and the like is automatically set according to the tape length, so that the complicated work of always setting the tape length at the time of tape printing is required. It is necessary, and since the interval of characters etc. is automatically set, the above 2
As with the three types of tape printers, it is not possible to create a variety of tapes with characters according to the operator's intention.

As described above, in each of the conventional tape printers described above, it is impossible to produce a variety of character-attached tapes according to the operator's intention by any of the devices.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. The character size is automatically set based on the tape width of the tape used, and
It is an object of the present invention to provide a tape printing device that allows a character width and a character interval to be freely set for a set character size, and thus allows a variety of character-attached tapes to be created according to an operator's intention. .

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a text creating means for creating a text composed of document data such as characters, and a text created by the text creating means with a plurality of tape widths. In a tape printer having a printing means for printing on a long tape having the tape width detecting means for detecting the tape width of the tape, and in the text based on the tape width detected by the tape width detecting means. A character size setting means for automatically setting the size of characters, etc., and a character width setting means for setting the character width of characters in the text,
Character spacing setting means for setting the character spacing between characters in the text, character size setting means, character width setting means, and character size, character width set via the character spacing setting means, And a print control means for controlling the print means to print text on the tape having the tape width according to the character spacing.

[0010]

In the present invention having the above-mentioned structure, first, the text including the document data such as characters is created through the text creating means. Further, the width of characters and the like in the text created by the character width setting means is set, and the character spacing between the characters and the like is set by the character spacing setting means. After that, the tape width of the tape to be used is detected through the tape width detecting means, and the character size such as characters is automatically set based on the detected tape width. Then, the print control unit controls the print unit, and the print unit sets the character size set as described above.
The text is printed on the long tape according to the character width and the character spacing. As a result, a character-attached tape is produced by printing characters and the like on the tape.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a tape printer showing the storage cover of the tape cassette storage unit opened. In FIG. 1, a tape printer 1 is provided with a character input key 2 for inputting characters such as characters over a plurality of lines to create a text composed of document data, a print key 3 for instructing the printing of the text, which will be described later. The width of each character in the text (“double-byte”, “double-byte”,
Character width setting key 4A for setting "half-width"), as well as characters for setting character spacing (set from "normal", "wide", "narrow") for each character, etc. Interval set key 4B, character size of each character (“ES”, “SS”, “S”, “M”, “L”,
Character size set key 5 for setting "LL", "XL", "automatic"), cursor key C for moving the cursor up and down, left and right on the liquid crystal display 7, line feed commands and various processing A return key R for instructing execution, and a number key N for selecting each character width, character interval, and character size when setting character width, character spacing, and character size are provided as described later. A keyboard 6, a liquid crystal display 7 for displaying characters and the like input from the keyboard 6, and a cassette housing portion 8 for housing a tape cassette 13 described later are provided.

Further, the tape cassette 13 is rotatably driven by a pulse motor (not shown), and the tape cassette 13
A ribbon winding shaft 9 for rotating the ribbon winding spool 21 for winding the thermal ink ribbon 17 is provided upright.
Further, a tape feed roller shaft 10 for rotating a tape feed roller 27, which will be described later, is rotatably driven by a tape feed motor 40, which will be described later, via an appropriate transmission mechanism at an obliquely forward position (on the side of the keyboard 6). It is set up. Further, in front of the cassette storage portion 8, the thermal ink ribbon 17
A thermal head 11 for printing is fixedly mounted on a film tape 15 described later via the.

Further, behind the cassette housing portion 8, there is a film tape 15 stored in a tape cassette 13.
A tape width detector K for detecting the tape width of various tapes (the tape width of each tape is the same for one tape cassette 13) is provided.

The tape width detector K is composed of three photo couplers P1, P2, P3. The photo couplers P1, P2, P3 are attached to the back surface of the tape cassette 13 when the tape cassette 13 is mounted in the cassette housing portion 8. A discriminating member (not shown) provided in the disc is inserted and the discriminating member selectively blocks the photocouplers P1, P2, and P3 so that various tapes such as the film tape 15 stored in the tape cassette 13 can be stored. The tape width is detected.

