JP5130756B2 - Media processing apparatus and method for controlling media processing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention includes a media transport mechanism that transports a medium by sandwiching a medium such as a CD / DVD, a media processing apparatus that writes data to the transported medium, and performs printing on a label surface of the medium. It relates to a control method.

  There is known a media processing apparatus configured to supply blank media which has not been processed to a built-in media drive, write predetermined data therein, and store the processed media after writing in a processed media stacker. Yes. The label side of the media on which data is written can be printed with a built-in printer, and the created media can be stored in the processed media stacker or issued from the outlet. ing.

Among such media processing apparatuses, there are those equipped with a media transport mechanism that transports media by turning or moving up and down. Patent Document 1 discloses a media processing apparatus (referred to as a disk manufacturing apparatus in the literature) provided with a media transport mechanism for transporting media. The media transport mechanism can move up and down along a vertical axis and can turn around the vertical axis as a central axis. Move the media transport mechanism to the target mechanism, pick the media from the mechanism, move it up and down or swivel while picking the media, transport it to another mechanism, and release the media at the transport destination. Transport.
JP 2000-260172 A

  By the way, if the media processing apparatus is operating normally, the media is gripped by the gripping portion of the arm installed in the media transport mechanism, and transported to the intended mechanism portion and released in the gripped state. This may not be released at the intended position, or may cause the media picked during conveyance to fall due to a mechanical abnormal state of the grip portion. If the media falls to an unintended part in the media processing apparatus, the dropped media may affect the operation of other mechanism units, leading to failure.

For example, in the case of a media processing device described in Patent Document 1, when one piece of media is picked up from the unrecorded product stocker 27 and placed on the printing tray 33, printing is started from the position of the unrecorded product stocker 27. It is assumed that the medium picked from the arm has dropped while the arm is turning to the position of the tray 33.
If the medium falls while it is caught diagonally, when the subsequent operation is continued and the printing tray 33 is pulled out, the printing tray 33 hits the dropped medium and damages the medium. Furthermore, the printing tray 33 itself may be damaged as well as the media.

  Also, if the media falls during the movement of the arm and is stored in the stocker at an angle, if the normal operation continues, the arm will move down in the stocker where the media has dropped at an angle. Then, the arm and the dropped media collide, and not only the dropped media but also the normally stacked media are damaged. Furthermore, the arm 30A itself may be damaged as well as the media.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and prevents the media from being damaged when the media falls from the transfer arm at an unintended timing, and the media processing apparatus uses the dropped media. The purpose of this is to prevent the mechanical components constituting the device from being damaged.

The present invention capable of solving the above problems includes a stacker that stores 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 a host computer. In response to the movement instruction, the medium is moved between the stacker, the writing device, and the printing device by performing at least one of a turning operation and an elevating operation while holding the medium. A media transport mechanism that releases the media at a target point in response to a release instruction;
A media processing device comprising: a media detection mechanism that detects whether the media transport mechanism is in a media holding state or a media release state; and a transport control unit that controls the operation of the media transport mechanism,
The transport control unit ends the operation of the media transport mechanism when determining that the media transport mechanism has transitioned from the media holding state to the media release state at an unintended timing based on a detection signal of the media detection mechanism. It is characterized by that.
In addition, the present invention that can solve the above-described problems includes a stacker that stores 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 a host In response to a movement instruction from a computer, while moving between the stacker, 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 media transport mechanism that transports the media and releases the media at a target point in response to a release instruction; and a media detection mechanism that detects whether the media transport mechanism is in a media holding state or a media release state. A method for controlling a media processing apparatus provided, comprising:
Based on the detection signal of the media detection mechanism, a detection step of detecting that the media transport mechanism has transitioned from the media holding state to the media release state at an unintended timing;
And a step of ending the operation of the media transport mechanism when a transition is made from the media holding state to the media releasing state.

  According to the above configuration, since it is possible to detect that the media transport mechanism is in the media release state at an unintended timing, the media processing apparatus may drop the media held by the media transport mechanism for some unexpected reason. I can recognize that. In addition, when it is detected that the media transport mechanism is in the media release state at an unintended timing, the operation of the media transport mechanism is terminated, so that the fallen media can be prevented from being damaged by continuing the operation. Thus, it is possible to prevent a mechanical component constituting the media processing device from being damaged by the dropped media.

