JP2008234712A - Medium processing apparatus and method for controlling the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To measure the height of a medium stored in each stacker and to shorten the time for measuring the height in a medium processing apparatus in which a medium conveying arm moves up and down or turns to convey a medium to a plurality of fixed stackers. <P>SOLUTION: The medium processing apparatus is provided with: a medium conveying mechanism 6 for at least turns or moves up and down while holding the medium, conveying the medium while moving among the plurality of stackers 11 and 12, a medium drive 4 and a label printer 5, and releasing the medium at a target point; an ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving device 73 for transmitting an ultrasonic wave to the medium stored in the plurality of stackers and receiving reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave with which the medium is irradiated; and a height measuring control section 133 for calculating the height of the medium based on the time from the transmission of the ultrasonic wave to the reception of the reflected wave. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a media processing apparatus for writing data on a medium such as a CD / DVD and printing on a label surface of the medium, and a control method for the media processing apparatus.

  In recent years, information recording discs such as CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, and DVD-RW have been widely used as digital information storage media. Since these information recording discs are relatively inexpensive and easy to carry and distribute, they are effective for distributing digital information. On such information recording discs for distribution, digital information is written and a label is printed on the surface of the information recording disc in order to display the information content of the disc.

  Therefore, a media processing apparatus capable of printing a label on the surface of a recording disk as well as writing digital information has been developed, a drive for writing digital information to the medium, a printer for performing label printing on the label surface of the medium, and It has a configuration including a stacker for storing media. In recent years, there are many demands for mass production of the same media, and media processing apparatuses having a plurality of stackers have been developed so that a large number of media can be stored.

  For example, the media processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 has a configuration including a rotary stocker rack in which six stockers are arranged in a circle. Then, the quantity of information recording disks stored in the stocker mounted in the stocker rack is detected by the remaining amount sensor, the stocker for taking out the information recording disk for disk processing, and the stocker for storing the information recording disk after the processing is completed. Is appropriately selected to balance the driving of the entire stocker rack 30 and to suppress vibration and noise during driving of the stocker rack 30 and the generation of loads on the mechanical parts.

In order to measure the remaining amount of the disk in each stocker, an optical remaining amount sensor fixedly mounted at a position directly above the stocker projects light onto the disk and receives reflected light. The distance from the remaining amount sensor to the medium is measured, and based on this, the remaining amount of the medium is measured. By sequentially measuring the number of media stored in each stocker while rotating the stocker rack, the stack to be stored next is selected according to the remaining amount of media stored in the six stockers, and the media is stored in a balanced manner. Can be done.
JP 2005-259318 A

  By the way, in the media processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the stocker rack 30 is rotated and transported by the media transporting means fixed. On the other hand, there has also been proposed a media processing apparatus of a type in which a media transport arm turns or moves up and down to transport media to a plurality of fixed stackers. In the media processing device of the type in which the stacker is fixed as described above, in order to measure the height of the media stored in each stacker, one measuring device is fixed at one place as described in Patent Document 1. However, the height of the media in each stacker cannot be measured.

  Further, in the media processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, in order to measure the media height of each media stacker, the stacker tray is always rotated and the media height is measured by one stacker. In order to measure the height of the media with the stacker, the media is rotated again by one stacker and the height of the media is measured again. To do this in all stackers, the stacker tray must be rotated once. This takes time to measure the media height for all stackers.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and is stored in each stacker in a media processing apparatus in which a media transport arm turns or moves up and down to transport media to a plurality of fixed stackers. The purpose is to measure the height of the measured media and reduce the time required for the height measurement.

