JP2005335317A - Portable printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate operations related to printing on a portable printer side and to reduce the size and cost of the portable printer.
An infrared transmission / reception unit 105 that receives character data from a mobile phone 200 by at least infrared communication, for example, and the received character data are converted into print data. A print head that performs printing based on the code, and further includes a control information for switching the function of the mobile phone 200 to, for example, a character input transmission mode at an arbitrary position of the printer main body 101 of the portable printer 100 Information 111 is provided.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable printer that prints character data and the like from a cellular phone.

  In recent years, mobile phones are not limited to calls, and are capable of sending and receiving e-mails and accessing the Internet, as well as being able to take images with a built-in camera. On the other hand, with the widespread use of such mobile phones, development of portable printers that can easily print characters and e-mail content input by mobile phones, and images taken by a built-in camera has also progressed. It's getting on.

  As for how to use a portable printer, for example, outdoors, information such as telephone numbers and e-mail addresses entered using a mobile phone, and information such as maps obtained via the Internet are printed and provided to others. There are ways to do it.

  By the way, a general portable printer is connected to a cellular phone with a dedicated cable, and receives character data from the cellular phone and performs printing. However, when using a portable printer outdoors, for example, it is necessary not only to carry a dedicated cable but also to connect a dedicated cable between the portable printer and a mobile phone for printing. It is very annoying.

  Therefore, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-260260, character data from a mobile phone is printed without using a dedicated cable. For example, in Patent Document 1, a paper input / output terminal connection portion and a paper discharge tray are used to discharge paper. Has proposed a portable printer comprising a paper discharge button, an operation panel for performing operations such as selecting print contents, and a liquid crystal display unit for displaying a print mode and the like.

According to this, by connecting the data input / output terminal of the mobile phone to the connection part of the printer, it is possible to capture and print the character data of the e-mail received by the mobile phone and to charge the mobile phone. To be done.
JP 2001-251408 A

  However, in the portable printer disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, when printing character data from a cellular phone, the data input / output terminal of the cellular phone is connected to the connection portion of the printer, and the operation panel on the portable printer side is connected. Since it is necessary to select character data or the like to be printed by operating, the operation becomes complicated.

  In addition, since an operation panel that performs operations such as selecting print contents on the portable printer and a liquid crystal display unit that displays the print mode, etc. are installed, the portable printer can be reduced in size and cost. It will be an obstacle.

  The problem to be solved is that when character data from a cellular phone is printed, if the character data to be printed is selected by operating the operation panel of the portable printer, the operation becomes complicated. If an operation panel for selecting printing contents, etc., or a liquid crystal display for displaying the printing mode, etc. are installed in the portable printer, it will hinder miniaturization and cost reduction of the portable printer. That is the point.

The portable printer of the present invention is a portable printer that receives and prints data related to printing from a mobile phone, and receives data related to printing from the mobile phone by infrared communication; and When the data related to the printing is received, the printer includes a control unit that converts the data related to the printing into print data, and a printing unit that performs printing based on the converted print data. And code information including control information for switching the function of the mobile phone to a mode related to communication with the data receiving means when taken and decoded by the built-in camera of the mobile phone, and the control means When the data related to the printing is received from the mobile phone that has decoded the code information, the decoded control included in the data is received. Characterized in that to perform printing to said printing means on the basis of the distribution.
Moreover, the function of the said mobile telephone can be provided with the code information containing the control information which switches to character input transmission mode.
Further, the function of the mobile phone can be provided with code information including control information for switching to the image transmission mode.
In the portable printer according to the present invention, when the code information is photographed and decoded by the built-in camera of the mobile phone, the function of the mobile phone is switched to a mode related to communication with the data receiving means, and printing from the mobile phone is performed. When the data related to is received by the data receiving means, it is possible to cause the printing means to perform printing based on the control information included in the data.

  According to the portable printer of the present invention, when data related to printing from a cellular phone whose function is switched by decoding code information is received by the data receiving means, printing is performed based on the print data converted by the control means. Since printing by means is performed, operations related to printing on the portable printer side are not required, and an operation panel for performing operations such as selection of printing contents and a liquid crystal display unit for displaying a printing mode and the like This eliminates the need to mount the portable printer and the like, thereby reducing the size and cost of the portable printer.

