JPS627570A - Plotter-type printer device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable character information to be printed while considering a total layout on a paper, by a system wherein character information hand-written with an input pen is displayed on a character information display means making close contact with a transparent cover. CONSTITUTION:Transparent X and Y electrodes 96, 98 are wired in a grating form by printing on the transparent cover 92 for a printer partr 18. With a character inputted by writing with the input pen 94 on the transparent cover 92, a magnetic field generated by currents flowing through parallel conductors intersects a coil incorporated in the pen 94, the X-Y coordinates of the pen 94 is recognized from the induced voltage, and athe recognized information i confirmed on a character information display means 104 through the cover 92. Next, a thermal head 76 is energized to locally melt a thermal transfer ink layer 86 of a thermal transfer ink sheet 80, thereby printing on a paper 21. As the input operation is repeated, character information can be inputted while considering a total layout through looking at the character information display means 104.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a plotter type printer device that can print character information on paper without considering the overall layout.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In recent years, as part of the 0AII equipment, word processors that can easily create sentences using printed characters are rapidly becoming popular in Switzerland and home. Most of the hardware includes a keyboard or tablet as a character input means, an LCD or CRT display as a character display means, and various printer devices that print characters in a dot matrix as a character output means. The most common way to use it is to check the characters entered from the input device on the display device, check the overall layout on the display device, edit it, and finally print it out on paper using a printer device. It is composed of (
For example, patent application No. 59-6023@).

Problems to be Solved by the Invention At this time, on the display means, the size, shape, width between lines, and overall balance of the characters finally output by the printer are not intended until they are output by the printer. Generally speaking, it is difficult to fully confirm and infer whether or not a person can compose sentences correctly.

Therefore, in many cases, the output of the text output by the printer device is not satisfactory, and the user has to start writing the text again, which is a very inefficient task.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and uses a plotter type printer device and a print head means X.

The present invention aims to provide a printer device that allows the user to check the Y-coordinate position directly on the paper using a character information display means corresponding to the paper surface, and to create a text while considering the overall layout, balance, etc.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the plotter-type printing device of the present invention includes a flat paper mounting section on which paper such as cut paper or roll paper is placed, and the paper mounting section. any X, Y of
a head part movable to a coordinate position; a head X-Y axis driving means for the head part; a print head means integrally with the head part to print information such as characters on the paper surface;
Located on a plane parallel to the above paper attachment part, the input pen's X, ? An XY coordinate tablet that detects the coordinate position and has transparency that allows objects and light to be seen through the plane, and handwritten character recognition means that imposes handwritten characters written using an input pen on the XY coordinate detection tablet. The XY coordinate detection tablet is provided with a character information input means, and a flat character information display means is disposed on the side opposite to the input pen input surface of the XY coordinate detection tablet.

According to the above-described configuration, the present invention envisions the overall layout while viewing the entire size of the paper using the character information display means arranged in correspondence with the paper fixed to the paper mounting section, and After positioning using the input pen and XY coordinate detection tablet and moving the head to the printing position corresponding to the text, inputting characters from the character input means and printing using the print head means. You can create sentences smoothly without having to do anything.

Embodiment A plotter type printer device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an external view of a plotter-type printer according to an embodiment of the present invention configured as a word processor. 1st
The word processor shown in the figure is roughly divided into a character information input section 90 and a plotter type printer section 18, and the character information input section 90 is located above the plotter type printer section 18.

First, the detailed structure of the plotter type printer section 18 will be explained using FIG. FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the plotter type printer section 18 with the transparent cover 92 shown in FIG. 1 removed, and this plotter type printer section 18 places and fixes paper 21 such as cut paper or roll paper. A planar paper mounting section 22, a head section 24 that can move to any X and Y coordinate position on the plane of the paper mounting section 22, and a head X-Y that guides and drives the head section in the X-axis and Y-axis directions. The head X-Y axis driving means 26 is comprised of a Y-axon interior 2B and an X-axis guide section 30. The Y-axis guide section 28 includes two round guide rods 32 and 34 arranged in parallel in the Y-axis direction on the paper mounting 1!1ls22.
It consists of a Y-axis base member 36 that is slidable through the Y-axis base member 36 and a Y-axis drive motor 38, and one guide rod 32 has a feed screw portion 40 on its outer periphery.
is rotatably screwed into a screw hole 42 provided in 6,
The rod 32 is rotatably supported near both ends by two bearings 44 and 46 fixed on the paper attachment part 22, and its movement in the axial direction is restricted. A pair of gears 48 and 50 mesh with each other, and the rotation of the Y-axis drive motor 38 is transmitted to the rod 32. The other rod 34 is fixed on the paper mounting part 22.
The Y-axis base member 36 is supported and guided through an elongated hole 5G provided in the Y-axis base member 36. With this configuration, the Y-axis base member 36 is driven in the Y-axis direction by the Y-axis drive motor 38.