The present invention capable of solving the above problems includes a plurality of fixed stackers that store media, a writing device that performs data writing processing on the media, and a printing device that performs printing processing on the printing surface of the media. The medium is moved while moving between the plurality of fixed stackers, the writing device, and the printing device by performing at least one of a swiveling operation and an elevating operation while holding the medium. A medium conveyance mechanism that conveys and releases the medium at a target point, and transmits a measurement wave toward the medium stored in each of the plurality of stackers, and when the measurement wave is transmitted to the medium, its reflection A measurement wave transmission / reception device that receives a wave, and a period from when the measurement wave transmission / reception device transmits the measurement wave to reception of the reflection Based between, and having a an arithmetic control unit for calculating the height of the media.
Further, the present invention that can solve the above-described problems includes a plurality of fixed stackers that store media, a writing device that performs data writing processing on the media, and printing that performs printing processing on the printing surface of the media The medium is transported between the plurality of fixed stackers, the writing device, and the printing device by performing at least one of a swiveling operation and an elevating operation while holding the medium with the apparatus. And a media transport mechanism that releases the media at a target point, and a method for controlling a media processing apparatus comprising:
A transmission step of transmitting a measurement wave toward the media stored in each of the plurality of stackers; and a reception step of receiving a reflected wave when the measurement wave is applied to the medium;
And a calculation step of calculating the height of the media based on a time from when the measurement wave is transmitted to when the reflected wave is received.

According to the above configuration, even in the media processing device in which the media transport arm rotates or moves up and down and transports the media to the plurality of fixed stackers, the measurement wave is transmitted using the measurement wave transmission / reception device, and the reflected wave is transmitted. When received, the height of the media stored in each stacker can be measured. Further, since the plurality of stackers are fixed, it is not necessary to rotate the stacker when measuring the height of the media. Therefore, since it is possible to select only the stacker for which the media height is to be measured and measure the height, the media height can be measured as compared with the case where the stacker tray must be rotated once as in the conventional case. The time required can be shortened.
In addition, since the height of the media can be calculated based on the time from when the measurement wave is transmitted until the reflected wave is received, for example, a method of measuring the media height using a contact-type media detection sensor It is possible to measure the media height more speedily than.

In the present invention, the media transport arm is provided with a contact-type media detection sensor that detects whether the media transport arm is in a media holding state or a media release state.
The measurement wave transmitting / receiving apparatus is installed immediately above each of the plurality of stackers, transmits ultrasonic waves to the media, and receives reflected waves of the ultrasonic waves that are reflected back to the media. It is characterized by.
In the present invention, an ultrasonic wave is transmitted as a measurement wave in the transmission step, and a reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave is received in the reception step.

  According to the above configuration, since the measurement wave transmission / reception device is installed immediately above each of the plurality of stackers, the height of the medium can be measured at any time. In addition, since the media height of a plurality of stackers can be measured at the same time, the time required for measuring the media height can be shortened compared to the case where the stacker tray must be rotated once as in the prior art. it can.

  The media transport arm is provided with a contact-type media detection sensor that detects whether the media transport arm is in a media holding state or a media release state. For example, if the media detection sensor is also used to measure the media height, such as when the media transport arm is moved up and down in each stacker and the media detection sensor is used to measure the media height, the media is retained. If it is, you cannot measure the height. However, according to the present invention, even when the media transport arm holds the media, the height of the media can be measured at any time by the measurement wave transmitting / receiving device installed immediately above each stacker.

  In the present invention, the measurement wave transmitting / receiving apparatus is installed on the media transport arm, transmits ultrasonic waves to the media, and receives reflected ultrasonic waves that are reflected back to the media. It is characterized by that.

  According to the above configuration, the measurement wave transmitter / receiver is installed in the media transport arm. For example, when measuring the height of the media using the media detection sensor by raising and lowering the media transport arm in each stacker, the media detection sensor is used by raising and lowering the media transport arm at each stacker position in media height measurement. Therefore, there is no risk of damaging the surface of the media. Furthermore, when measuring the height of the media, it is not necessary for the media transfer arm to move up and down in each stacker, and only the measurement wave is transmitted and received from the measurement wave transmitter / receiver. Can be shortened.

<First Embodiment>
Hereinafter, an example of a media processing device to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a media processing apparatus 1 to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing main parts inside the media processing apparatus 1.