Here, in this embodiment, the film tape 15 is used.
6 mm, 9 mm, 12 mm, etc.
There are five types of 18 mm and 24 mm, and each of the photocouplers P1, P2, and P3 determines the width of the tape in the tape cassette 13 by the combination of the "H" signal and the "L" signal that are issued based on the selective blocking by the discriminating member. It is something to detect. Regarding the structure of the tape width detector K, Japanese Patent Application No. 3-217860 and Japanese Patent Application No. 3-217861
Since it has the same configuration as that described in the specification and the drawings attached to the application, detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

Further, the cassette storage portion 8 is a storage cover 1 which is rotatably supported rearward of the tape printer 1.
The tape cassette 13 is opened and closed by 2, and the tape cassette 13 is exchanged in the open state.

Next, the structure of the tape cassette 13 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the state where the tape cassette 13 is stored in the cassette storage portion 8 (the tape cassette 13 is shown excluding the upper case).

In FIG. 2, a tape spool 16 around which a transparent film tape 15 is wound in a lower case 14,
A ribbon spool 18 around which the thermal ink ribbon 17 is wound, and an adhesive tape spool 20 around which a double-sided adhesive tape 19 with release paper is wound with the release paper side facing outward are arranged. These spools 16, 18, 20 is rotatably supported by cooperation with a support portion provided on the lower surface of the upper case (not shown).

A ribbon take-up spool 21 is also rotatably supported between the spools 16, 18 and 20, and the ribbon take-up spool 21 is meshed with the ribbon take-up shaft 9 described above. By driving the take-up shaft 9, the thermal ink ribbon 17 used for printing is taken up.

Further, the above-mentioned thermal head 11 is arranged in a recess 22 provided in the lower case 14, and a platen roller 24 rotatably supported by a roller holder 23 opposes the thermal head 11 at a position where the platen roller 24 can be pressed. It is arranged. The thermal head 11 includes a large number of heating elements (the thermal head 1 of the tape printer 1 according to the present embodiment).
1 has 128 heating elements), and prints characters and the like on the film tape 15 via the thermal ink ribbon 17.

Further, the tape ejecting section 25 of the lower case 14
The tape pressure roller 26 is provided near (on the lower left side in FIGS. 1 and 2).
Is rotatably supported, and a tape feed roller 27 rotatably supported by the roller holder 23 is arranged opposite to the tape pressure contact roller 26 at a position where it can be pressure contacted.

In the cassette housing portion 8, a roller holder 23 is rotatably supported by a support shaft 28 in front of the tape cassette 13 (lower side in FIGS. 1 and 2), and the roller holder 23 is not shown. It is possible to switch between the print position and the release position by a manual switching mechanism (FIGS. 1 and 2 both show a state where the print position is switched to the print position).

In the roller holder 23, the platen roller 24 and the tape feed roller 27 are rotatable, and when the roller holder 23 is switched to the printing position, the thermal head 11 and the pressure contact roller 2 are rotated.
It is arranged so as to be in pressure contact with 6. The tape feed roller 27 is rotationally driven by the tape feed roller shaft 10 described above, and at the same time, the pressure contact roller 26 is rotationally driven in conjunction with the tape feed roller 27 by a gear mechanism (not shown).

Further, the pressure contact roller 26 and the tape feed roller 27 cooperate with each other, and the adhesive agent of the double-sided adhesive tape 19 is applied to the film tape 15 on which characters and the like are printed by the thermal head 11 via the thermal ink ribbon 17. The surfaces are pressure-bonded, the tape T is finally produced, and the tape T is sent in the direction of the arrow J. The produced tape T is cut by a cutter (not shown) arranged on the left side of the tape cassette 13. Since the structure of such a cutter is well known, its explanation is omitted here.

Next, the control system of the tape printer 1 thus constructed will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 shows a control block diagram of the tape printer 1, and the controller 3
It is configured with 0 as the nucleus. The control device 30 is the CPU 3
1, ROM 32, CGROM 33, and RAM 34, which are connected to each other via a bus 35 and also to an input / output interface 36.

