Tape printing apparatus that calculates character sizes and line lengths

• US 5,562,353 A
• Filed: 10/31/1994
• Issued: 10/08/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Inventors: Handa, Yuji, Mochinaga, Nobuyuki, Kim, Hiroki
• Primary Examiner(s): Burr, Edgar S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): KELLEY, STEVEN SHAUN
• Application Number:
  US08/332,582
• Time in Patent Office: 708 Days
• Field of Search: 400/83, 400/615.2, 400/61, 400/76, 400/9, 400/15
• US Class Current: 400/615.2
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 3/4075 Tape printers; Label printers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/109 Font handling; Temporal or kinetic typography

Abstract

A plurality of types of format data items are stored in a format storage section according to the width of a label tape and the number of lines of print data. A tape width sensing section senses the width of the label tape. A control section senses the number of lines of print data. The control section reads from the format storage section a plurality of formats corresponding to the sensed label tape width and the number of lines of print data sensed, and displays them on a display section. The user selects a suitable one from the plurality of formats displayed. The control section causes a printing section to print the entered data on the label tape according to the selected format.

Claims

1. A printing apparatus comprising:

input means for inputting print data including characters;

number-of-lines detecting means for detecting a number of lines of the print data input by said input means;

size detecting means for detecting a size of a printing medium on which the print data is to be printed;

determining means for determining a line length for each line of the print data input by said input means;

calculation means for calculating a ratio of a maximum line length of the print data which is determined by said determining means to a minimum line length thereof;

print data forming means including;

means for determining sizes of characters of the lines respectively corresponding to the maximum line length and the minimum line length in accordance with the ratio obtained by said calculation means so that the lines corresponding to the maximum line length and the minimum line length are printed in an adjacent length; and

means for forming dot pattern data from the print data in accordance with the sizes of the characters; and

printing means for printing a dot pattern corresponding to the dot pattern data formed from the print data by said print data forming means, on said printing medium.

2. A printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

said printing medium comprises a printing tape; and

said size detecting means includes means for detecting a width of the printing tape.

3. A printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said printing medium comprises a label tape.