(Specific configuration example of media processing device)
The media processing device 1 includes a device case 31 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and open / close doors 32 and 33 that can be opened and closed to the left and right are attached to the front surface of the device case 31. An operation surface 34 on which display lamps, operation buttons, and the like are arranged is formed above the open / close doors 32 and 33. Under the opening / closing door 33, a media take-out port 31a for taking out a processed medium having a horizontally long rectangular shape opens to the outside.

  In the apparatus case 31 of the media processing apparatus 1, as shown in FIG. 2, a blank media stacker 11 that stores blank media that has not been subjected to data writing processing and label printing processing in the right portion when viewed from the front. And a processed media stacker 12 for storing processed media on which data writing processing and label printing processing have been performed are arranged vertically in a coaxial state. The blank media stacker 11 includes a slide plate 41 that can be pulled out horizontally forward, and a pair of left and right arc-shaped frame plates 42 and 43 arranged vertically on the slide plate 41. The stacker is configured to receive media from the upper end opening and store the media in a state of being stacked in a coaxial state. The operation of storing or replenishing media in the blank media stacker 11 can be easily performed by opening the open / close door 32 and pulling the slide plate 41 forward.

  The processed media stacker 12 on the lower side has the same structure, and includes a slide plate 44 that can be pulled out horizontally forward and a pair of left and right arc-shaped frame plates 45 and 46 that are arranged vertically on the upper surface. Thus, a stacker that can receive the processing target medium 2 from the upper end opening and can be stacked in a coaxial state is configured. These blank media stacker 11 and processed media stacker 12 can store, for example, 50 (= n) processing target media 2.

  A general-purpose stacker is disposed on the left side of the blank media stacker 11 and the processed media stacker 12 on the left side. In this general-purpose stacker 13, it is possible to store a failed disk that has failed in the data writing process or to store the processed media 2B. In front of the general-purpose stacker 13, a discharge media stacker 14 used when discharging the processed media 2B to the outside is disposed. These stackers 13 and 14 are constituted by a common base 47 and side plates 48, 49 and 50 erected vertically from the base 47. The rear general-purpose stacker 13 is composed of an arcuate inner peripheral surface 48a of the rear side plate 48 and rear arcuate inner peripheral surfaces 49a, 50a of the left and right side plates 49, 50, which are defined by these. The media received from the upper end opening is stacked and stored coaxially. The front discharge media stacker 14 is constituted by arcuate inner peripheral surfaces 49b, 50b on the front side of the left and right side plate portions 49, 50, and the media 2 received from the upper end opening defined by these is laminated in a coaxial state. And stored.

  Here, the upper end surfaces 49c, 50c of the left and right side plate portions 49, 50 are substantially triangular flat surfaces, and inclined guide surfaces 49d inclined forward in succession to the front side edges of these upper end surfaces 49c, 50c, 50d is formed. These inclined guide surfaces 49d and 50d are continuous with the upper edge portions of the left and right arcuate inner peripheral surfaces 49b and 50b of the discharge media stacker 14. The general-purpose stacker 13 can store, for example, 30 (= n1) media 2 and the ejected media stacker 14 can store, for example, 20 (= n2) media 2.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a media transport mechanism 6 is disposed behind the blank media stacker 11 and the processed media stacker 12. The media transport mechanism 6 includes a chassis 51 that is vertically attached to the apparatus case 31, a vertical guide shaft 54 that is vertically stretched between upper and lower horizontal support plate portions 52 of the chassis 51, and the vertical guide. A media transport arm 55 attached to the shaft 54 is provided. The media transport arm 55 can move up and down along the vertical guide shaft 54 and can swing left and right around the vertical guide shaft 54.

  Next, on the rear side of the media transport mechanism 6, a media drive 4 (writing device) is disposed on the upper side, and a label printer 5 (printing device) is disposed on the lower side. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the media tray 71 of the upper media drive 4 is in the retracted position 71B, and the printer tray 81 of the lower label printer 5 is also in the rear media printing position 81B. Yes. The label printer 5 is an ink jet printer, and each color ink cartridge (not shown) is used as an ink supply source, and these ink cartridges are attached to a cartridge attachment portion (not shown).

