Printer and method thereof
A two-stage input process with a dial and level gauge enhances user engagement and prevents malfunctions by requiring deliberate effort, addressing the lack of anticipation in existing printing technologies.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- WO · WO
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- FUJIFILM CORP
- Filing Date
- 2026-01-14
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-23
Smart Images
Figure JP2026000891_23072026_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
Printer and method thereof
[0001] The present invention relates to a portable printing machine and a method thereof.
[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a digital camera with a printer that displays an image obtained by an imaging unit on a rear display unit and performs print processing on the image displayed on the rear display unit.
[0003] International Publication No. 2018 / 147069
[0004] In Patent Document 1, when print processing is started, after exposure is performed on the film unit stored inside, the exposed film unit is sequentially sent out by a conveyance roller and the developing solution in the film unit is developed and discharged to the outside. Therefore, the print processing goes through various steps such as exposure, conveyance, and development of the developing solution. On the other hand, in Patent Document 1, when a user performs print processing, the user simply presses the print switch on the operation unit. For the user, it was difficult to actually feel that the print processing was performed through various steps as described above. Therefore, the print processing itself was uninteresting, and it was difficult to obtain a sense of expectation until the print processing was completed.
[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a printing machine and a method thereof that can obtain a sense of expectation until printing is completed.
[0006] The present invention is a portable printing machine that executes printing when it receives a first input and a second input that is performed after the first input.
[0007] The first input and the second input are preferably the same operation. When no input is received for a predetermined period between the start of the first input and the completion of the second input, it is preferable to cancel the printing. The first input and the second input are preferably rotational operations of a dial.
[0008] A level gauge indicating the rotation status of the dial is provided, and it is preferable to increase or decrease the level gauge in accordance with the rotation of the dial and display it on the display. If no operation is accepted on the dial for a predetermined period after the dial rotation has started, it is preferable to reset the gauge.
[0009] In a display that shows the image to be printed, it is preferable that the size of the image to be printed is changed to match the print output size in accordance with the rotation of the dial. In the display, it is preferable that the position of the image to be printed moves in the print output direction.
[0010] If, after the dial has started rotating, no further input is accepted for a predetermined period, it is preferable to return the size of the image to be printed to its size before the dial rotation began.
[0011] The present invention relates to a printing method using a portable printer, wherein printing is performed when a first input and a second input performed after the first input are received.
[0012] According to the present invention, a sense of anticipation can be obtained until the printing is completed.
[0013] This is a schematic diagram of a printing press. This is a side view of a printing press equipped with a dial. This is a rear view of a printing press displaying a level gauge. (A), (B), and (C) are explanatory diagrams showing how the image to be printed changes in accordance with the rotation of the dial. (A) is an explanatory diagram showing the image to be printed while the dial is being operated, and (B) is an explanatory diagram showing the image to be printed when there is no dial operation from (A). (A) is an explanatory diagram showing the image to be printed when the dial is operated in the R1 direction, and (B) is an explanatory diagram showing the image to be printed when the dial is operated in the R2 direction.
[0014] As shown in Figure 1, the printer 10 is portable and displays images captured from imaging or memory on the display 12, and prints the images as printed materials PT from the printout unit 13. The printer 10 executes printing when it receives a first input and a second input which follows the first input. By making the printing process a two-stage input process, adding a second input in addition to the first input, the printer can create a sense of anticipation until printing begins by deliberately requiring the user to take some effort. In addition, the two-stage input process can eliminate malfunctions in response to print instructions.
[0015] It is preferable that the first and second inputs are the same operation. By making them the same operation, it is possible to increase the user's anticipation of printing simply by requiring them to put in some effort, without making the operation complex. Furthermore, it is preferable to cancel printing if no input is received for a predetermined period between the start of the first input and the completion of the second input. This further helps to prevent malfunctions. Note that "same operation" means that the type of input operation is the same, such as rotating a dial, but the number of inputs, input time, etc. may differ.
[0016] The first and second inputs are preferably performed by rotating a dial 15 provided on the printing press 10. As shown in Figure 2, the dial 15 has a retractable rotating lever 15a, and by operating the rotating lever 15a, it can rotate around the rotation axis AX in the R1 direction or in the R2 direction opposite to the R1 direction. When using the dial 15, for example, it is preferable that the first input is 5 rotations of the dial 15 in the R1 direction, and the second input is 5 rotations of the dial 15 in the R1 direction. Therefore, in the printing press 10, printing is performed by rotating the dial 15 10 times in the R1 direction.
