JPH11321021A - Photo image printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a photo image printer capable of changing positions of an input section and a displaying section in accordance with a setting position or body dimensions of a user. SOLUTION: A touch panel 20 is rotatably supported to a bearing provided to a body 10 at both ends of shaft 21. A plurality of latches 22 each being inclined with respect to a radial direction of the shaft 21 are provided to the shaft 21 at roughly equal distances. Each of the latches 22 has an elasticity to be deformable. A stopper 15 which can be abutted to the latches 22 is provided to the inner side of the body 10. When the touch panel 20 is rotated in the closing direction, the latches 22 are abutted to the stopper 15 to be deformed in the circumferential direction, then it does not obstruct the rotation of the touch panel 20. On the other hand, when the touch panel 20 is rotated in the opening direction, the latches 22 are abutted to the stopper 15 to be deformed in the radial direction of the shaft 21, and then it restricts the rotation of the touch panel 20.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a photographic image printing apparatus for printing digital image data obtained by a digital still camera or the like as a photograph.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a digital still camera that converts light into digital data by an optical sensor such as a CCD and records photographic image data (hereinafter referred to as photographic data) on a readable and writable storage medium has been reduced in cost and cost. Image quality has been widespread. Some digital still cameras record photographic data on a removable memory card. By inserting the memory card into a personal computer having a card slot (hereinafter, referred to as a personal computer), photograph data can be easily taken into the personal computer. By connecting a sublimation-type or inkjet printer to a personal computer that has imported the photo data and printing, the photo can be printed at low cost even at a small office or home.

[0003] When printing using a personal computer as described above, printing cannot be performed without both a personal computer and a printer, but it is necessary to print a photograph taken with a digital still camera without using a personal computer. , A card slot in which a memory card can be inserted, and a touch panel that allows a user to instruct printing by a simple operation by pressing the screen of the display device with a finger or the like. Photographic printers capable of printing data are also known.

[0004]

However, in the above-described photo printing printer, if the touch panel is fixed integrally with the printer main body, the screen display is not visible depending on the installation location of the printer and the physique of the user. There were problems that it was difficult and difficult to operate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and provides a photographic image printing apparatus capable of changing the angles of an input unit and a display unit according to the installation location and the physique of a user. It is in.

[0006]

According to the photographic image printing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, a main body having a card slot and a printing section, and a predetermined angle with respect to the main body having a display section and an input section. And a touch panel rotatably connected in the opening direction and the closing direction within the range. Therefore, the touch panel can be rotated in a direction in which the touch panel is easy to use, depending on the installation location, the height of the user, and the like.

According to the photographic image printing apparatus of the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a restraining means capable of restraining the touch panel from rotating in the opening direction, and a releasing means capable of releasing the restraint by the restraining means. By releasing the restraint by the release means and rotating the touch panel to a desired angle, and then restraining the rotation by the restraint means, the touch panel can be fixed to the main body at a desired angle.

According to the photographic image printing apparatus of the third aspect of the present invention, the restricting means restricts the rotation of the touch panel in the opening direction when the touch panel is rotated to the open end of the rotation angle range. Is started, and the release means releases the restriction of the rotation of the touch panel when the touch panel is rotated to the end in the closing direction of the rotation angle range. Therefore, by returning the touch panel to a desired angle after fully opening the touch panel from the fully closed position, it is possible to prevent the touch panel from rotating when the user presses and operates the surface of the touch panel.

According to the photographic image printing apparatus of the fourth aspect of the present invention, the printing unit includes a holding unit that holds the roll paper so as to be able to be fed out, and a paper feeding unit that can move the roll paper in the feeding direction. An inkjet head that can reciprocate in the width direction of the roll paper and can eject ink droplets in a range wider than the width of the roll paper, and absorbs ink ejected to the outside of the roll paper at both ends of the inkjet head movement range It has an ink absorbing means and a cutting means for cutting the roll paper in the width direction. Therefore, the roll paper on which the photo is printed can be cut at an arbitrary position in the moving direction, and a photo having no surrounding margin can be printed at an arbitrary aspect ratio.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing a photographic image printing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The photographic image printing apparatus 1 includes a card slot 12 built in a casing 11 of a main body 10 and a printing unit 30.
And a control unit 40 and a touch panel 20. By inserting and connecting the memory card 13 to the card slot 12, the control unit 40 can read the photo data in the memory card 13.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the photographic image printing apparatus 1. The casing 11 of the main body 10 is provided with an opening 111 that can communicate with the card slot 12 and a paper outlet 112. The memory card 13 inserted in the card slot 12 can be taken out by pressing the takeout button 60.