In addition, the present invention includes a display unit that displays a media fall when the media transport mechanism transitions from the media holding state to the media release state at an unintended timing and is regarded as a media fall. To do.
Further, in the present invention, in the detection step, a drop display step of performing a media fall display by assuming that the media has fallen when the media transport mechanism transitions from the media holding state to the media release state at an unintended timing. It is characterized by having.

  According to the above configuration, when the state transition from the media holding state to the media released state is performed at an unintended timing, it is assumed that the medium has fallen, and the media falling display is performed. It is possible to visually grasp that the media has fallen from the transport mechanism. Therefore, a user who has seen the fall indication can quickly take out the dropped media from the media processing apparatus, prevent the media from being damaged, and configure the media processing apparatus with the dropped media. It is possible to prevent the portion from being damaged.

In addition, the present invention provides a drop notification unit for notifying the host computer of a media fall when the media transport mechanism makes a transition from the media holding state to the media release state at an unintended timing. It is characterized by having.
Further, in the present invention, in the detection step, when the media transport mechanism makes a transition from the media holding state to the media release state, it is considered that the media has fallen, and a drop notification step for notifying the host computer of media fall It is characterized by having.

  According to the above configuration, when the state transition from the media holding state to the media released state is performed at an unintended timing, the media processing device notifies the host computer that the media has been dropped, so that the user of the media processing device is not expected. It is possible to visually grasp from the monitor of the host computer or the like that the media has fallen from the media transport mechanism for some reason. For example, even if the media processing device and the host computer are installed at a remote location, the user on the host computer side quickly recognizes the media falling in the media processing device, and drops in the media processing device. The media can be taken out. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the media from being damaged, and to prevent the mechanical components constituting the media processing apparatus from being damaged by the dropped media.

The present invention further includes a detection signal monitoring unit that monitors a detection signal of the media detection mechanism, and the detection monitoring unit outputs a detection signal of the media detection mechanism to a predetermined value while the operation of the media transport mechanism is stopped. It is characterized by monitoring at intervals.
In the present invention, in the detection step, if the operation of the media transport mechanism is stopped, the detection signal of the media detection mechanism is monitored at a predetermined cycle.

  According to the above configuration, the detection signal is monitored at a predetermined cycle if the operation of the media transport mechanism is stopped. Therefore, even when the media transport mechanism is stopped in the media holding state, it can be detected that the media has been dropped at the stop position for some reason. For example, the media transport mechanism transports the media to the installation position of the writing device or printing device, waits at that position (stops operation) until the tray of the writing device or printing device is pulled out, and for some reason during the standby, the media transport mechanism The detection signal can be detected even in the case where the medium has fallen. The predetermined period is preferably 50 [msec], for example.

In the present invention, the detection monitoring unit monitors each time the drive motor of the media transport mechanism is driven for a predetermined step during the turning operation or the lifting operation of the media transport mechanism.
In the present invention, in the detection step, if the media transport mechanism is in a turning operation or an elevating operation, the detection signal is monitored each time the drive motor of the media transport mechanism is driven for a predetermined step. And

  According to the above configuration, since the detection signal is monitored at every predetermined step when the media transport mechanism is in the turning operation or the raising / lowering operation, the subsequent steps are set to be stopped immediately when the detection signal is detected. It is also possible. By setting in this way, it is possible to more reliably prevent damage to the media or failure of the mechanical components constituting the media processing apparatus due to the dropped media.

Further, in the present invention, when at least one of the display unit and the drop notification unit notifies the drop of the medium, the termination process is forcibly executed without receiving an instruction given from the host computer thereafter. It has a termination processing execution unit.
In addition, when the drop display step or the drop notification step is executed, a termination process is forcibly executed without receiving an instruction given from the host computer thereafter.

  According to the above configuration, when a media drop is notified, the termination process is forcibly executed without accepting an instruction given from the host computer thereafter, so the media transport mechanism operates in a state where the media remains dropped. And the tray of the writing device or the printing device is not pulled out. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the media transport mechanism, the writing device, and the tray of the printing device from being damaged by the dropped media.

