JP2003039791A - Printing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To provide a printing apparatus capable of reliably inputting graphic information expressed using a graphic without erroneous input. SOLUTION: In order to print an icon such as "egg" or "cheese" on a printing medium, an icon such as "egg" or "cheese" written on a selection dial is matched with a magnifying glass 2d, and an icon to be printed is displayed. select. At this time, LCD
19, the name of the icon matched to the magnifying glass 2d is "EI" (egg in German) or "FROMAGE"
It is displayed in a language of each country specified in advance such as (cheese in French). Therefore, the icon to be printed on the print medium can be confirmed by the name of the icon displayed on the LCD 19.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing apparatus capable of reliably inputting graphic information expressed using a graphic without erroneous input.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a tape printing apparatus for printing characters and figures on a tape having an adhesive layer covered with a release paper. Such a tape printer is provided with input means such as an input dial and a keyboard for inputting characters and graphics to be printed on the tape. When inputting a figure, for example, after setting the figure input mode by operating the function key, the candidate figure is displayed on the screen and the desired figure is selected by operating the cursor key. Further, it is also possible to allocate a figure to a predetermined position of a key or an input dial and input a desired figure by an appropriate operation of the user.

[0003]

However, the figures shown on the input dial, the key top screen, etc. are shown small because of the demand for a large number of types of figures that can be entered and the miniaturization of the device. Therefore, when the operator selects a desired figure, an erroneous input may occur.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus capable of surely inputting graphic information expressed using a graphic without erroneous input.

[0005]

In order to achieve this object, a printing apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a printing means for printing predetermined information on a printing medium, and printing is performed by the printing means. In order to input the predetermined information, the graphic information selecting means for selecting the graphic information expressed by using the graphic related to the predetermined information, and the graphic corresponding to the graphic information selected by the graphic information selecting means. And a character information display means for displaying character information in which information is expressed using characters.

According to the printing apparatus of the first aspect, the predetermined information to be printed on the print medium is a plurality of pieces of information on the upper surface of the graphic information selecting means as graphic information expressed using a graphic related to the predetermined information. , Is written. Then, by selecting a desired one from the plurality of graphic information, the predetermined information to be printed on the printing medium is input. here,
The selected graphic information is displayed by the character information display means as character information expressed using characters.

A printer according to a second aspect is the printer according to the first aspect, further comprising language switching means for switching the character information displayed by the character information display means to character information corresponding to a language of each country. The character information display means displays the graphic information selected by the graphic information selection means in the character information corresponding to the language switched by the language switching means.

According to the printing apparatus of the second aspect, the same operation as that of the printing apparatus of the first aspect is achieved, and the character information displayed by the character information display means is changed by the language switching means. Displayed in language.

A printer according to a third aspect is the printer according to the first or second aspect, wherein the character information display means is
The graphic information selected by the graphic information selecting means is displayed together with the character information.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing device having a printing means for printing the predetermined information on a print medium, wherein the predetermined information is printed by the printing means in order to input the predetermined information. Character information selecting means for selecting character information in which a word or phrase related to is expressed using characters,
Corresponding to the character information selected by the character information selecting means, there is provided graphic information displaying means for displaying graphic information expressing the character information using a graphic.

According to the printing apparatus of the fourth aspect, the predetermined information printed on the print medium is provided on the upper surface of the character information selecting means as character information in which a word or phrase related to the predetermined information is expressed using characters. It is written more than once. Then, the desired information to be printed on the printing medium is input by selecting a desired one from the plurality of character information. Here, the selected character information is displayed as graphic information represented by a graphic by the graphic information display means.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the printing apparatus according to the fourth aspect, the graphic information display means displays the graphic information and the character information selected by the character information selecting means.

A printing apparatus according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the printing apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the predetermined information includes a type of the article, a deadline related to the article, an application, and other additional information.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a shelf life printing device 1 (printing device) according to an embodiment of the present invention. First, the overall configuration of the expiration date printing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The expiration date printing apparatus 1 is for printing an icon that is a graphic representation of food and the expiration date of the food on a label tape 9 (print medium) having an adhesive layer on one surface. On the upper surface of the expiration date printing device 1,
Selection dial 2 for selecting the food icon to be input and the expiration date, various command keys 3 for deciding the icon selected by the selection dial 2, commanding printing, etc., selection dial and various command keys A liquid crystal display (hereinafter referred to as “LCD”) 19 (see FIG. 3) as a display unit for displaying the setting state of No. 3 is provided.