The touch panel 20 is controlled by the user by pressing a touch key as an input unit attached to the surface of a liquid crystal display (LCD) as a display unit.
0 indicates that the pressed position can be detected. As the touch key, for example, a matrix touch key in which a panel provided with a plurality of electrodes in a horizontal direction and a panel provided with a plurality of electrodes in a vertical direction are overlapped can be used. A voltage is applied to one of the horizontal electrode and the vertical electrode, and when the user presses the surface of the touch key, a current flows to the other electrode. By detecting this current, the touch panel 20
The position where the surface is pressed can be detected.

The touch panel 20 is rotatable in an easy-to-use direction with respect to the casing 11 of the main body 10 in accordance with the installation location and the height of the user. As shown in FIG.
The direction in which the surface of the touch panel 20 turns when the surface of the touch panel 20 is pressed is referred to as an opening direction, and the direction in which the surface of the touch panel 20 faces the main body 10 is referred to as a closing direction. When not in use or during transportation, by rotating the touch panel 20 in the closing direction and fitting it into the recess 113 of the casing 11, the entire photo data printing apparatus 1 can be made substantially box-shaped and the volume can be reduced. This state is referred to as a fully-closed position of the touch panel 20, and a state in which the touch panel 20 is rotated to the limit in the opening direction and the surface thereof faces substantially directly above is referred to as a fully-opened position of the touch panel 20.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a connection portion between the touch panel 20 and the main body 10.

The touch panel 20 is rotatably held at both ends of a shaft 21 by bearings provided on the main body 10.
A plurality of latches 22 are formed on the outer periphery of the shaft 21 at substantially equal intervals and are formed to be inclined with respect to the radial direction of the shaft 21. The latch 22 has elasticity and can be deformed. Body 1
A stopper 15 is provided in the cylinder 0 so as to be able to contact the latch 22. When the touch panel 20 rotates in the closing direction,
When the latch 22 comes into contact with the stopper 15, the latch 22 is deformed in the circumferential direction of the shaft 21 and does not hinder the rotation of the touch panel 20. On the other hand, when the touch panel 20 rotates in the opening direction, when the latch 22 comes into contact with the stopper 15, the latch 22 is deformed in the radial direction of the shaft 21 to restrict the rotation of the touch panel 20. Latch 22
The stopper 15 constitutes the restraining means.

The stopper 15 is held in the main body 10 so as to be vertically movable. By rotating the touch panel 20 to the fully closed position, the stopper 15 moves downward, the restriction of the rotation of the touch panel 20 by the stopper 15 is released, and the touch panel 20 becomes freely rotatable in the opening direction and the closing direction. . By rotating the touch panel 20 to the fully open position in this state, the stopper 15 moves upward, and the rotation of the touch panel 20 in the opening direction is restricted.

The printing unit 30 rotatably holds the roll paper 31 inside the casing 11 by a shaft 32 as holding means. The roll paper 31 moves in a direction in which the paper is fed by paper feeding means (not shown). As shown in FIG. 4, the inkjet head 34 can reciprocate in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the roll paper 31, that is, in the width direction of the roll paper 31, and can discharge ink droplets onto the roll paper 31. A paper guide 35 is provided at a position facing the inkjet head 34 with the roll paper 31 interposed therebetween. The paper guide 35 is provided with an absorbing pad 36 as ink absorbing means for absorbing the ink ejected to the outside of the roll paper 31 at both ends of the moving range of the inkjet head 34.

The ink-jet head 34 includes a control unit 40
By applying a voltage to the pressure generating means in response to a drive signal from the printer, the volume of the ink chamber is expanded and contracted, and the ink in the ink chamber can be ejected from the nozzles as ink droplets onto the roll paper 31. Ink tanks for storing four color inks of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K), and a plurality of ink tanks for each color are arranged perpendicular to the moving direction of the inkjet head 34. It has four rows of nozzles 341. C,
A color image can be printed by a combination of M, Y, and K. When printing black by superimposing C, M, and Y inks, the K ink may be omitted.