[0017] As shown in Figure 3, the rotation status of the dial 15 is indicated by a level gauge 20 displayed on the display 12. When the dial is rotated in the R1 direction, the gauge 20a increases, and when the dial is rotated in the R2 direction, the gauge 20a decreases. In this way, increasing the gauge in accordance with the rotation of the dial enhances the sense of anticipation for printing, while decreasing the gauge in accordance with the rotation of the dial can create a sense of disappointment. In Figure 3, a solid line indicates the presence of a gauge, and a dotted line indicates the absence of a gauge. In this embodiment, the level gauge 20 consists of 10 gauges, and for each rotation of the dial 15 in the R1 direction, the gauge increases by 1, and for each rotation of the dial in the R2 direction, the gauge decreases by 1. When the gauge reaches 10, printing is executed. On the other hand, if no operation is accepted on the dial 15 for a predetermined period after the rotation of the dial 15 has started, printing is canceled and the gauge is reset to 0.
[0018] As shown in Figure 4(A), the image 22 to be printed is displayed across the entire display 12 unless the dial 15 is operated. Preferably, the size of the image 22 to be printed is changed to match the print output size in accordance with the rotation of the dial 15. In addition, it is preferable that the position of the image 22 to be printed on the display 12 is moved in the print output direction P (the output direction from the printout unit 13) in accordance with the rotation of the dial. On the other hand, if the dial 15 is not rotated for a certain period of time after the dial 15 has been started to rotate, it is preferable that the size of the image 22 on the display 12 be returned to the size of the image before the dial 15 was rotated.
[0019] In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 4(B), when the dial 15 is rotated in the R1 direction, the aspect ratio of the image 22 to be printed is adjusted to the aspect ratio of the printed material PT to be output. From this state, if the dial 15 is rotated further in the R1 direction, an outer frame 22a is added around the image 22, as shown in Figure 4(C). As a result, the size of the image with the outer frame added becomes the same as the print size, and the printed image can be checked on the display 12. Furthermore, by rotating the dial 15 further in the R1 direction, the position of the image gradually moves toward the output direction P.
[0020] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 5(A), if no operation is accepted on the dial 15 for a predetermined period while the dial 15 is rotating in the R1 direction, the image on the display 12 is restored to the image size of the entire display 12, which was the image size before the dial 15 began to rotate, as shown in Figure 5(B). Also, as shown in Figure 6(A), if the dial 15 is rotated in the R2 direction while the dial 15 is rotating in the R1 direction, the image size on the display 12 is enlarged again, as shown in Figure 6(B), starting from the beginning of the dial 15's rotation.
[0021] 10 Printer 12 Display 13 Printout section 15 Dial 15a Rotating lever 20 Level gauge 20a Gauge 22 Image 22a Outer frame P Output direction
Claims
1. A portable printing press that performs printing upon receiving a first input and a second input performed after the first input.
2. The printing machine according to claim 1, wherein the first input and the second input perform the same operation.
3. The printer according to claim 1, which cancels printing if no input is received for a predetermined period of time between the start of the first input and the completion of the second input.
4. The printing press according to claim 1, wherein the first input and the second input are the rotational operation of a dial.
5. A level gauge that indicates the rotation status of the dial, wherein the level gauge is increased or decreased in accordance with the rotation of the dial and displayed on a display, according to claim 4.
6. The printing press according to claim 5, wherein if no operation is accepted on the dial after the dial has started to rotate for a predetermined period of time, the gauge is reset.
7. The printer according to claim 4, wherein the size of the image to be printed is changed in accordance with the rotation of the dial to match the output size of the print, in a display that displays the image to be printed.
8. The printing machine according to claim 7, wherein the position of the image to be printed on the display moves in the printing output direction.
9. The printer according to claim 7, which, if no operation is accepted on the dial after the dial has started rotating, returns the size of the image to be printed to the size of the image before the dial started rotating.
10. A printing method using a portable printer, wherein printing is performed when a first input and a second input performed after the first input are received.