The selection dial 2 is formed in a donut shape and is rotatably arranged below the expiration date printing apparatus 1. On the upper surface of the selection dial 2, a first dividing section 2a divided into daily, weekly, and monthly units, and the first dividing section 2a.
The second dividing portion 2b which is further specifically divided according to
, And an icon portion 2c, which is a graphic representation of the food item that is to be input as the expiration date, are arranged in a ring shape in order from the inside.

The first division section 2a is divided into three divisions, ie, a day unit within 1 day to 6 days, a week unit within 1 week to 4 weeks, and a month unit within 1 month to 18 months. . The second sorting unit 2b is further divided into 32 according to the sorting of the first sorting unit 2b such as 1 day, 1 day to 2 days, 1 week, etc.
It is subdivided into categories. The icon part 2c is strawberry,
An icon that graphically represents 32 food items such as fish, wine, and grape whose expiration dates are set is arranged. In addition, in FIG. 1, each food icon is omitted and is represented by a circle.
Only the grape icon is shown enlarged.

Further, the selection dial 2 is provided with a magnifying glass 2d for magnifying and displaying the icon. The magnifying glass 2d is fixed to the main body frame so as to cover a part of the selection dial 2. By rotating the selection dial 2 and aligning the icons with the lower portion of the magnifying glass 2d, each icon is enlarged and each icon to be input is selected. Incidentally, the respective expiration dates to be input are selected by aligning them with the position directly below the magnifying glass 2d.

The various command keys 3 are composed of an enter key 3a, a print key 3b, a function key 3c, a language switching key 3e and a power key 3d. Enter key 3a
Is disposed in the center of the selection dial 2 and is for confirming the expiration date and the input of the icon selected by the selection dial 2. The print key 3b gives a command for printing the icon or the like confirmed by the operation of the confirm key 3a on the label tape 9. The function key 3c gives a command for defining the print content to be printed on the label tape 9. For example, select "print only save date", "print save date and icon", "print icon and expiration date", or "print save date, icon and expiration date", etc. be able to. The language switching key 3e is for switching the name of the icon written on the selection dial 2 to an expression corresponding to the language of each country. Each time the language switching key 3e is pressed, the display language displayed on the LCD 19 is switched. The power key 3d is for turning the power on and off.

The LCD 19 as a display unit is for displaying the name of the selected icon and the state of printing before printing, and is arranged above the body frame. A discharge port (not shown) for discharging the printed label tape 9 is provided on the side surface of the body frame above the LCD 19. Near the outlet,
A cutting portion 5 for cutting the label tape 9 discharged from the discharge port is provided on the left side surface of the body frame. A printing mechanism PM (see FIG. 2) for printing the expiration date on the label tape 9 is built in the body frame.

Next, the printing mechanism PM will be briefly described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the printing mechanism PM. The rectangular tape storage cassette CS is wound with the tape spool 8 around which the printing tape 9a made of a synthetic resin film is wound, the ribbon supply spool 13 around which the ink ribbon 12 is wound, and the ink ribbon 12. A supply spool 16 in which a take-up spool 14 and a double-sided tape 15 having the same width as that of the printing tape 9a are wound with the release paper on the outside, and these printing tape 9a and double-sided tape 1
A joining roller 10 that joins 5 and 5 is rotatably provided. A thermal head 7 is erected at a position where the printing tape 9a and the ink ribbon 12 overlap each other. A platen roller 17 for pressing the printing tape 9a and the ink ribbon 12 against the thermal head 7, and the printing tape 9a
A feed roller 45 that presses the double-sided tape 15 against the joining roller 10 is rotatably supported by a support 46.
In the thermal head 7, a heating element group composed of 48 heating elements is vertically arranged.

Therefore, when the joining roller 10 and the take-up spool 14 are driven by the tape feed motor 18 (see FIG. 3) in synchronism with each other in a predetermined rotational direction to energize the heating element group, the printing tape 9a. Characters, numbers, etc. are printed on the top by a plurality of dot rows, and the printing tape 9a
Is fed in the tape feeding direction A with the double-sided tape 15 joined, and is fed out as a label tape 9 from the discharge port of the main body frame. For details of the printing mechanism PM, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-106555.