Further, by using ink of six colors of dark cyan (C), dark magenta (M), light cyan (c), light magenta (m), yellow (Y) and black (K),
It is possible to express a smoother gradation, and it is possible to make the dots of the ink droplets inconspicuous even in a high brightness portion such as a skin color.

A cutter 37 as cutting means for cutting the roll paper 31 in the width direction is provided downstream of the inkjet head 34 in the moving direction of the roll paper 31. The cutter 37 cuts the roll paper 31 in the width direction according to a command from the control unit 40. As shown in FIG. 5, a blank portion between an ink ejection area 311 where ink droplets are ejected to print one photo on the roll paper 31 and an ink ejection area 312 where the next photo is printed. 3
13 is cut by the cutter 37 and falls, and is stored in the waste paper storage unit 38. The roll paper 31 is cut at the first cutting position and the second cutting position inside the ink ejection regions 311 and 312 in the length direction. In addition, the ink ejection area 3
The widths of 11 and 312 are slightly (for example, 1 mm) larger than the width of the roll paper 31. For this reason, it is possible to eliminate blank spaces on all sides of a printed photo. The roll paper 31 on which the photograph is printed is discharged from the paper outlet 112 to the outside.

The control unit 40 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 4
1 and a storage medium such as a ROM 42 or a flash memory in which a control program is stored. Photographic data stored in a memory card connected to the memory card connection unit 10 is displayed on the touch panel 20 as an image, Is determined, and control for printing a photograph by the printing unit 30 is performed.

Next, a procedure for printing a photograph using the photograph image printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be described.

The user presses the surface of the touch panel 20 to execute a program stored in the ROM 42 of the control unit 40, and selects a photograph to be printed and gives an instruction to the printing unit 30. According to the present embodiment, the touch panel 20 is rotatable to a desired angle. However, after the touch panel 20 is opened from the fully closed position to the fully open position, the touch panel 20 is adjusted to a desired angle, so that the touch panel 20 can be used during use. Even if the surface is pressed, the touch panel 20 does not rotate in the opening direction, and the user can operate in a stable state.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure for giving a photo print instruction.

First, the user inserts the memory card 13 storing the photographic image into the card slot 12 through the opening 111 (S101).

Then, the control section 40 reads the photograph data stored in the memory card 13 (S102), and displays a photograph image on the LCD of the touch panel 20. A plurality of thumbnails 201 are displayed on the LCD as reduced images using reduced data of a photograph stored in the memory card 13 together with the photograph data, or the control unit 40 generates reduced data from the photograph data, and The thumbnail 201 can be displayed on the LCD. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, 20 thumbnails 201 are displayed on one screen (S103).

Next, whether or not to perform index printing is selected (S104). On the touch panel 20,
If the position corresponding to the image of the button 202 displayed as “No” is pressed, the process proceeds to step S106 without performing index printing. Hereinafter, pressing a position corresponding to the button image displayed on the touch panel 20 is referred to as “pressing a button”. When the button 203 displayed as "Yes" is pressed, the index print for printing 20 thumbnails 201 on one sheet is executed (S105).

Next, a screen as shown in FIG. 8 is displayed.
The photograph to be printed is selected (S106). When the user presses a portion on the touch panel 20 where the thumb nail 201 of the photo is displayed, it is possible to switch between printing and not printing the photo. Initially, it is set so that all the photos are not printed. When the thumbnail 201 of the photo is pressed, a symbol such as a circle is displayed on the thumbnail 201 to indicate that it is to be printed. ○ Thumbnail 20 with mark
By pressing 1 again, the circle mark disappears and the designation of printing is canceled. The total number of prints is also displayed on the LCD. It is also possible to set to print all the images first, and to display a symbol indicating that the image is not printed, such as an X mark, on the selected image by pressing the thumbnail 201.