  The media transport arm 55 of the media transport mechanism 6 moves up and down between the pair of left and right frame plates 42 and 43 and between the pair of left and right frame plates 45 and 46 in the blank media stacker 11 and the processed media stacker 12. Possible gaps are formed. In addition, a gap is opened between the blank disc stacker 11 and the processed media stacker 12 so that the media transport arm 55 can pivot horizontally and be positioned directly above them. Therefore, the media transport arm 55 can be positioned at a predetermined height position in the stackers 11 and 12. Similarly, the media transport arm 55 can be positioned at a predetermined height in the general-purpose stacker 13 by turning the media transport arm 55 and moving it directly above the general-purpose stacker 13 and moving it up and down at this position. Further, a position directly above the general-purpose stacker 13 is a media delivery position of the printer tray 81, and a position just above is a media delivery position of the media tray 71.

(About internal processing of media processing device)
Next, internal processing of the media processing apparatus will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing internal processing performed between the media processing apparatus of this embodiment and the host computer.
As shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, the three USB devices of the label printer 5, the media transport mechanism 6, and the media drive 4 are covered with a casing to constitute one media processing apparatus 1. The media processing device 1 is communicably connected to the host computer 100 via a hub 110 that is a branch device for connecting a plurality of USB devices to a USB port.

  The host computer 100 mainly includes an application 101, a printer driver 102 that controls the operation of the label printer 5 of the media processing apparatus 1, a transmission / reception unit 103, and the like. Further, the printer driver 102 includes a print data generation unit 104 and a command generation unit 105. On the other hand, each USB device constituting the media processing device 1 includes transmission / reception units 121, 131, and 141 as communication interfaces. The label printer 5 mainly includes a print buffer 122 and a print control unit 123, and the media transport mechanism 6 mainly includes a transport control unit 132 and a height measurement control unit 133. The media drive 4 also has a write control unit 142 that controls data write processing on the media.

  The application 101 of the host computer 100 provides a user interface for causing the label printer 5 to execute various commands related to printing. The user creates and edits print data and issues a print instruction on the application. The printer driver 102 is called by the application 101 and directly controls the operations of the label printer 5 and the media transport mechanism 6. Specifically, the print data generation unit 104 generates print data in accordance with the setting in the application 101, and the command generation unit 105 moves a media transport arm 55, a media pick command, and a media release command. And the like, and each data is transmitted to the media processing apparatus 1 via the transmission / reception unit 103 at an appropriate timing.

  The application 101 and the printer driver 102 are programs stored in advance in a ROM (not shown) of the host computer 100, and various functions are read and executed by a control unit (CPU) (not shown) of the host computer 100. It is realized by doing. The transmission / reception unit 103 is an interface unit for transmitting print data and various command data to the media processing apparatus 1.

  The transmission / reception unit 121 of the media processing device 1 is an interface unit for receiving print data and print commands transmitted from the host computer 100 via the hub 110. The print data temporarily stored in the transmission / reception unit 121 is expanded in the print buffer 122 and converted to printable dot data. Based on the received print command, the print controller 123 drives a print head (not shown), a carriage, and the like to print the dot data developed in the print buffer 122 on the label surface of the medium.

The transmission / reception unit 131 of the media processing device 1 is an interface unit for receiving various command data transmitted from the host computer 100 via the hub 110. Based on the command data temporarily stored in the transmission / reception unit 131, the transport control unit 132 drives the media transport arm 55, the gripping claw 70 that grips the media (see FIG. 5), and transports the media.
In response to an instruction from the transport control unit 132, the media is picked from the stacker in which the media are stacked, and the picked media is transported to the media tray 81 of the label printer 5 and the media tray 71 of the media drive 4, and according to the release command. The picked media can be released.
Furthermore, in accordance with an instruction from the transport control unit 132, the processed media for which the data writing process and the label printing process have been completed are picked from the media trays 81 and 71, and the picked media is transported to the media ejection port 31a. The picked media can be released accordingly.

