Facsimile and static presentation processing – Static presentation processing – Communication
Reexamination Certificate
1998-10-23
2003-03-11
Garcia, Gabriel (Department: 2724)
Facsimile and static presentation processing
Static presentation processing
Communication
C358S001120, C358S001180
Reexamination Certificate
active
06532078
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a tape printing apparatus for printing print images comprised of inputted characters, symbols, figures and their combinations on tapes so as to obtain printed labels or the like, and more particularly to a tape printing apparatus which splits a print image larger in width than a tape width into split images, for printing.
2. Prior Art
In a typical tape printing apparatus for producing labels and the like, the dot number of a print image in the direction of the width thereof is limited by a tape width and the print resolution with respect to the tape width. That is, the maximum printable width of a print image is limited to a tape width. On the other hand, there has been proposed a tape printing apparatus which is capable of printing a character string (e.g. of horizontal writing) comprised of enlarged characters with sizes in the direction of the width of the tape (e.g. with character heights in horizontal writing) n times as large as those of standard characters printable within the width of a tape mounted in the apparatus, by splitting the character string into n portions and allocating the n portions to n tapes, respectively (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 63-162256).
The proposed tape printing apparatus is used for producing a so-called transfer tape on which is printed an image subjected to pressure-sensitive transfer printing. For instance, assuming that n=two, to facilitate registration of the upper half of a character with the lower half of the same, no lower margin is provided when the upper half of the character is printed, no upper margin is provided when the lower half of the character is printed. Further, when n is not an integer, e.g. when n=1.5, a second tape to be printed has a lower half thereof printed as a blank space.
However, the above tape printing apparatus for producing transfer tapes can only set the proportion of an image element representative of a character string comprised of characters, such as letters and symbols, so that it is impossible for the apparatus to form and print a print image including a desired background image, such as an outer frame and a background pattern. Further, when the print image has a width larger than a tape width, a character string image has to be split at an intermediate portion thereof for printing, and hence, if the apparatus is used for creating labels, when printed strips of the tape are cut off and affixed to a desired place (affixing area) such that corresponding side edges thereof meet each other, a background color or the like of the affixing area can be viewed through a gap undesirably formed between the printed tape strips, or connecting portions of outlines of respective characters can be displaced together, resulting in unattractive appearance of the combined label.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is a first object of the invention to provide a split image-forming method and device for a tape printing apparatus, which are capable of forming a plurality of split images each printable on a tape as an element forming a print (basic) image which is larger in width than a tape and has character string images arranged in a background image including an outer frame and a background pattern, and more particularly, a method and device of the above kinds for forming attractive split images when the split images are connected to each other after they are printed.
It is a second object of the invention to provide a split image-printing method and device for a tape printing apparatus, which are capable of printing split images formed by the above split image-forming method and device.
To attain the first object, according to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of forming split images to be printed on a tape by a tape printing apparatus, the method comprising the steps of:
detecting a basic image width D
0
representative of a width of a basic image which contains m (m is an integer equal to or larger 1) lines of character string images and a background image including at least one of an outer frame and a background pattern and having the m lines of character string images arranged therein;
detecting provisional split image widths PRD(j)(j is an integer from 1 to m) each representative of a width of each of the m lines of character string images;
determining whether or not the basic image width D
0
is larger than a tape image width W representative of a width of the tape, and at the same time all of the provisional split image widths PRD(j) are each smaller than the tape image width W; and
dividing the basic image width D
0
into n (n is an integer larger than 1, and at the same time m≦n) split image widths D(i) (i is an integer from 1 to n, provided that D(i)≦W and a sum total &Sgr;D(i)=D
0
) representative of respective widths of n split images including m split images containing the m lines of character string images, respectively, on condition that it is determined that the basic image width D
0
is larger than the tape image width W, and at the same time the all of the provisional split image widths PRD(j) are each smaller than the tape image width W, to thereby divide the basic image into the n split images in a manner such that the m lines of character images can be separately printed on the tape without splitting any of the lines.
To attain the first object, according to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a split image-forming device for forming split images to be printed on a tape by a tape printing apparatus, comprising:
a first detecting section for detecting a basic image width D
0
representative of a width of a basic image which contains m (m is an integer equal to or larger 1) lines of character string images and a background image including at least one of an outer frame and a background pattern and having the m lines of character string images arranged therein;
a second detecting section for detecting provisional split image widths PRD(j) (j is an integer from 1 to m) each representative of a width of each of the m lines of character string images;
a determining section for determining whether or not the basic image width D
0
is larger than a tape image width W corresponding to a real tape width as a width of the tape, and at the same time all of the provisional split image widths PRD(j) are each smaller than the tape image width W; and
a dividing section for dividing the basic image width D
0
into n (n is an integer larger than 1, and at the same time m≦n) split image widths D(i) (i is an integer from 1 to n, provided that D(i)≦W and a sum total &Sgr;D(i)=D
0
) representative of respective widths of n split images including m split images containing the m lines of character string images, respectively, on condition that it is determined that the basic image width D
0
is larger than the tape image width W, and at the same time the all of the provisional split image widths PRD(j) are each smaller than the tape image width W, to thereby divide the basic image into the n split images in a manner such that the m lines of character images can be separately printed on the tape without splitting any of the lines.
According to these method and device, the basic image width D
0
of the basic image which has m lines (1≦m) of character string images arranged on a background image is divided into the n (1<n, m≦n) split image widths D(i) (i=1 to n, where D(i)≦W, the sum total &Sgr;D(i)=D
0
) including m split image widths corresponding to the m lines, to thereby split the basic image into n split images having the respective n split image widths D(i). In this process, it is only required that the basic image width D
0
is larger than the tape image width W, and at the same time each of the provisional split image widths PRD(j) (j=1 to m) of the m character string images arranged therein is smaller than the tape image width W.
For instance, in the case of m=1, assuming that the width of a backgrou
Garcia Gabriel
Hogan & Hartson LLP
Poon King Y.
Seiko Epson Corporation
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