  In the present embodiment, the portable printer is equipped with a function of receiving character data from a cellular phone at least by infrared communication and a function of printing, and further, the portable printer is installed at any location of the printer body of the portable printer. Code information including control information for switching the function to the character input transmission mode, for example, is provided, and printing is automatically performed when character data or the like is received from a mobile phone whose function is switched by decoding the code information By doing so, operations related to printing on the portable printer side can be omitted, and an operation panel for performing operations such as selecting print contents and a liquid crystal display unit for displaying a print mode, etc., as in the past. By omitting the installation, the portable printer was reduced in size and cost.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view for explaining an outline of an embodiment of a portable printer of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a portable example of the portable printer in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing details of the control unit of the type printer, FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation on the mobile phone side in FIG. 1, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the display state of the display on the mobile phone side in FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining a printing operation by the portable printer of FIG. 1.

  The portable printer 100 shown in FIG. 1 has a function of receiving and printing character data such as characters, numbers, pictograms, and the like, which are data related to printing from the mobile phone 200 by infrared communication, for example. The portable printer 100 is photographed by not only character data such as characters, numbers and pictographs but also information such as a map, which is data related to printing obtained via the Internet, and a built-in camera 204 described later of the mobile phone 200. It is also possible to print images that are data related to printing. For example, a feed button 103 and a repeat button 104 are provided on the operation surface 102 of the printer main body 101 of the portable printer 100.

  The feed button 103 is used to perform an operation of feeding a later-described sheet 107 loaded in the printer main body 101 by a predetermined amount, or an operation to send a predetermined amount when a printed later-described sheet 107 is cut out. . The repeat button 104 is operated when the character data received from the mobile phone 200 is repeatedly printed.

  In addition, an infrared transmission / reception unit 105 is provided at a corner of the operation surface 102 of the printer main body 101 as data receiving means for receiving character data or the like from the mobile phone 200 by infrared communication, for example. As shown in the figure, the infrared transmission / reception unit 105 is provided across the operation surface 102 of the printer main body 101 and the paper discharge surface 106 of the printer main body 101 so that the reception angle of character data and the like from the mobile phone 200 is wide. It is supposed to be. As described above, the wide reception angle of the character data and the like from the mobile phone 200 ensures the reception of the character data and the like from the mobile phone 200.

  The paper discharge surface 106 of the printer main body 101 is provided with an opening / closing cover 108 that is opened and closed when the paper 107 is loaded into the printer main body 101, and a discharge port 109 that discharges the printed paper 107. . Here, as the paper 107, roll-shaped thermal paper or roll-shaped plain paper can be used. However, in order to reduce the size of the portable printer 100 or the like, roll-shaped thermal paper is more advantageous because it does not have to be mounted with an ink ribbon or the like. Further, the printed sheet 107 can be cut out by operating the feed button 103 and discharging it from the discharge port 109 by a predetermined amount, and then hooking it on the edge of the opening / closing cover 108 and tearing it from the end.

  Further, code information 111 such as a barcode or a two-dimensional code is provided on the side surface 110 of the printer main body 101. The code information 111 may be provided not only on the side surface 110 of the printer main body 101 but also on the operation surface 102 or the paper discharge surface 106 of the printer main body 101. The code information 111 may be printed directly on the side surface 110 of the printer main body 101 or may be printed on a label and pasted.

  The code information 111 includes control information for switching the function of the mobile phone 200 to a mode related to communication with the infrared transmission / reception unit 105 when the code information 111 is captured and decoded by a later-described built-in camera 204 of the mobile phone 200. Here, as a mode related to communication with the infrared transmission / reception unit 105, a character input transmission mode described later, a mode for transmitting information such as a map obtained via the Internet, an image taken by the built-in camera 204, and the like are transmitted. There are modes.

  Further, such a portable printer 100 can be carried by being suspended from a belt 300 as shown in FIG. As described above, by carrying the mobile phone while being suspended from the belt 300, it is possible not only to disturb the mobile phone, but also to easily print character data such as characters, numbers, pictograms, etc. from the mobile phone 200 even outdoors. it can. Moreover, not only character data such as characters, numbers, and pictographs, but also information such as maps obtained via the Internet and images taken by the built-in camera 204 can be easily printed.

  On the other hand, the mobile phone 200 is provided with at least an operation unit 201, a display 202, an antenna 203, a built-in camera 204, a speaker 205, a microphone 206, and an infrared transmission / reception unit 207.

  The operation unit 201 has a plurality of operation buttons capable of inputting character data such as characters, numbers, and pictographs. The display 202 displays characters, numbers, pictograms, and the like input by the operation unit 201, the contents of an e-mail received via the antenna 203, and the like.

  The antenna 203 transmits and receives radio waves when performing wireless communication with a base station (not shown). The built-in camera 204 captures an image. The speaker 205 outputs sound. The microphone 206 captures sound.

  The infrared transmission / reception unit 207 prints character data such as characters, numbers, and pictograms by infrared communication toward the infrared transmission / reception unit 105 of the portable printer 100 when the portable printer 100 prints character data such as characters, numbers, and pictograms. Send. In addition to character data such as letters, numbers, and pictograms, it is also possible to transmit information such as a map obtained via the Internet, an image taken by the built-in camera 204, and the like.