The ROM 32 stores various programs, and includes a text editing control program, a character width setting program, a character spacing setting program, a character size setting program, a printing control program, and other tape printing devices, which will be described later. Various programs necessary for the control of No. 1 are stored. Then, the CPU 31 performs various calculations based on various programs stored in the ROM 32.

Further, in the ROM 32, as shown in FIG. 4, five kinds of tape widths (detected by the tape detector K) of each tape (film tape 15 etc.) used in the tape printer 1 and each tape are used. A table is stored in which character sizes determined in advance corresponding to tape widths are associated with each other. In this table, the character size of a1 for 6mm tape, the character size of a2 for 9mm tape, 12m
The character size of a3 for m tape and a for 18mm tape
The character size of 4 and the character size of a5 are respectively associated with the 24 mm tape. Here, the relationship of a1 <a2 <a3 <a4 <a5 exists between the character sizes based on the size relationship of the tape widths.

Further, the CGROM 33 stores dot pattern data corresponding to each character input from the keyboard 6, and the dot pattern data is CGR.
It is read from the OM 33, expanded, and then transferred to the image buffer 42 described later.

Further, the RAM 34 is for temporarily storing various calculation results calculated by the CPU 31, and the RAM 34 is provided with various memories as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 5, the text memory 41 stores code data corresponding to a character input from the keyboard 6 as document data (text). Further, the image buffer 42 expands and stores the dot pattern data read from the CGROM 33 corresponding to the text document data stored in the text memory 41.

Further, the print buffer 43 transfers and stores the dot data stored in the image buffer 42 during printing, and the thermal head 11 performs dot printing according to the dot data stored in the print buffer 43. It is a thing. Also, tape width memory 4
4 is tape width data (6 mm, 9 mm, 12 mm, 18 mm, 24 mm) detected by the tape width detector K when the tape cassette 13 is stored in the cassette storage portion 8.
Of either tape width). Also,
The character width memory 45 stores character width data (character widths of "full-width", "double-width", and "half-width") which are set as described later, and are similarly set in the character-spacing memory 46. Character spacing data (character spacing between "normal", "wide", and "narrow") is stored, and character size data ("E") is similarly set in the character size memory 47.
"S", "SS", "S", "M", "L", "LL",
The character size of "XL" or "automatic" is stored.

Now, returning to FIG. 3 and continuing the description of the control block diagram, the keyboard 6 is controlled via the input / output interface 36, and the liquid crystal display 7 and the display controller 37 are controlled via the input / output interface 36, respectively. When a character or the like is input through the character input keys 2 of the keyboard 6 connected to the device 30, the document data is sequentially stored in the text memory 41, and the dot pattern generation control program and the display control program are also stored. A dot pattern corresponding to a character or the like input via the keyboard 6 is displayed on the liquid crystal display 7 based on the. Also, the tape width detector K
The detection signal from is input to the CPU 31 via the input / output interface 36 and stored in the tape width memory 44.

The thermal head 11 has a drive circuit 38.
The dot data transferred from the image buffer 42 to the print buffer 43 is printed via the
In synchronization with this, the tape feed motor 40 controls the feeding of the tape T via the drive circuit 39.

Next, the operation of the tape printer constructed as above will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 13.
First, the text editing control will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the text editing control program. In step (hereinafter abbreviated as S) 1, initialization such as clearing each memory in the RAM 34 is performed, and then any key on the keyboard 6 is pressed. It is determined whether there is an input (S2). When there is no key input (S2: NO), the system waits until there is a key input, while when there is a key input (S2: YES), it is determined whether the key input is from the print key 3 (S3).

In case of key input from the print key 3 (S
3: YES), the printing process described later was performed (S4)
After that, the process returns to S2. If the key input is not the print key 3 (S3: NO), it is determined whether the key input is the character width set key 4A (S5). In case of key input from the character width set key 4A (S5: YE
In S), a character width setting process described later is performed (S
6) Then return to S2. When it is not the key input from the character width set key 4A (S5: NO), it is determined whether the key input is from the character spacing set key 4B (S).
7).

