The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 12, 1999
Filed:
Jun. 02, 1997
Graham Scott Gutsell, Harston, GB;
Nicholas James Hastings, Cottenham, GB;
Ian Morgan George, Cambridge, GB;
Martin Christopher Edwards, West Ratting, GB;
Esselte NV, St. Niklaas, BE;
Abstract
A tape printing device for printing frames with complicated shapes on a label. The device includes a mechanism for inputting a plurality of characters, selecting a frame from a plurality of frames of different shape, and generating print data for the characters and the selected frame. Also, a print head is used for printing the characters and the frames onto the tape according to the generated print data. Only a small amount of memory is required to represent frames, and the operator is offered a large selection of frames. Instead of storing dot patterns for each frame, each frame is represented with a program which can be executed on the tape printing device to generate the pixel pattern corresponding to the selected frame and to print the selected frame on the receiving medium according to the generated pixel pattern. Since the programs generate the pixel pattern dynamically as required by the operator of the device, less memory is required than prior art devices. Also, a larger selection of frames is offered without increasing the cost of the tape printing device.