The height measurement control unit 133 (calculation control unit) controls the media height measurement process by the ultrasonic transmission / reception device 73 (measurement wave transmission / reception device) attached to the media transport arm 55. When a height measurement command for measuring the height of media stored in each stacker is received from the host computer 100, the ultrasonic transmission / reception device 73 is operated to transmit ultrasonic waves (measurement waves) toward the media 2 in the stacker. To do. Further, the ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving device 73 receives the reflected wave that is reflected back to the medium.
The height measurement control unit 133 measures the time from when the ultrasonic transmission / reception device 73 transmits an ultrasonic wave until it receives the reflected wave, and the measurement distance (B) between the ultrasonic transmission / reception device 73 and the medium 2. Is calculated.
The height measurement control unit 133 stores in advance the distance from the ultrasonic transmission / reception device 73 to the bottom surface of the stacker as a set distance (A), and subtracts the measured distance (B) from the set distance (A) and stores it in the stacker. The height (C) of the recorded media is calculated.

  The transmission / reception unit 141 of the media processing device 1 is an interface unit for receiving write data transmitted from the host computer 100 via the hub 110. Based on the write data temporarily stored in the transmission / reception unit 141, the write control unit 142 performs a data writing process on the data writing surface of the medium.

(About media height measurement processing)
Next, media height measurement processing by the media processing device 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the media height measurement process, and FIG. 5 shows how the height of the media stored in the stacker is measured by the ultrasonic transmission / reception apparatus installed on the media transport arm. It is the shown schematic diagram.

  In the media processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, in response to a movement instruction from the host computer 100, the media transport arm 55 of the media transport mechanism 6 holds at least one of the turning operation and the lifting operation while holding the media 2. The media 2 can be transported while moving between each media stacker, the media drive 4 and the label printer 5, and the media 2 can be released at a target point in accordance with a release instruction. In other words, the media transport mechanism 6 moves indefinitely and horizontally using the gaps formed between the mechanical units of the media processing apparatus 1 and transports the media 2 to the target point according to the movement command from the host computer 100. be able to.

By the way, when picking or releasing the media, the media transport arm 55 is moved to the stacker in which the target media 2 is stored, and the media transport arm is moved to a height at which the media can be picked or released by the destination stacker. It is necessary to raise and lower 55. For this purpose, the transport controller 132 cannot perform an appropriate lifting operation unless it knows how much media is stored in each stacker, that is, the height of the media stacked on the stacker. This is because if the transport control unit 132 does not recognize the height of the media of each stacker, the media transport arm 55 may be lowered too much to damage the surface of the media.
For this reason, in the present embodiment, the media height of each media stacker can be measured before the media creation process, which is a normal operation, is executed. Here, a case where the media height of the blank media stacker 11 is measured will be described.

  First, a command for moving the media transport arm 55 is transmitted from the host computer 100, and the media transport arm 55 moves to the position of the blank media stacker 11 that is the height measurement target (step S11). Next, in response to a height measurement command for measuring the height of the medium, the ultrasonic transmission / reception device 73 installed on the holding surface side of the media transport arm 55 shown in FIG. 5 is driven. That is, ultrasonic waves are transmitted from the ultrasonic transmission / reception device 73 toward the media 2A stacked on the top of the blank media stacker 11 (step S12). Due to the straightness that is the characteristic of ultrasonic waves, the transmitted ultrasonic waves propagate straight toward the media 2A located immediately below. Then, using the reflection characteristics, the ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving apparatus 73 receives the reflected wave reflected by the boundary surface between the atmosphere and the medium 2A (step S13).