If the key input is from the character spacing set key 4A (S7: YES), a character spacing setting process described later is performed (S8) and then the process returns to S2. On the other hand, if it is not the key input from the character spacing set key 4B (S7: N
In (O), it is determined whether the key input is from the character size set key 5 (S9). When the key input is the character size set key 5 (S9: YES), S
A character size setting process described later is performed at 10 (S10), and the process returns to S2.

If it is not the key input from the character size set key 5 (S9: NO), it is determined whether or not there is a key input from an editing-related key other than the above (S11). When there is an edit-related key, for example, a key input from the character input key 2 (S11: YES), a text composed of document data is created and edited according to the key input from the character input key 2 (S12). After that, the process returns to S2. On the other hand, if it is not a key input from the editing-related key (S11: NO)
, The process corresponding to the pressed key is performed (S13) and then the process returns to S2.

Next, the character width setting process performed in S6 will be described with reference to FIGS. Figure 7
Is a flowchart of the character width setting program. First, when the character width setting key 4A is pressed, a character width setting screen as shown in FIG. 8 is displayed on the liquid crystal display 7 (S20). As shown in FIG. 8, as the character width type, three types of candidates of “full-width”, “double-width”, and “half-width” are displayed, and each character width is a key of “1” among the numeric keys N,
It is selected via the “2” key and the “3” key.

Next, it is determined whether or not there is a key input from any of the keys on the keyboard 6 (S21). If there is no key input (S21: NO), it waits until there is a key input, while if there is a key input (S21: Y).
In ES, it is determined whether or not the key input is from the numeric key N (keys "1" to "3") (S22).

If the key input is not from the numeric key N (S
In the case of 22: NO, the process returns to S21 again to wait for a key input, and if the key input is from the numeric key N (S22: Y).
In ES, the character width is set according to the pressed numeric key N, and the set character width data is stored in the character width memory 45 of the RAM 34 (S2).
3). This completes the character width setting process, and returns to the process of S2 shown in FIG.

Next, the character spacing setting process performed in S8 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the character spacing setting program. First, when the character spacing setting key 4B is pressed, the character spacing setting screen shown in FIG. 10 is displayed on the liquid crystal display 7 (30). As shown in FIG. 10, there are three types of character spacing candidates, "normal", "wide", and "narrow", and the character spacing is "1" among numeric keys N, "2". The key of “” and the key of “3” are selected.

Next, it is determined whether or not there is a key input from any of the keys on the keyboard 6 (S31). When there is no key input (S31: NO), it waits until there is a key input, while when there is a key input (S31: Y).
In ES, it is determined whether or not the key input is from the numeric key N (keys "1" to "3") (S32).

If the key input is not from the numeric key N (S
In the case of 32: NO, the process returns to S31 again to wait for a key input, and when the key input is the numeric key N (S32: Y).
In ES), the character spacing is set according to the pressed numeric key N, and the set character spacing data is stored in the character spacing memory 46 of the RAM 34 (S33). This completes the character spacing setting process and returns to the process of 2S shown in FIG.

Further, the character size setting process performed in S10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. FIG. 11 is a flowchart of the character size setting program. First, when the character size setting key 5 is pressed, the character size setting screen shown in FIG. 12 is displayed on the liquid crystal display 7 (S40).

As the type of character size, as shown in FIG. 12, "ES", "SS", "S", "M", "L",
Eight types of candidates, “LL”, “XL”, and “automatic” are displayed, and each character size is selected via the “1” to “8” keys of the numeric keypad N. Here, the character size is set to increase in order from “ES” to “XL”, and “automatic” automatically determines the character size based on the tape width detected by the tape width detector K. It shows the mode set to.

Next, it is determined whether or not there is a key input from any of the keys on the keyboard 6 (S41). If there is no key input (S41: NO), it waits until there is a key input, while if there is a key input (S41: Y).
In ES, it is determined whether or not the key input is from the numeric key N (keys "1" to "8") (S42).

If the key input is not from the numeric key N (S
In the case of 42: NO, the process returns to S41 again to wait for a key input, and if the key input is from the numeric key N (S42: Y).
In ES), the character size is set according to the pressed numeric key N, and the set character size data is stored in the character size memory 47 of the RAM 34 (S43). This completes the character size setting process and returns to the process of S2 shown in FIG.