Next, referring to FIG. 3, the expiration date printing apparatus 1
The control system will be described. FIG. 3 is a shelf life printing device 1
2 is a block diagram of FIG. The display mechanism DM is L
It is a general one provided with a CD 19 and a display controller (LCD controller) 20 having a display RAM for outputting display data to the LCD 19. Absolute encoder 2 connected to selection dial 2
Reference numeral 1 is for outputting 32 kinds of absolute value encoder signals ENS corresponding to the second division section 2b and the icon section 2c which are divided into 32 sections of the selection dial 2, respectively. The code data such as the expiration date selected based on ENS is obtained, and the rotation direction and the rotation of the selection dial 2 are compared by comparing the absolute encoder signal ENS before the selection operation with the current absolute encoder signal ENS. The amount is obtained. The printing mechanism PM has a drive circuit 22 for driving the thermal head 7.
And a drive circuit 2 for driving the tape feed motor 18
3 and 3.

The controller C has a CPU 27, an input / output interface 25 connected to the CPU 27 via a bus 26 such as a data bus, a ROM 28, and a character ROM 2.
9, a RAM 30 and a real time clock (hereinafter referred to as “RTC”) 33 for measuring time.

The ROM 28 stores various programs. A display control program for controlling the display mechanism DM corresponding to the code data selected by the selection dial 2 and the input data buffer 31 for the code data when the enter key 3a is operated and various setting data relating to the print setting contents. And a drive control program for sequentially reading the data stored in the print buffer 32 to drive and control the thermal head 7 and the tape feed motor 18, and the like.

Various tables as shown in FIG. 4 are stored in the ROM 28. The table in FIG. 4A shows the relationship between various icons written on the selection dial 2 and the code data of each icon, and one code data is stored for each icon.
Each of the tables (b) to (e) shows display character data for displaying the icon written on the selection dial 2 using characters. In each of the tables (b) to (e), display character data expressed in Japanese, English, French, and German are stored,
A different start address is assigned to each table. Further, each display character data stored in each table is stored corresponding to the code data of the icon. The CPU 27 performs various calculations based on various programs stored in the ROM 28.

The character ROM 29 has a selection dial 2
The dot pattern data relating to each of the expiration dates and the icons drawn on the upper surface of is stored. The dot pattern data stored in the character ROM 29 is transferred to the print buffer 32 described later. The connector 24 is for connecting an optional ROM card storing dot pattern data of various typefaces.

The RAM 30 is for temporarily storing various calculation results calculated by the CPU 27, and is composed of an input data buffer 31, a print buffer 32, and a storage date data buffer 34. The input data buffer 31 is for storing code data such as an input icon and various setting data relating to print setting contents. The print buffer 32 is for storing the dot pattern data transferred from the character ROM 29 during printing. Then, according to the dot pattern data stored in the print buffer 32, dot printing is performed by the thermal head 7. The retention date data buffer 34 is for storing date data as retention date data transferred from the RTC 33 described later. At the same time that the icon to be input is determined by the enter key 3a, the current date data is updated by RTC33.
The storage date and the expiration date are created based on the date data.

The RTC 33 is an IC for measuring the date and the like. Based on the measured value of the RTC 33, the expiration date entered by the selection dial 2 is the expiration date printed on the label tape 9. Is generated. The RTC 33 is connected to a battery circuit 33a that supplies a backup voltage when the expiration date printing apparatus 1 is powered off. RTC33 is this battery circuit 33
By a, the time measurement can be continued even after the power supply of the expiration date printing device 1 is turned off.

Next, the operation of the expiration date printing apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. Figure 5
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a printing process of displaying an icon name in the language of the selected country and printing the selected icon or the like. In the expiration date printing apparatus 1, the power is turned on by the power key 3d, a predetermined initial process is executed, and then the print process shown in FIG. 5 is executed.

In this printing process, first, it is determined whether the language switching key 3e has been pressed (S1).
By pressing the language switching key 3e, the display language of the name of the icon displayed on the LCD 19 is selected. Each time the language switching key 3e is pressed (S1: Yes), the start address of the icon stored in the input data buffer 31 is switched (S2). Further, the LCD 19 displays languages of each country such as "Japanese?", "English?", "French?" When the language desired by the operator is displayed, the enter key 3a is pressed to determine the display language. The display for selecting this language may be displayed in a language corresponding to the language of each country.

Next, it is determined whether or not an icon has been selected (S3). When the icon is selected (S3: Yes), the code data of the selected icon is added to the head address of the icon stored in the input data buffer 31 in advance (S4). Then, the address corresponding to the added data is read from the display character data of the table (see FIGS. 4B to 4E) stored in the ROM 28, and the display character data is read.
It is displayed on D19 (S5). Thus, when an icon is selected, the name of the icon will be L in the selected language.
It is displayed on the CD 19. Therefore, the operator can confirm whether or not the name of the icon displayed on the LCD 19 is the icon selected by the operator by the name of the icon displayed in the predetermined language. Then, when the name of the displayed icon matches the selected icon, the enter key 3a is pressed, and the icon to be printed on the label tape 9 is determined. If the language switching key 3e is not pressed (S1: No), the display language is not changed and the process waits until an icon is selected. If no icon is selected (S3: No), the process ends. .

