Printing apparatus and controller therefor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9304671-B2
Application number	US-76749910-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 26, 2010
Priority date	Apr 24, 2009
Publication date	Apr 5, 2016
Grant date	Apr 5, 2016

Abstract

A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium, said computer program configured to control a controller to: output, to a display driver, data for causing the display driver to drive a display of a printing apparatus to display, in a first area of the display, a plurality of images including a first image, wherein the plurality of images are representative of a plurality of respective different types of label data field, and to display a second image representative of the appearance of a label medium occupying a second area of the display that is different from the first area; and in response to receiving, from a selector, information comprising data representative of an operation of the selector by a user to select the first image and data representative of a position within the second area, output, to the display driver, data for causing the display driver to drive the display to display a revised version of the second image representative of the appearance of the label medium; wherein the revised version of the second image comprises a label data field of the type of label data field of which the first image is representative, and wherein the label data field comprised in the revised version of the second image is located at a location determined in dependence on said position within the second area.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A non-transitory computer readable medium configured to control a controller to:
output, to a display driver, data for causing the display driver to drive a display of a printing apparatus to display, in a first area of the display, a plurality of images including a first image, wherein the plurality of images are representative of a plurality of respective different types of label data field, and to display a second image representative of the appearance of a label medium occupying a second area of the display that is different from the first area; the label data fields comprising data fields insertable into the second image representative of a label medium; and
in response to receiving, from a selector, information comprising data representative of an operation of the selector by a user to select the first image, wherein the first image occupies a first region within the first area, and wherein the data representative of an operation of the selector by the user to select the first image comprises data representative of a first position within the first region, and wherein the information comprises data representative of operation of the selector by the user to perform a drag and drop operation on at least one of the plurality of images representative of the plurality of respective different types of label data field from said first position within the first region to a selected position within the second image representative of the appearance of a label medium occupying the second area;
output, to the display driver, data for causing the display driver to drive the display to display a revised version of the second image representative of the appearance of the label medium;
wherein the revised version of the second image comprises a first label data field of the type of label data field of which the first image is representative; and
wherein the first label data field comprised in the revised version of the second image is located at a location determined in dependence on said position within the second image representative of the appearance of a label medium occupying the second area, wherein the first label data field is empty;
and in response to receiving an operation of the selector by the user to perform a drag and drop operation of a further image from a further region within the first area to a further position within the second area, the further image representative of a second label data field that is different to the first label data field, display a further revised version of the second image in which the second label data field is located at a location determined in dependence on said further position within the second area, and wherein the second label data field is empty;
and re-position the first image and the further image relative to each other in the second image representative of the appearance of a label medium in response to at least one further drag and drop operation.

2. The non-transitory computer readable medium as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first label data field comprised in the revised version of the second image occupies a region that includes said position within the second area.

3. The non-transitory computer readable medium as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first label data field comprised in the revised version of the second image has an edge or a corner that occupies said position within the second area.

4. The non-transitory computer readable medium as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first label data field comprises at least one of a text data field, a barcode data field or an image data field, and the second label data field comprises a different one of a text data field, a barcode data field or an image data field.

5. The non-transitory computer readable medium as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first label data field comprises a text data field and a prompt for text to be entered in the text data field.

6. The non-transitory computer readable medium as claimed in claim 1 wherein the printing apparatus comprises a printer connected to a computer.

7. An apparatus comprising:
a controller configured:
to output, to a display driver, data for causing the display driver to drive a display of a printing apparatus to display, in a first area of the display, a plurality of images including a first image, wherein the plurality of images are representative of a plurality of respective different types of label data field, and to display a second image representative of the appearance of a label medium occupying a second area of the display that is different from the first area, the label data fields comprising data fields insertable into the second image representative of a label medium; and
in response to receiving, from a selector, information comprising data representative of an operation of the selector by a user to select the first image, wherein the first image occupies a first region within the first area, and wherein the data representative of the operation of the selector by the user to select the first image comprises data representative of a first position within the first region, and wherein the information comprises data representative of an operation of the selector by the user to perform a drag and drop operation on at least one of the plurality of images representative of the plurality of respective different types of label data field from said first position within the first region to a selected position within the second image representative of the appearance of a label medium occupying the second area;
to output, to the display driver, data for causing the display driver to drive the display to display a revised version of the second image representative of the appearance of the label medium;
wherein the revised version of the second image comprises a first label data field of the type of label data field of which the first image is representative; and
wherein the first label data field comprised in the revised version of the second image is located at a location determined in dependence on said position within the second area, wherein the first label data field is empty;
and in response to receiving an operation of the selector by the user to perform a drag and drop operation of a further image from a further region within the first area to a further position within the second area, the further image representative of a second label data field that is different to the first label data field; display a further revised version of the second image in which the second label data field is located at a location determined in dependence on said further position within the second area, and wherein the second label data field is empty;
and re-position the first image and the further image relative to each other in the second image representative of the appearance of a label medium in response to at least one further drag and drop operation.

8. A method, comprising:
outputting, from a controller to a display driver, data for causing the display driver to drive a display of a printing apparatus to display, in a first area of the display, a plurality of images including a first image, wherein the plurality of images are representative of a plurality of respective different types of label data field, and to display a second image representative of the appearance of a label medium occupying a second area of the display that is different from the first area, the label data fields comprising data fields insertable into the second image representative of a label medium; and
in response to receiving, at the controller from a selector, information comprising data representative of an operation of the selector by a user to select the first image, wherein the first image occupies a first regi

Assignees

• Allen David
• Calde Steven M
• Hsu Chia-Kai
• Hsu Nelson
• Buzuev Vladimir
• Greenwood Wayne
• Sanford Lp

Inventors

• Allen David
• Calde Steven M
• Hsu Chia-Kai
• Hsu Nelson
• Buzuev Vladimir
• Greenwood Wayne

Classifications

• G06F3/0488

  using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures · CPC title

• G06F3/1208 Primary

  resulting in improved quality of the output result, e.g. print layout, colours, workflows, print preview · CPC title

• G06F40/166

  Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting · CPC title

• G06F3/04847 Primary

  Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials · CPC title

• G06F3/1205

  resulting in increased flexibility in print job configuration, e.g. job settings, print requirements, job tickets · CPC title