Next, the printing process performed in S4 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is a flowchart of the print control program. First, in S50, it is determined whether the character size set in the character size setting process is set to "automatic". When the set font size is not "auto" (S50: N
O), the character size is "automatic" while shifting to S53.
If it is set to (S50: YES), the tape width detector K detects the tape width, and the tape width data relating to the detected tape width is stored in the tape width memory 44 (S51). .

Next, the tape width data stored in the tape width memory 44 is read, and the character size is determined based on the read tape width data by referring to the table (see FIG. 4) stored in the ROM 32. Determine (S5
2). When the tape width detected by the tape width detector K is 6 mm, the character size is determined to be a1,
When the tape width is 9 mm, the character size is determined to be a2. Similarly, when the tape width is 12 mm, a3
The character size is determined to be a4 when the tape width is 18 mm, and the character size is a5 when the tape width is 24 mm.

After that, the character size, the character width (set in S20 to S23), and the character interval (set in S30 to S33) determined as described above are set.
Accordingly, data such as characters in the text stored in the text memory 41 is image-developed via the CGROM 33 and transferred to the image buffer 42 (S53).

When the determination in S50 is NO, that is, when a character size other than "automatic" is set in the character size setting process in S40 to S43, the set character size, and According to the character width set in S20 to S23 and the character interval set in S30 to S33, the text memory 41
Data such as characters in the text stored in
The image is developed via the CGROM 33 and transferred to the image buffer 42 (S5).
3).

Thereafter, the image data stored in the image buffer 42 is transferred to the print buffer 43, and the image data is printed on the tape via the thermal head 11 (S54). With this, the printing process ends, and the process returns to the process of S2 shown in FIG.

As described in detail above, in the tape printer 1 according to this embodiment, when the "automatic" character size is set in the character size setting process, the tape width detected by the tape width detector K is set to the tape width. Based on R
The character size is determined by referring to the table in which the tape width and the character size stored in the OM 32 are associated with each other, and the determined character size and the keyboard 6
Characters are printed on the tape according to the character width and character spacing set via, so even if the character size is set to "Auto", the tape width of the tape used It is possible to freely set the character width and the character spacing for a character having a character size automatically set based on the above. As a result, it is possible to create a variety of character-attached tapes for the operator according to their intentions.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and it goes without saying that various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0055]

As described above, according to the present invention, the character size is automatically set based on the tape width of the tape to be used, and the set character size is set to the character width.
It is possible to provide a tape printer that allows the character spacing to be freely set, and thus makes it possible to create a variety of character-attached tapes in accordance with the operator's intention.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a tape printer showing a storage cover of a tape cassette storage unit opened.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state where a tape cassette is stored in a cassette storage portion.

FIG. 3 is a control block diagram of the tape printer.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the contents of a table in which the tape width and the character size of each tape stored in the ROM are associated with each other.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the contents of RAM.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a text editing control program.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a character width setting program.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a character width setting screen displayed on a liquid crystal display.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a character spacing setting program.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a character spacing set screen displayed on a liquid crystal display.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a character size setting program.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a character size setting screen displayed on a liquid crystal display.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of a print control program.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 tape printer 2 character input key 3 print key 4A character width set key 4B character spacing set key 5 character size set key 6 keyboard 7 liquid crystal display 11 thermal head 30 controller 31 CPU 32 ROM 33 CGROM 34 RAM 41 text memory 42 image Buffer 43 Print buffer 44 Tape width memory 45 Character width memory 46 Character interval memory 47 Character size memory K Tape width detector

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A text creating means for creating a text composed of document data such as characters, and a printing means for printing the text created by the text creating means on a long tape having a plurality of tape widths. In a tape printer, a tape width detection unit that detects the tape width of the tape, and a character size setting that automatically sets the size of characters in the text based on the tape width detected by the tape width detection unit. Means, character width setting means for setting the character width of characters in the text, character spacing setting means for setting the character spacing between characters in the text, each character size setting means, character width setting According to the character size, the character width, and the character spacing set via the means and the character spacing setting means, Tape printing apparatus characterized by comprising a print control means for controlling said printing means to perform printing of the text on the tape with-loop width.