If more than 20 images are stored in the memory card and the thumbnails 201 of all the pictures cannot be displayed on one screen of the LCD, the thumbnails 201 of the pictures are displayed.
Is distributed and displayed on multiple sheets of 20 sheets each, and LC
D displays a button 204 for displaying the next sheet and a button 205 for displaying the previous sheet. By pressing the buttons 204 and 205 displayed on the touch panel 20, the displayed sheet can be switched. By specifying that one or more photos are to be printed and pressing the button 206 labeled "Selected",
Proceed to the next step S107.

Next, a size for printing a photograph is selected (S107). In this embodiment, any one of the roll paper 31 having a width of 89 mm, 102 mm, or 127 mm is set in the printing unit 30 and used. A print size is selected by pressing a button indicating a plurality of options displayed on the LCD of the touch panel 20 according to the width of the set roll paper 31.

When the roll paper 31 having a width of 89 mm is set, the width of the roll paper 31 is set to the long side, and by printing the roll paper 31 with a length of 55 mm, it is possible to print an almost business card size photograph. By printing at a length of 127 mm with the width of 31 as the short side, it is possible to print almost standard L size photographs.

When a roll paper 31 having a width of 102 mm is set, the width of the roll paper 31 is set to 152 m
By printing with a length of m, it is possible to print almost standard postcard size or standard size photos in Europe.

When the roll paper 31 having a width of 127 mm is set, the width of the roll paper 31 is set to 89 mm
, A substantially standard L-size photograph can be printed, and a larger-size photograph can be printed by printing the width of the roll paper 31 as a short side.

Regardless of the width of the roll paper 31, the width / width ratio of a photograph having a 4: 3 aspect ratio, a square photograph, or the width of the roll paper 31 according to the number of pixels in the vertical / horizontal direction of a general digital still camera is obtained. Can print photos with various aspect ratios, such as so-called panoramic photos that are twice as long.

When the size to be printed is selected, the photograph is printed (S108). Here, the order of selection of the photo to be printed (S106) and selection of the size of the photo (S107) may be reversed.

After one photo has been printed, an instruction to print is issued in step S106, and if there are still unprinted photos, step S10
Returning to step 8, the next photo is printed, and the process is repeated until all the photos are printed (S109).

When all the pictures have been printed, the memory card 13 is removed automatically or by pressing the removal button 60 (S110).

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a connection portion between a main body and a touch panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a photographic image printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a photographic image printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an operation of a printing unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a relationship between an ink ejection area and a cut position of roll paper according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a process of giving a print instruction according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a screen displayed on the LCD during a process of giving a print instruction according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a screen displayed on the LCD during a process of giving a print instruction according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Photographic image printing apparatus 10 Main body 11 Casing 111 Opening 112 Paper exit 12 Card slot 13 Memory card 15 Stopper (restraining means) 20 Touch panel 21 Axis 22 Latch (Restricting means) 31 Roll paper 32 Axis (Retaining means) 34 Inkjet head 35 Paper guide 36 Absorbing pad (ink absorbing means) 37 Cutter (cutting means) 38 Waste paper storage unit 40 Control unit 60 Eject button

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A card slot to which a memory card storing photo image data can be connected, a main body having a printing unit for printing the photo image, a display unit for displaying an image stored in the memory card,
And a touch panel having an input unit provided on a surface of the display unit and capable of detecting a pressed position, the touch panel being rotatably connected to the main body in an opening direction and a closing direction within a predetermined angle range, and A photographic image printing apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls a printing unit. 2. The photographic image printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a restraining means capable of restraining the rotation of the touch panel in an opening direction, and a releasing means capable of releasing the restraint by the restraining means. . 3. The restricting means starts restricting the rotation of the touch panel in one direction when the touch panel is rotated to an end in an opening direction of a rotation angle range, and the release means includes 2. The photographic image printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotation restriction of the touch panel is released when is rotated to the end in the closing direction of the rotation angle range. 4. A printing unit, comprising: holding means for holding roll paper so as to be able to pay out; paper feeding means capable of moving the roll paper in a feeding direction; and reciprocating in the width direction of the roll paper. An inkjet head capable of ejecting ink droplets in a range wider than the width of the roll paper, ink absorbing means for absorbing ink ejected to the outside of the roll paper at both ends of a movement range of the inkjet head, and the roll The photographic image printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a cutting unit configured to cut the paper in the width direction.