Here, the above-mentioned operation will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 6. 6 (a) to 6 (c) show an icon and a name of the icon matched with the magnifying glass 2d as L.
It is a schematic diagram shown in CD19. First, referring to FIG. 6A, the icon of “egg” is aligned with the magnifying glass 2d, and the name of “egg” is displayed in German on the LCD 1
The case of displaying on 9 will be described. It is assumed that the input data buffer 31 has previously stored the leading address “1000” of the Japanese table (see FIG. 4B).

First, when the language switching key 3e is pressed once, the start address stored in the input data buffer 31 is changed from "1000" to the start address "2000" of the English table (see FIG. 4 (c)). At the same time as switching, "English?" Is displayed on the LCD 19. Similarly, every time the language switching key 3e is pressed, the head address stored in the input data buffer 31 is switched. Then, when "German?" Is displayed on the LCD 19, the enter key 3a is pressed to determine the display language. In this case, the start address "4000" of the German table is stored in the input data buffer 31 (Fig. 4 (e)).
(See) is stored.

Next, when the selection dial 2 is rotated and the "tamago" icon is placed in the magnifying glass 2d, the code data "2" (see FIG. 4A) of the "tamago" icon is input. It is added to the address “4000” stored in the data buffer 31. Then, the display character data “EI” corresponding to the added address “4002”
(See FIG. 4E) is read, and the display character data “EI” is displayed on the LCD 19. In this way, the operator can confirm the selected "egg" icon by the German name.

In FIG. 6B, when the display language is set to French and the "cheese" icon is selected,
It is a figure showing the name of the icon displayed on LCD19. FIG. 6C is a diagram showing the names of the icons displayed on the LCD 19 when the display language is set to Japanese and the “cake” icon is selected. Since these operations are almost the same as those described above, description thereof will be omitted.

Now, returning to FIG. 5, the description of the subsequent processing will be continued. When the confirmation key 3b is pressed and the icon to be printed is determined, the date data as the storage date data is read from the RTC 33 and the storage date data is stored in the storage date data buffer 34 (S6). Next, it is determined whether or not the expiration date has been input by operating the selection dial 2 and the confirmation key 3b (S7). When the expiration date is input (S7: Yes), the storage date data buffer 3
The storage date data stored in 4 is read, and the expiration date data is created. Then, when the print key 3b is operated, the thermal head 7 and the tape feed motor 18 are driven, and the input icon, the storage date, and the expiration date are printed (S8).

Specifically, as shown in FIG.
When "Egg" is selected on July 1, 001 and 1 week is selected as the expiration date, the icon of "Egg", the storage date "'01, 7, 1", and the expiration date "" The tape on which "01, 7, 8" is printed is created. 7 (b) and 7 (c) show other examples.

As described above, according to the expiration date printing apparatus 1 of this embodiment, the name of the icon written on the selection dial 2 is displayed on the LCD 19, so that the LCD 1
Even within the limited number of dots of 9, the name of the icon can be displayed more clearly than when the icon is displayed. Therefore, even when the icon is displayed in a small size on the selection dial 2, the selected icon can be confirmed by the name of the icon clearly displayed, and erroneous input can be suppressed.

The present invention has been described above based on the embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. This can be easily guessed.

For example, in the above embodiment, the case where the icon is input and the name of the icon is displayed on the LCD 19 has been described. However, the name of the icon may be written on the selection dial 2, the written name of the icon may be selected, and the icon may be displayed as a graphic icon on the LCD 19. In general,
Compared to the case where the icon is written on the selection dial, the name of the icon is displayed on the selection dial in many types, which has the effect of further expanding the selection range.

Further, in the above embodiment, the LCD 19
It is decided to display the name of the selected icon in.
However, what is displayed on the LCD 19 is not limited to the icon name, and the input icon may be displayed together with the icon name. In such a case, since the icon and the name of the icon are written together on the LCD 19, there is an effect that it is easy to discover whether or not the icon is selected by mistake.

In the above embodiment, the case where the selected icon and the storage date and the expiration date are printed as additional information on the label tape 9 has been described. However, the additional information printed on the label tape 9 is not limited to those items, and may be configured to print a food storage method, a recommended menu, or the like.

