Non-transitory recording medium, image forming device, and image forming system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10308014-B2
Application number	US-201816004563-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 11, 2018
Priority date	Jun 13, 2017
Publication date	Jun 4, 2019
Grant date	Jun 4, 2019

Abstract

A computer program for an information processing device communicating with a droplet discharging device is provided. The droplet discharging device is configured to form rendering data on a printing medium by being moved by a user on the printing medium, and includes a position calculation unit for calculating a position of the droplet discharging device, and a droplet discharging unit for discharging a droplet in accordance with the rendering data and location information. The computer program is configured to cause the information processing device to function as a scanning direction output unit for outputting a scanning direction of the droplet discharging device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a computer program to be executed by an information processing device communicating with an image forming device configured to form image data on a printing medium by being moved by a user on the printing medium,
the image forming device including a position calculation unit for calculating a position of the image forming device, and an image forming unit for forming an image in accordance with the image data and location information,
the computer program being configured:
to cause the information processing device to function as a scanning direction output unit for outputting a scanning direction of the image forming device,
wherein the scanning direction output unit displays a preview image of the image data formed on the printing medium, and outputs the scanning direction by superimposing on the preview image.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 1 , the computer program further being configured to cause the information processing device to function as a receiving unit for receiving a setting related to the scanning direction,
wherein the scanning direction output unit outputs the scanning direction based on the setting received by the receiving unit.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 1 , wherein the image data is generated by converting text data including at least one line, and the scanning direction output unit outputs the scanning direction by superimposing on the text data displayed as the preview image.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 3 , wherein the scanning direction output unit outputs the scanning direction for each scanning path, the scanning path being a part of the image data capable of being formed on the printing medium in a single scan of the image forming device.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 4 , wherein the scanning direction output unit determines a number of lines of the text data capable of being formed on the printing medium in the single scan of the image forming device, based on a specification of the image forming device, and determines the text data of the number of lines as the scanning path.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 4 , wherein the scanning direction output unit displays a first arrow indicating the scanning direction by superimposing on the scanning path which is being scanned by the image forming device, while moving the first arrow toward the scanning direction periodically.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 4 , wherein the scanning direction output unit displays a second arrow indicating the scanning direction on each of the scanning paths.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 4 , wherein the scanning direction output unit detects a completion of a scan of one of the scanning paths by a communication with the image forming device, and displays the one of the scanning paths in a different style from another scanning path not having been scanned.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 4 , wherein the scanning direction output unit detects a completion of a scan of one of the scanning paths by a communication with the image forming device, and in a case in which at least one scanning path has not been scanned, displays a line feed direction between a current scanning path which has been scanned most recently and a scanning path next to the current scanning path.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 6 ,
wherein the computer program is further configured to cause the information processing device to acquire, with respect to a current scanning path which is being scanned, information concerning to what extent the current scanning path has been formed on the printing medium by the image forming device, and
the scanning direction output unit displays the first arrow on a part of the current scanning path which has not been formed on the printing medium.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 10 , wherein the scanning direction output unit displays a part of the current scanning path which has been formed on the printing medium and a remainder of the current scanning path, which is the part of the current scanning path which has not been formed on the printing medium, in different styles.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 10 ,
wherein the scanning direction output unit, in a case in which a scanning direction of the current scanning path, estimated based on the information concerning to what extent the current scanning path has been formed on the printing medium, is different from a scanning direction set to the current scanning path, displays information indicating that the image forming device is moved toward a different direction.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 10 ,
wherein the computer program is further configured to cause the information processing device to acquire the location information as the information concerning to what extent the current scanning path has been formed on the printing medium, and
the scanning direction output unit displays an amount of movement of the image forming device in a line feed direction required for moving the image forming device to a scanning path next to the current scanning path, based on the location information.

14. An image forming device configured to form image data on a printing medium by being moved by a user on the printing medium, the image forming device comprising:
a position calculation unit for calculating a position of the image forming device,
an image forming unit for discharging a droplet forming an image in accordance with the image data and location information, and
a scanning direction output unit for outputting a scanning direction of the image forming device, wherein
the scanning direction output unit displays a preview image of the image data formed on the printing medium, and outputs the scanning direction superimposing on the preview image.

15. An image forming system comprising:
an image forming device configured to form image data on a printing medium by being moved by a user on the printing medium, the image forming device including a position calculation unit for calculating a position of the image forming device, and an image forming unit for forming an image in accordance with the image data and location information; and
a computer program for causing an information processing device communicating with the image forming device to function as a scanning direction output unit for outputting a scanning direction of the image forming device, wherein
the scanning direction output unit displays a preview image of the image data formed on the printing medium, and outputs the scanning direction by superimposing on the preview image.

Assignees

• Watanabe Jun
• Harada Yasunari
• Iijima Hideaki
• Tanaka Hiroki
• Hosokawa Toshiaki
• SHITAOKA Shunsuke
• Ricoh Co Ltd

Inventors

• Watanabe Jun
• Harada Yasunari
• Iijima Hideaki
• Tanaka Hiroki
• Hosokawa Toshiaki
• SHITAOKA Shunsuke

Classifications

• B41J2/04505 Primary

  aiming at correcting alignment · CPC title

• B41J3/36 Primary

  for portability {, i.e. hand-held printers or laptop printers (B41J3/4075 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• B41J2/04586

  controlling heads of a type not covered by groups B41J2/04575 - B41J2/04585, or of an undefined type · CPC title

• B41J3/46

  Printing mechanisms combined with apparatus providing a visual indication · CPC title