Next, control systems for the portable printer 100 and the cellular phone 200 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 120 of the portable printer 100 includes a CPU 121, a ROM 122, a RAM 123, a print control unit 124, and an input / output interface (I / O IF) 125. These are connected via a bus 126.

  The CPU 121 as a control unit controls the operation of each unit based on a control program stored in the ROM 122. In addition, when the CPU 121 receives the character data or the like described above from the mobile phone 200, the CPU 121 temporarily stores the character data or the like in the RAM 123, converts the character data or the like into print data, and performs printing on the print control unit 124. To control.

  The ROM 122 stores a control program and the like. The RAM 123 functions as a print buffer or the like. The print control unit 124 controls the printing operation by the print head 112 by outputting print data to the print head 112 as a printing unit. The input / output interface 125 takes in character data or the like from the mobile phone 200 via the infrared transmission / reception unit 105, and accepts operation inputs from the feed button 103 and the repeat button 104.

  On the other hand, the control unit 210 of the mobile phone 200 includes a CPU 211, a ROM 212, a RAM 213, a DSP (digital signal processor) 214, a wireless unit controller 215, a wireless unit 216, an image processing unit 217, and an input / output interface (I / O IF) 218. I have. These are connected via a bus 219.

  The CPU 211 controls the operation of each unit based on a control program stored in the ROM 212. The ROM 212 is a rewritable nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory, for example, bitmap image format font data displayed on the display 202, a kana-kanji conversion program, a control program necessary for the operation of the CPU 211, and a built-in A program for decoding the above-described code information 111 captured by the camera 204 is stored.

  In the RAM 213, character data and the like displayed on the display 202 are expanded as display data. The RAM 213 also stores information such as maps obtained via the Internet, images taken by the built-in camera 204, and the like.

  The DSP 214 is a processor for performing audio processing, converts an analog audio signal taken from the microphone 206 by an A / D converter (not shown) into a digital audio signal, and converts the digital audio signal by a D / A converter (not shown). It converts into an analog audio signal and outputs it to the speaker 205.

  The wireless unit controller 215 controls the operation of the wireless unit 216 based on a control signal from the CPU 211. The wireless unit 216 wirelessly transmits voice data, character data, and the like as digital signals from the antenna 203 to a base station (not shown), and receives digital signals such as voice data and character data from the base station.

  Based on the control signal from the CPU 211, the image processing unit 217 decodes the code information 111 captured by the built-in camera 204 using a program that decodes the code information 111 stored in the ROM 212.

  The input / output interface 218 receives an operation input from the operation unit 201, receives an image from the built-in camera 204, and sends information to be displayed on the display 202. When the input / output interface 218 transmits, for example, character data such as characters, numbers, and pictograms input by the operation unit 201 to the portable printer 100 side, the input / output interface 218 outputs the character data to the infrared transmission / reception unit 207.

Next, a printing operation by the above-described portable printer 100 will be described.
First, as shown in FIG. 4, the code information 111 such as a barcode or a two-dimensional code provided on the side surface 110 of the portable printer 100 is photographed by the built-in camera 204 of the cellular phone 200 (step S1). When the code information 111 is photographed by the built-in camera 204, the CPU 211 issues a command for decoding the code information 111 to the image processing unit 217.

  As a result, the image processing unit 217 decodes the code information 111 captured by the built-in camera 204 using a program for decoding the code information 111 stored in the ROM 212. Here, the code information 111 is recognized as text data by the CPU 211 (step S2). Here, assuming that the code information 111 includes control information for switching the function of the mobile phone 200 to the character input transmission mode, the CPU 211 displays the display 202 in FIG. ) To switch to the character input transmission mode (step S3). Further, as shown in the figure, selection items such as “send” and “do not send” are displayed on the screen of the character input transmission mode. This selection item can be displayed based on the control information included in the code information 111.

  As described above, since the code information 111 captured by the built-in camera 204 is decoded, the function of the mobile phone 200 is automatically switched to the character input transmission mode. There is no need to switch the function of the mobile phone 200 to the character input transmission mode.

  Next, when the user of the mobile phone 200 operates the operation unit 201, English character data such as “ABCD... EFG” can be input as shown in FIG. ). Needless to say, not only English characters but also character data such as text characters, numbers, and pictograms can be input. Moreover, since the input character data is displayed on the display 202 (step S5), the input content can be confirmed.

