Brother Kogyo Kabushiki-Kaisha

Satomi Otsuka

Chitoshi Ito

Minako Ishida

Akihiro Sawada

Shoji Sakuragi

Sachiyo Nagase

Sachiro Nagase

A tape printing apparatus having a test printing function for printing a predetermined test pattern onto a tape upon operation of an appropriate key includes a printing part, a tape width detector, a memory and a print control unit. The printing part prints the predetermined test pattern. The tape width detector detects the width of the currently loaded tape. The memory stores test pattern data by which to print any one of a plurality of different test patterns depending on the tape width detected by the tape width detector. The print control unit retrieves from the memory the test pattern data corresponding to the detected tape width upon operation of the appropriate key and causes the printing part to print the test pattern onto the tape based on the retrieved test pattern data. Because the tape printing apparatus prints the test pattern according to the width of the currently loaded tape, an operator can determine what printing is available for that particular tape.

Tape printing apparatus

A printer capable of printing characters within a frame is disclosed. In such printer, when the frame start key on the keyboard is depressed, the frame start code data is inserted in the text memory and when the frame terminating key on the keyboard is depressed, the frame terminating code data is inserted in the text memory. Thereafter, according to depressing of the print key, the frame spaces are formed at both the frame start code data and the frame terminating code data. And the frame start point and the frame terminating point are respectively set to the frame space corresponding to the frame start code data and the frame space corresponding to the frame terminating code data. Further, the image data of the character code data stored in the text memory is prepared, and at the same time, the image data of the frame is prepared according to the frame start point and the frame terminating point. At that time, the image data of the frame is prepared so that the frame spaces are included within the frame. Further, the image data is printed on a film tape by the thermal head. As a result, the tape on which the characters are printed without contacting the frame can be obtained.

Printer capable of spacing characters within frame

Growing community of inventors

Konan, Japan

Satomi Otsuka