The height measurement control unit 133 measures the time from when the ultrasonic transmission / reception device 73 transmits the ultrasonic wave to receiving the reflected wave, and measures the distance from the ultrasonic transmission / reception device 73 to the medium 2A, that is, the measurement distance ( B) is calculated (step S14). Since the height measurement control unit 133 stores the distance from the ultrasonic transmission / reception device 73 to the bottom surface of the blank media stacker 11, that is, the set distance (A), the media height in the blank media stacker 11 is calculated by the following equation. Is calculated (step S15).
Media height (C) = Setting distance (A) −Measurement distance (B) Equation 1

  The media heights of all the stackers can be measured by executing the above steps S11 to S15 in each stacker.

  As described above, in the media processing device 1 of the present embodiment, the ultrasonic transmission / reception device 73 is installed on the media transport arm 55. For example, if a media detection sensor 72 for detecting the media for detecting the holding state of the media is installed on the holding surface side of the media transport arm 55, the media detection sensor 72 is used by raising and lowering the media transport arm 55 in each stacker. The height of the media can be measured. However, in the case of the media processing apparatus of the present embodiment, when measuring the height of the media, the media transport arm does not need to move up and down in each stacker, and the measurement wave is transmitted from the ultrasonic transmission / reception device 73. Since it is only received, the time required for measuring the height of the media can be shortened. In the media height measurement, it is not necessary to perform the measurement using the media detection sensor 72 by raising and lowering the media transport arm 55 at each stacker position, so there is no possibility of damaging the surface of the media.

Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment of the media height measurement process will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the second embodiment of the media height measurement process, and FIG. 7 shows the height of the media stored in the stacker by the ultrasonic transmission / reception apparatus installed immediately above each media stacker. It is the schematic diagram which showed a mode that thickness was measured.
In the media processing apparatus of the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, since the ultrasonic transmission / reception devices 73a and 73b are respectively installed immediately above the blank media stacker 11 and the processed media stacker 12, the blank media stacker 11 and It is also possible to measure the media height of the processed media stacker 12 simultaneously.

  First, in response to a height measurement command for measuring the height of a medium transmitted from the host computer 100, an ultrasonic transmission / reception device 73a and a processed media stacker 12 installed immediately above the blank media stacker 11 shown in FIG. The ultrasonic transmission / reception device 73b installed on the back side of the slide plate 41 of the blank media stacker 11 is driven. That is, from the ultrasonic transmission / reception device 73a toward the medium 2A stacked on the top of the blank media stacker 11, from the ultrasonic transmission / reception device 73b toward the media 2B stacked on the top of the processed media stacker 12. Ultrasonic waves are transmitted (step S21). Each of the transmitted ultrasonic waves propagates straight toward the media 2 </ b> A and 2 </ b> B located immediately below because of the straightness that is a characteristic of the ultrasonic waves. Then, the ultrasonic transmission / reception devices 73a and 73b receive the reflected waves reflected by the boundary surface between the atmosphere and the media 2A and 2B using the ultrasonic reflection characteristics (step S22).

The height measurement control unit 133 measures the time from when the ultrasonic transmission / reception devices 73a and 73b transmit ultrasonic waves to when the reflected waves are received, and the distance from the ultrasonic transmission / reception device 73a to the medium 2A (measurement). The distance (E) and the distance (measurement distance: H) from the ultrasonic transmission / reception device 73b to the medium 2B are calculated (step S23). The height measurement control unit 133 is a distance from the ultrasonic transmission / reception device 73a to the bottom surface of the blank media stacker 11 (set distance: D) and a distance from the ultrasonic transmission / reception device 73b to the bottom surface of the processed media stacker 12 (setting distance: If G) is stored, the media height in the blank media stacker 11 and the processed media stacker 12 can be calculated by the following formula (step S24).
Media height (F) of blank media stacker 11 = set distance (D) −measurement distance (E) Equation 2
Media height of processed media stacker 12 (I) = set distance (G) −measured distance (H) Equation 3

  As described above, since the ultrasonic transmission / reception device is installed for each media stacker, in the media processing device 1 of the type in which the media transport arm 55 can move and transport media to each point as in this embodiment. In addition, the transport process by the media transport arm 55 and the height measurement process can be performed separately.