The X-axis guide section 30 includes a head section 24 that is slidable in the X-axis direction while being guided by a round guide rod 56 on the Y-axis base member 36, and an X-axis drive motor 58. Guide rod 56
is provided with a feed screw portion 60 on its outer periphery like the rod 32, and is rotatably screwed into one of the guide holes 62 and 64 provided in the bifurcated portion of the head portion 24, is slidably passed through the other guide hole 64,
In addition, the guide rod 56 is connected to the Y-wheel base member 3 near both ends thereof.
The guide rod 56 is rotatably supported by two bearings 66 and 68 provided on the guide rod 56, and its movement in the axial direction is restricted.A pair of gears 70 and 72 are engaged with one end of the guide rod 56. , the rotation of the X-axis drive motor 58 is caused by the rotation of the rod 5.
6.

Next, the character information input section 90 will be mainly explained. Inputting character information in this embodiment is performed using an input ben 94 on a transparent cover 92 serving as an XY coordinate detection tablet, which is transparent enough to allow the user to see through a flat surface. That is, the transparent cover 92 has transparent X, Y
Electrodes 96 and 98 are printed and wired in a grid pattern at fine pitches as shown in the figure, and the magnetic field generated by the current flowing in the parallel conducting wires, which is a known technique, is linked to the coil built in the input ben 94, and the X This is a method of knowing the X and Y coordinate position of the input ben 94 from the conductive voltage (National T
electrical report Vol. 3
G No, 3 P 317-P 324).

In this embodiment, by using a transparent cover 92 for the character information input section, characters can be input by hand directly at the desired position on the paper 21 that can be seen directly below while considering the layout. Yes, the handwritten input from the input ben 94 is entered on the transparent cover 92 by X, Y!
! Predetermined handwritten character recognition means (not shown)
can be used to all input characters.

Next, the vertical relationship between the character information input section 90 and the plotter type printer section 18 and the configuration of the print head means 76 of the plotter type printer section 18 will be explained using FIG.

FIG. 3 shows a YY' cross-sectional view of FIG. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 74 denotes a protrusion projecting downward from the lower end surface of the head section 24, which is in contact with the surface of the Y-axis base member 36, and serves to prevent the head section 24 from rotating around the rod 56. . Further, the head section 24 has the above-mentioned paper attachment section 22 at one end thereof.
It is integrally provided with a print head means 76 for printing characters in a dot matrix on the paper surface by contacting the paper 21 placed and fixed thereon.

In this embodiment, a dot matrix serial scan thermal head is used as the print head means 7G, and is of a type that prints characters by scanning in the X-axis direction. 80 is an ink sheet for thermal transfer, and as shown in the figure, the paper 2 placed on the print head means 16 and the paper mounting part 22
Located at 1ffl. The thermal transfer ink sheet 80 has a three-layer structure, with a heat-sensitive coloring layer 84 on the side that contacts the print head means 76 with the base sheet 82 in between, and a thermal transfer ink layer on the side that contacts the paper 21! ! 8G is provided. Further, the character information display means 104, which is made of, for example, a liquid crystal type, has the same planar area as the transparent cover '92, and is fixed almost closely to the back surface of the transparent cover '92, and as in the previous embodiment, the character information display means 104 is It is configured so that it does not move integrally with the section 24. Therefore, due to the opacity of the character information display means 104, the position of the paper 21 cannot be seen from the top of the device, but instead, the layout, input characters, etc. can be confirmed by the character information display means 104, and the displayed content is placed directly below. The print head means 7 is placed on the paper 21 that is
6 is printed.

The operating state of a word processor using a plotter type printer having the above configuration will be explained.

First, the transparent cover 92 is opened or removed, and the print head XY movement cursor key 108 is used to move the head section 24 to a position where it does not interfere with the placement of the paper 21. Next, the paper 21 and the thermal transfer ink sheet 80 are combined and placed at a predetermined position on the paper mounting section 22. Although not shown in the drawings, these fixings may be carried out by pressing with a metal fitting or by means of static electricity generation means provided on the upper surface of the paper attaching portion 22. Now that the preparations are complete, attach the transparent cover 92 to the device again.