The present invention can also be realized by causing a computer to read a program for achieving the functions of the character information display means and the language switching means, and connecting the program to the printing mechanism PM via an interface. In this case, the program that realizes the character information display means step and the language switching step can be distributed as a computer-readable storage medium or as a program itself (including a compressed form) via an information communication line. Further, in the above-described embodiment and modification, a known keyboard other than the selection dial 2 may be used as the means for inputting the icon and the expiration date.

[0044]

According to the printing apparatus of the first aspect, the character information display means displays the selected graphic information as character information expressed using characters, so that the selected graphic information is fixedly input. It can be confirmed as character information expressed in characters before printing or printing. Therefore, when such character information is displayed using a liquid crystal display, such character information can be clearly displayed even if the number of dots is smaller than that of graphic information. The operator can easily confirm whether or not the selected graphic information is the desired one, and there is an effect that a reliable input operation can be performed without erroneous input.

According to the printing device of the second aspect, in addition to the effect of the printing device of the first aspect, the character information display means displays in the language switched by the language switching means. With this, it is possible to display character information corresponding to the language of each country. For example, even foreigners in Japan can display character information in their native language.

According to the printing apparatus of the third aspect, in addition to the effect of the printing apparatus of the first or second aspect, the character information display means displays the graphic information together with the character information. It is possible to confirm the actually input graphic information and further suppress the printing of the erroneously selected graphic information on the printing medium.

According to the printing apparatus of the fourth aspect, the graphic information display means displays the selected character information as graphic information expressed by using a graphic, so that the selected character information can be fixedly input or input. Before printing on a print medium, it can be confirmed as graphic character information represented by a graphic. Therefore, there is an effect that even a child or the like who cannot understand the character information very much can easily print the predetermined information intended by himself / herself on the printing medium.

According to the printing apparatus of the fifth aspect, in addition to the effect of the printing apparatus of the fourth aspect, the graphic information display means displays the character information together with the graphic information. The input character information can be confirmed, and it is possible to further suppress the printing of erroneously selected character information on the print medium.

According to the printing device of the sixth aspect, in addition to the effect of the printing device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the predetermined information includes the type of the article, a deadline related to the article, an application, and the like. Since the additional information is included, the additional information can be printed on the print medium in addition to the graphic information or the character information printed on the print medium. For example, if the storage date, the expiration date, the storage method, and the like of the food are printed in addition to the food icon, there is an effect that related information about the food can be grasped at a glance.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a shelf life printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of a printing mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a control system of the expiration date printing apparatus.

FIG. 4A is a diagram showing a table of each icon and code data of the icon. (B) to (e)
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a table of display character data according to the languages of each country.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of print processing.

6 (a) to (c) are selected icons and LCs.
It is the figure which showed the name of the icon displayed on D.

7A to 7C are diagrams showing a tape on which an icon, a storage date, and a shelf life are printed.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 expiration date printing device (printing device) 2 selection dial (graphic information selecting means or character information selecting means) 3e, S2 language switching key (language switching means) 7 thermal head (printing means) 9 label tape (printing medium) 19 , S5 LCD (character information display means or graphic information display means)

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Kojiro Yamamoto             Brother, 15-1, Naeshiro-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya             Industry Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 2C061 AP05 AQ04 AS06 CQ24 CQ31                       CQ34                 5C082 AA14 AA21 AA32 BA02 BA12                       BA27 CA33 CB05 MM08

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A printing apparatus comprising a printing unit for printing predetermined information on a print medium, wherein a graphic associated with the predetermined information is used to input the predetermined information to be printed by the printing unit. Graphic information selecting means for selecting the expressed graphic information, and character information displaying means for displaying the character information expressing the graphic information using characters corresponding to the graphic information selected by the graphic information selecting means. A printing apparatus comprising: 2. A language switching means for switching the character information displayed by the character information display means to character information corresponding to the language of each country, wherein the character information display means is operated by the graphic information selection means. 2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the selected graphic information is displayed as the character information corresponding to the language switched by the language switching means. 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the character information display unit displays the graphic information selected by the graphic information selection unit together with the character information. 4. A printing apparatus comprising a printing means for printing predetermined information on a print medium, wherein in order to input the predetermined information to be printed by said printing means, words and phrases related to the predetermined information are characters. Character information selecting means for selecting the character information expressed by using the character information display, and graphic information display for displaying the graphic information expressing the character information using a graphic corresponding to the character information selected by the character information selecting means. And a printing device. 5. The printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the graphic information display means displays the graphic information selected by the text information selecting means together with the graphic information. 6. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined information includes a type of the article, a deadline related to the article, an application, and other additional information.