  When the input of character data is completed (step S6), the input character data is transmitted to the portable printer 100 (step S7). In this case, when the infrared transmission / reception unit 207 of the mobile phone 200 is pointed at the infrared transmission / reception unit 105 of the portable printer 100 and “Send” is selected as shown in FIG. Character data is transmitted by infrared communication from 207 to the infrared transmission / reception unit 105 of the portable printer 100.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, on the portable printer 100 side, when character data is received by the infrared transmission / reception unit 207 (step S10), the received character data is temporarily stored in the RAM 123 (step S11). ). Next, after the CPU 121 converts the character data stored in the RAM 123 into print data, a print command is issued to the print control unit 124 (step S12).

  At this time, print data corresponding to the character data is output from the print control unit 124 to the print head 112 (step S13), and printing on the paper 107 is performed by the print head 112 (step S14). Then, when printing on the paper 107 is completed, the paper 107 is pushed out from the discharge port 109 by an appropriate amount by pressing the feed button 103, so that the paper 107 is hooked on the edge of the opening / closing cover 108 and cut out at an appropriate position. it can.

  When the repeat button 104 is operated, print data corresponding to the character data is again output from the print control unit 124 to the print head 112, whereby the print head 112 performs reprinting on the paper 107.

  In this example, the case where the portable printer 100 receives and prints character data such as characters, numbers, and pictograms from the mobile phone 200 has been described. However, information such as a map obtained via the Internet or a built-in camera is described. Similarly, the image taken by the user 204 is transmitted from the mobile phone 200 and printed by the portable printer 100 as a matter of course.

  In this case, other code information 111 including information such as a map obtained via the Internet and control information for switching to a mode for transmitting an image taken by the built-in camera 204 is used as the side surface 110 of the printer main body 101, It is provided on either the operation surface 102 or the paper discharge surface 106.

  Similarly to the above, the other code information 111 captured by the built-in camera 204 is decoded, so that the function of the mobile phone 200 is information such as a map obtained via the Internet or an image taken by the built-in camera 204. Can be automatically switched to a mode for transmitting the information such as a map obtained by the user of the mobile phone 200 through the operation unit 201 via the Internet, such as a map, or a built-in camera. There is no need to switch to the mode to transmit an image or the like taken by the user 204.

  As described above, in this embodiment, when the portable printer 100 receives the infrared data transmission / reception unit 105 that receives at least character data from the mobile phone 200 by infrared communication, for example, and the received character data is converted into print data. A print head 112 that performs printing based on the print data, and control information for switching the function of the mobile phone 200 to, for example, a character input transmission mode at an arbitrary position of the printer main body 101 of the portable printer 100. The code information 111 including “” is provided.

  As a result, the code information 111 is photographed and decoded by the built-in camera 204 of the mobile phone 200, the function of the mobile phone 200 is automatically switched to the character input transmission mode, and character data such as letters, numbers and pictograms are input. When the input character data is transmitted from the cellular phone 200 to the portable printer 100, printing is automatically performed on the portable printer 100 side. Therefore, operations related to printing on the portable printer 100 side are performed. Further, unlike the prior art, there is no need to mount an operation panel for performing operations such as selecting print contents or a liquid crystal display unit for displaying a print mode. Miniaturization and cost reduction can be achieved.

1 is a perspective view for explaining an outline of an embodiment of a portable printer of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a portable example of the portable printer in FIG. 1. It is a block diagram which shows the detail of the control part of the mobile telephone of FIG. 1, and a portable printer. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation on the mobile phone side in FIG. 1. It is a figure which shows the display state of the display by the side of the mobile telephone of FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining a printing operation by the portable printer of FIG. 1.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Portable printer 101 Printer main body 105 Infrared transmission / reception part 107 Paper 111 Code information 112 Print head 120 Control part 124 Print control part 200 Mobile phone 201 Operation part 202 Display 204 Built-in camera 207 Infrared transmission / reception part 210 Control part

Claims (3)

A portable printer for receiving and printing data related to printing from a mobile phone,
Data receiving means for receiving data related to printing from the mobile phone by infrared communication;
When data related to the printing is received, control means for converting the data related to the printing into print data;
Printing means for performing printing based on the converted print data,
Further, code information including control information for switching the function of the mobile phone to a mode related to communication with the data receiving means when photographed and decoded by the camera built into the mobile phone is provided on the surface of the printer body. Provided,
When the control unit receives data related to the printing from the mobile phone that has decoded the code information, the control unit causes the printing unit to perform printing based on the decoded control information included in the data. Features a portable printer.   The portable printer according to claim 1, further comprising code information including control information for switching the function of the cellular phone to a character input transmission mode. 3. The portable printer according to claim 1, further comprising code information including control information for switching the function of the cellular phone to an image transmission mode.

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