Printing apparatus and text input program

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10659648-B2
Application number	US-201916240851-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 7, 2019
Priority date	Jan 9, 2018
Publication date	May 19, 2020
Grant date	May 19, 2020

Abstract

In S 210 , a character size and an inter-column size are calculated using a virtual body size in S 206 , and the character size and an inter-character size (inter-column size) are reflected in properties of each text box. In step S 301 , a position and a size of each text box are set, in step S 302 , the character size is set in the property of each text box, and in the following step S 304 , the inter-character size is set in the property so that characters do not overlap in each text box. Thereafter, in S 306 , the text boxes are superimposed so that reference frames of adjacent characters are in contact with each other.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A printing apparatus comprising:
a printing mechanism that prints the character string inside a predetermined text box; and
a processor that controls the printing mechanism,
wherein the processor receives an input of a character string, allocates characters of the character string to at least two text boxes so that an adjacent character constituting the character string is inserted in a separate text box, sets a character size and an inter-character size in a text box so that a part of an outer frame of the adjacent character is placed inside an outer frame of a character and a part of the outer frame of the adjacent character is placed outside the outer frame of the character, and controls the printing mechanism so that the text box is superimposed and printed to place the part of the outer frame of the adjacent character inside the outer frame,
the two text boxes includes a first text box and a second text box, and
the processor controls the printing mechanism so that the text box is superimposed and printed to place a character portion of one of the first text box and the second text box and an inter-character portion of the other of the first text box and the second text box in an overlapping manner;
wherein the processor determines the character size based on a virtual body size calculated by the following expression:
(virtual body size)=(frame size of printing area/number of characters)×((virtual body size)/(reference frame size)).

2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the processor controls the printing mechanism so that the text boxes are superimposed and printed so that inner frames of adjacent characters are in contact with each other.

3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the outer frame is an ascender line and a descender line, and an inner frame of the character is a cap line and a base line.

4. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the outer frame is a reference line placed above an ascender line in a character height and a descender line, and an inner frame of the character is a cap line and a base line.

5. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the processor determines an inner frame according to whether a character or a symbol requiring an area between the inner frame of the character and the outer frame is present or not in the character string.

6. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the processor inserts all the character strings into one text box if the character size when the character string is inserted in one text box is greater than or equal to a threshold value, and allocates the characters of the character string to at least two text boxes if the character size when the character string is inserted in one text box is less than the threshold value.

7. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the processor allocates the characters of the character string in four alignment directions in a character alignment direction of the character string and a direction orthogonal to the character alignment direction of the character string when allocating the characters of the character string to at least two text boxes.

8. A printing apparatus comprising:
a printing mechanism; and
a processor,
wherein the processor receives an input of a character string from a user, allocates characters of the character string to at least two text boxes so that an adjacent character is inserted in a separate text box, sets a character size and an inter-character size in a text box so that a part of an outer frame of the adjacent character is placed inside an outer frame of a character, and controls the printing mechanism so that the text box is superimposed and printed to place the part of the outer frame of the adjacent character inside the outer frame,
wherein the outer frame is a virtual body, and an inner frame of the character is a reference frame,
wherein the processor determines the character size based on a virtual body size calculated by the following expression:
(virtual body size)=(frame size of printing area/number of characters)×((virtual body size)/(reference frame size)).

9. The printing apparatus according to claim 8 ,
wherein the processor determines the inter-character size based on the following expression:
(inter-character size)=(calculated virtual body size)−((virtual body size)−(reference frame size)).

10. A non-transitory storage medium for storing a text input program for causing a computer to realize:
a function of controlling a printing mechanism; and
a processor function,
wherein the processor function is to receive an input of a character string from a user, to allocate characters of the character string to at least two text boxes so that an adjacent character is inserted in a separate text box, to set a character size and an inter-character size in the text box so that a part of an outer frame of the adjacent character is placed inside an outer frame of a character and a part of the outer frame of the adjacent character is placed outside the outer frame of the character, and to control the printing mechanism so that the text box is superimposed and printed to place the part of the outer frame of the adjacent character inside the outer frame,
the two text boxes includes a first text box and a second text box, and
the processor function is further to control the printing mechanism so that the text box is superimposed and printed to place a character portion of one of the first text box and the second text box and an inter-character portion of the other of the first text box and the second text box in an overlapping manner;
wherein the processor function determines the character size based on a virtual body size calculated by the following expression:
(virtual body size)=(frame size of printing area/number of characters)×((virtual body size)/(reference frame size)).

Assignees

• Seiko Epson Corp

Inventors

• Hamaguchi Yoshihiro

Classifications

• G06F40/109

  Font handling; Temporal or kinetic typography · CPC title

• H04N1/00384

  Key input means, e.g. buttons or keypads (electromechanical details of key input means in general H01H13/00) · CPC title

• H04N1/32219 Primary

  involving changing the position of selected pixels, e.g. word shifting, or involving modulating the size of image components, e.g. of characters (H04N1/32224 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G06K9/348

  Physics · mapped topic

• G06V30/158

  using character size, text spacings or pitch estimation · CPC title