Facsimile and static presentation processing – Static presentation processing – Character or font
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-19
2002-07-23
Evans, Arthur G. (Department: 2622)
Facsimile and static presentation processing
Static presentation processing
Character or font
Reexamination Certificate
active
06424423
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a character information processing device for printing or transfer printing of at least one line of an input character string on a printing medium or a transfer medium having a size limited at least in the direction of width thereof, which can be applied e.g. to a tape printing apparatus or a stamp making apparatus.
2. Prior Art
The tape printing apparatus prints at least one line of a string of entered characters (including symbols and pictographic characters) on a continuous tape as required, and manually or automatically cuts off a printed portion of the tape for delivery. In view of various uses of the printed portion thus cut off (hereinafter referred to as the “label”), tape printing apparatuses recently available are capable of printing even a plurality of lines of a character string on a tape to form a label. Further, from the nature or use of labels, the character string is often printed by setting a different character size to each line thereof.
As manners of designation of character sizes (character size designation modes) for the plurality of lines, one of the tape printing apparatuses recently available has two kinds of a “character size-entrusting mode”, and a “line count-dependent relative size combination mode”.
The “character size-entrusting mode” is a mode in which the tape printing apparatus automatically determines the character size of each line without being instructed by the user. In the first kind of this mode (hereinafter referred to as “auto-with-ease mode”; also denoted as “easy mode” in the drawings), based on information of the number or count of lines of an input character string, the width of a tape loaded in the apparatus, and the number of characters of each line, the character size of each line is determined such that the printed lines have approximately the same length irrespective of the number or count of characters of each line. In the second kind of this mode (hereinafter referred to as “uniform mode”), based on information of the number or count of lines of an input character string, and the width of a tape loaded in the apparatus, the character size of each line is set to an identical size.
FIGS. 7A and 7B
show labels formed by printing an identical character string, with character sizes thereof designated in the “auto-with-ease mode” (FIG.
7
A), and in the “uniform mode” (FIG.
7
B), respectively.
The “line count-dependent relative size combination mode” is a mode in which the user designates a combination of relative character sizes for lines of an input character string, and the apparatus converts the relative character sizes to absolute ones based on information of the width of a tape loaded in the apparatus and so forth. For instance, when the number of lines of an input character string is three, the user selects and sets one of combinations of relative character sizes of the respective lines, such as “SAME×
3
” (identical size for all of three lines), “SSL” (Small+Small+Large), “SLL” (Small+Large+Large), “LSS” (Large+Small+Small), or “LLS” (Large+Large+Small), and the tape printing apparatus converts the relative character sizes to absolute ones based on the width of a tape and so forth. That is, in this mode, the character sizes of lines of a character string are semi-automatically set.
As described above, there are various manners of designating the character sizes of lines of a character string, and hence in the conventional tape printing apparatuses, they are designated or changed from menu screens.
Of course, the default mode is fixed. One of the conventional tape printing apparatus uses the “auto-with-ease mode” or the “uniform mode” (one of the two kinds of the “character size-entrusting mode”) as the default mode thereby permitting the tape printing apparatus to deal with the setting of character sizes even when the user does not intentionally designate the character sizes (relative ones) of lines of an input character string.
It should be noted that the designation of a character size of each line involves determination or setting of line pitches and margins at lateral ends of a tape (so-called “outer frame width”), and hence may be called a designation of layout of characters (also referred to as “character layout”).
Further, as an attribute defining the layout of characters, in addition to the character size attribute of each line, there is a layout attribute. That is, the user is allowed to designate one from the options of “forward alignment” in which positions of characters at respective forward ends of lines are aligned and character pitches of the respective lines are each determined based on a character size set thereto, “rearward alignment” in which positions of characters at respective rearward ends of lines are aligned and character pitches of the respective lines are each determined based on a character size set thereto, “center alignment” in which positions of characters at respective centers of lines are aligned and character pitches of the respective lines are each determined based on a character size set thereto, and “uniform layout” in which positions of characters at the forward end of lines and positions of characters at the rearward end of lines are aligned and character pitches of the respective lines are each determined such that the characters are arranged with uniform character pitch or spacing. In the conventional tape printing apparatus, such layout attributes are also designated or changed from menu screens.
Further, there are other attributes which are not related to the character layout but designated or changed from menu screens. For instance, typeface attributes (e.g. Mincho typeface, Gothic typeface, and the like), and character modification attributes (italic, outline, etc.), are also designated or changed from menu screens.
As described above, there are many kinds of character size-related attributes, and hence the menu screens are made hierarchical in practice, so that the operation for changing one menu screen for a character size-related attribute to another for another character size-related attribute is troublesome.
Further, for beginning users, it is difficult to determine which is the best combination of relative sizes for lines, and therefore, most users prefer to select the “character size-entrusting mode”. However, since there are two kinds of this mode, users often desire to make a change between them. This change is also made via one of the aforementioned menu screens which are hierarchical, and hence the operation required therefor is troublesome.
Similarly, the layout attribute, typeface attribute, and character modification attribute are also changed via respective menu screens therefor, and requires troublesome operations.
These inconveniences are encountered not only when the tape printing apparatus is used but also when other character information processing apparatuses (e.g. stamp making apparatus) which involves setting of various kinds of character size attributes for each line, various kinds of layout attributes, etc.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is a first object of the invention to provide a character information processing apparatus which is easy to operate in changing a setting of a predetermined attribute concerning the character layout or each single character of a character string (character size attribute of each line, layout attribute, typeface attribute, character modification attribute, and the like).
It is a second object of the invention to provide a character information processing apparatus which permits present settings of predetermined attributes concerning the character layout or each single character of a character string to be correctly grasped, thereby permitting proper judgement of necessity of modification or confirmation of the resulting modification.
To attain the above object, according to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a character information processing apparatus for printing at least one line
Horii Nobuyuki
Hosokawa Takeshi
Nakamura Tomoki
Suetani Takuya
Evans Arthur G.
Hogan & Hartson L.L.P.
Seiko Epson Corporation
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