Touch Panel Printing Apparatus for Narrow Tape Character Visibility

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing printing apparatuses struggle with producing highly visible prints on narrow print receiving tapes when users input handwritten data in a narrow space, leading to small character sizes and reduced functionality of the labels, tags, or slips.

Innovation Solution

A printing apparatus that includes an image data generating device, a blank space detecting device, and a printing data generating device to process touch detection signals from a touch panel, identifying line data and blank spaces, and aligning them to match the tape width, ensuring larger character sizes and improved visibility.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If the character inputting area is simply reduced to match the width of the print receiving tape, then the printing can be made on narrow tapes, but the characters become too small to be read and visibility decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveadaptability to narrow tapesVSAvoidcharacter size and visibility

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the image data processing into distinct functional components: a blank space detecting device that identifies empty areas, a line data extracting device that isolates character data, and a printing data generating device that reconstructs the data with optimized spacing. This segmentation allows the system to remove unnecessary blank spaces while preserving character integrity, enabling clear printing on narrow tapes without simply scaling down the entire character inputting area.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Adaptability or versatility

If the character inputting area is reduced to match the tape width, then printing on narrow tapes is enabled, but the function of the label deteriorates over time

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecompatibility with narrow tapesVSAvoidfunctionality of label

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the parameters of the image data by detecting and removing blank spaces, thereby optimizing the density and distribution of printed characters. This parameter optimization ensures that characters remain sufficiently large and well-spaced even on narrow tapes, maintaining the label's readability and functional reliability over time while adapting to various tape widths.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentUS9120329B2Printing apparatus for printing on print receiving tape, printing method and recording medium

Publication Date: 2015.09.01 CASIO COMPUTER CO LTD

AI summary

A printing apparatus includes an image data generating device to generate image data based on a touch detection signal supplied from a written character inputting area of a touch panel inputting device, a blank space detecting device to detect and identify line data and blank space data based on the image data, an alignment processing device to delete the blank space data from the image data and to align the remaining line data end to end in a tape conveying direction of a print receiving tape, a printing data generating device to generate printing data by executing a size conversion of the line data aligned end to end so as to match the line data to a tape width, and a printing processing device to execute a printing process on the print receiving tape based on the printing data.