  For example, the media transport arm 55 is provided with a contact-type media detection sensor 72 that detects whether the media transport arm 55 is in a media holding state or a media release state. Although it is possible to measure the height of the media using the media detection sensor 72 by raising and lowering, if the media detection sensor 72 is also used for measuring the height of the media, the height is measured when the media is held. Can not do. However, according to the present embodiment, even when the media transport arm 55 holds the media, the height of the media can be measured at any time by the ultrasonic transmission / reception devices 73a and 73b installed immediately above each stacker. it can.

It is a general-view perspective view of the media processing apparatus of this embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the principal part inside the media processing apparatus of this embodiment. It is a functional block diagram showing internal processing performed between the media processing device of this embodiment and a host computer. 10 is a flowchart for explaining a media height measurement process; It is the schematic diagram which showed a mode that the height of the medium stored in the stacker was measured by the ultrasonic transmission / reception apparatus installed in the media conveyance arm. It is a flowchart explaining 2nd Embodiment of the media height measurement process. It is the schematic diagram which showed a mode that the height of the medium stored in the stacker was measured by the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver installed in the direct upper part of each media stacker.

Explanation of symbols

1: media processing device, 2: media to be processed, 2A: blank media, 2B: processed media, 4: media drive (data writing means), 5: label printer (printing device), 6: media transport mechanism, 11: Blank media stacker, 12: processed media stacker, 13: general-purpose stacker, 14: ejected media stacker, 34: operation surface, 55: media transport arm, 71: media tray, 72: media detection mechanism, 73: supersonic wave transmission / reception device 81: Printer tray 123: Print control unit 132: Transport control unit 133: Height measurement control unit 142: Write control unit

Claims (5)

Multiple fixed stackers to store media;
A writing device for performing a data writing process on the medium;
A printing apparatus that performs a printing process on the printing surface of the medium;
Carrying the media while moving between the plurality of fixed stackers, the writing device, and the printing device by performing at least one of a swiveling operation and an elevating operation while holding the media A media transport mechanism for releasing the media at a target point;
A measurement wave transmitter / receiver that transmits a measurement wave toward a medium stored in each of the plurality of stackers, and receives the reflected wave when the measurement wave is transmitted to the medium;
A media processing device comprising: an arithmetic control unit that calculates the height of the media based on a time from when the measurement wave transmitting / receiving device transmits the measurement wave to when the reflected wave is received. The media transport arm is provided with a contact type media detection sensor that detects whether the media transport arm is in a media holding state or a media release state,
The measurement wave transmitting / receiving apparatus is installed immediately above each of the plurality of stackers, transmits ultrasonic waves to the media, and receives reflected waves of the ultrasonic waves that are reflected back to the media. The media processing apparatus according to claim 1.   The measurement wave transmitting / receiving device is installed in the media transport arm, transmits ultrasonic waves to the media, and receives reflected waves of the ultrasonic waves that are reflected back to the media. Item 2. The media processing device according to item 1. A plurality of fixed stackers that store media, a writing device that performs data writing processing on the media, a printing device that performs printing processing on the printing surface of the media, and swiveling and lifting while holding the media A media transport mechanism that performs at least one of the operations, transports the media among the plurality of fixed stackers, the writing device, and the printing device, and releases the media at a target point; A method for controlling a media processing apparatus comprising:
A transmission step of transmitting a measurement wave toward the media stored in each of the plurality of stackers; and a reception step of receiving a reflected wave when the measurement wave is applied to the medium;
And a calculation step of calculating a height of the medium based on a time from when the measurement wave is transmitted to when the reflected wave is received.   5. The method of controlling a media processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein an ultrasonic wave is transmitted as a measurement wave in the transmission step, and a reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave is received in the reception step.

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