Next, we begin text input/output work. First, look at the entire transparent h-par 92 and plan the layout in your head, where to place what kind of characters, figures, etc. Press to enter coordinate input mode, move the input pen 94, lower the input pen 94 at the desired XY coordinate position on the transparent cover 92, and touch.

This determines the entry position and automatically switches to character input mode. At this time, the head section 24 located under the transparent cover 92 is moved by the head X-Y axis driving means 26 to a position directly below the previously determined input position, and becomes ready for character input using the input pen 94. In this state, if a character is input by hand using the input pen 94 on the transparent cover 92 near the input position, the character i is written by the handwritten character gsi means! ! The contents of the plot and ill will can be confirmed on the text information display means 104 through the transparent cover 92. If a kana-kanji conversion is necessary, the conversion key 11G of the command execution key group 100 is used to perform the conversion. Print execution key 112 on this bond
Input the print command from In response to this print command input, electricity is applied to the thermal head 76 via a predetermined character generating means (not shown), and the thermal transfer ink layer of the thermal transfer ink sheet 80 is locally melted in accordance with the principle of the thermal transfer method. The image is transferred onto the surface of the paper 21 and printed.

If the user repeats the above input operations, he or she will be able to view the character information display means 104 as a whole and consider the layout while inputting data. After entering all the text, remove the transparent cover 92, and then insert the thermal transfer ink sheet 80.
If you take out the paper 21 and the paper 21 from the paper attachment part 22, the paper 21
A finished product with the desired text printed on it is obtained. At this time, the thermal transfer ink sheet 80 is disposable after being cut only once.

The plotter type printer device of the present invention has been described using the above embodiments, but if other developments are considered, various configurations as shown below can be easily considered.

First, the print head means 76 integrally attached to the head section 24 has been able to print characters only during scanning in the X-axis direction, but if a configuration is added to the head section 24 that allows it to be driven to rotate around seven wheels, Characters can be output in any direction on the X, Y coordinate plane.

Second, in the previous embodiments, the thermal transfer ink sheet and paper such as cut paper or roll paper were combined for printing, but only the thermal paper was placed on the paper mount and the print head 7B for thermal printing or print head section 7
Even if a discharge head is used in 6 and only the discharge recording paper is placed on the paper mounting table 21, the object of the present invention is still met. Furthermore, although examples of manual input such as keyboard input and input from a pen have been shown as character input means, it is clear that the present invention is also applicable to voice recognition input.

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, the print head means is of a plotter type that can freely move in the X and Y planes, and the
An XY coordinate detection tablet that also serves as a transparent cover for detecting the Y coordinate is provided, and according to the movement of the input pen in the X and Y positions, the print head means follows the X and Y positions. By having a handwritten character 111 means for mlKing written characters, and by being able to display the character information of recognized handwritten characters on a character information display means that is in close contact with the transparent cover, the entire transparent cover can be adjusted to fit the size of the paper. By being able to easily create sentences by thinking about the layout while looking at the screen, and by being able to check the progress of the input on the character information display means, it is possible to input characters as if they were normally writing on report paper. Also, by inputting data while looking at the whole page, you will not be dissatisfied with the layout.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a plotter type printer a according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is the plan view, and Fig. 3 is the Y in Fig. 1.
-Y' sectional view. 1...18
... Plotter type printer section, 21 ... Paper, 22.
... Paper i Mounting part, 24... Head part, 2B
... Head X-Y axis driving means, 76 ... Print head means, 78 ... Character information display means, 92 ... Transparent cover, 94 ... Input pen, 100 ... Command execution key group , 104...Character information display means agent Mori
Yoshihiro Moto Figure 1 Figure 2 21 - Clamping sword - @, & Kuzu Sumibe - Kando Genmu --- Hemado

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A planar paper mounting section on which paper such as cut paper or roll paper is placed, a head section movable to any X and Y coordinate position of the paper mounting section, and the head Head of department X/Y
a shaft driving means, a print head means which is integrated with the head section and prints information such as characters on the surface of the paper sheet, and which is located on a plane parallel to the paper mounting section and detects the X and Y coordinate position of the input pen. , and a character information input means having an XY coordinate tablet having transparency that allows objects and light to be seen through the plane, and a handwritten character recognition means for recognizing handwritten characters written using an input pen on the XY coordinate detection tablet. A plotter-type printer device, comprising: a flat character information display means arranged on the side opposite to the input pen input surface of the XY coordinate detection tablet. 2. The plotter type printer device according to claim 1, wherein the character information display means has a planar shape that is equal to or larger than the paper placed on the paper mounting section.