  An example of a media processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described below 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, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing main parts inside the media processing apparatus 1, and FIG. 3 is a media processing apparatus of this embodiment. It is the schematic diagram which showed the mechanical structure of these.

(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 the processed media 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 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 constituted by 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 FIGS. 2 and 3, 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, the media drive 4 (writing device) is disposed on the upper side, and the 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 the configuration of the media transport mechanism)
Next, the mechanical configuration of the media transport mechanism 6 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a specific configuration example of the media transport mechanism 6. As described above, the media transport mechanism 6 includes the chassis 51 that is vertically attached to the apparatus case 31, and the vertical guide shaft is interposed between the upper and lower horizontal support plate portions 52 and 53 of the chassis 51. 54 is attached, and the media transport arm 55 is supported on the vertical guide shaft 54 in a state in which the media transport arm 55 can be raised and lowered.

  The lifting mechanism of the media transport arm 55 includes a lifting motor 56, and the rotation of the lifting motor 56 is a reduction gear provided with a pinion 57, a composite transmission gear 58, and a transmission gear 59 attached to the motor output shaft. It is transmitted to the drive pulley 61 via the row. The driving pulley 61 is supported in a freely rotatable state around a horizontal rotation shaft (not shown) at a position near the upper end of the chassis 51. A driven pulley 63 is supported at a position near the lower end of the chassis 51 so as to be rotatable about a horizontal rotating shaft 62. A timing belt 64 is interposed between the driving pulley 61 and the driven pulley 63. It is laid over. The rear end portion of the media transport arm 55 is fixed to one of the left and right belt portions of the timing belt 64. Therefore, when the motor 56 is driven, the timing belt 64 moves in the vertical direction, and the media transport arm 55 attached thereto moves up and down along the vertical guide shaft 54.

  Further, the turning mechanism of the media transport arm 55 includes a turning motor 65, and a pinion (not shown) is attached to the output shaft of the turning motor 65. This is transmitted to a fan-shaped final gear 69 through a reduction gear train having compound transmission gears 66 and 67. The fan-shaped last stage gear 69 can turn left and right around the vertical guide shaft 54. In addition, the final stage gear 69 is mounted with a chassis 51 in which components of the lifting mechanism of the media transport arm 55 are assembled. When the turning motor 65 is driven, the fan-shaped final stage gear 69 turns left and right, so that the chassis 51 mounted here turns integrally around the vertical guide shaft 54. As a result, the media transport arm 55 held by the lifting mechanism mounted on the chassis 51 turns left and right around the vertical guide shaft 54.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the media transport arm 55. FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram in a media release state, and FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram in a media holding state.
The media transport arm 55 includes, for example, three gripping claws 70 at the center of the front end portion thereof, one of which is movable in the radial direction. By inserting these gripping claws 70 into the center hole of the media 2 and moving one of the claws outward in the radial direction, the media 2 can be gripped (see FIG. 4B). By moving one nail inward in the radial direction while holding the medium 2, the medium 2 can be released from the holding nail 70 and dropped. Hereinafter, a state where the media 2 is held by the gripping claws 70 is referred to as a media holding state, and a state where the media is released from the gripping claws 70 is referred to as a media release state.

  A media detection mechanism 72 that detects whether the media transport arm is in the media holding state or the media release state is installed further on the side of the vertical guide shaft 54 than the grip claw 70. The media detection mechanism 72 is a contact type sensor, and is in a sensor OFF state when the media is in a released state as shown in FIG. 4A, and no detection signal is transmitted to a conveyance control unit described later. . On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the medium is held, the sensor is in an ON state, and the detection signal is transmitted to the transport control unit.

(About internal processing of media processing device)
Next, internal processing of the media processing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 5 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. 5, 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 conveyance data 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 drop notification 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 settings in the application 101, and the transfer data generation unit 105 generates a media transfer arm movement command, a media pick command, a media release command, and the like. The transport data is generated, and each data is transmitted to the media processing device 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 transport data to the media processing apparatus 1.

  The transmission / reception unit 121 of the media processing apparatus 1 is an interface unit for receiving print data 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 transport data transmitted from the host computer 100 via the hub 110. Based on the transport data temporarily stored in the transmission / reception unit 131, the transport control unit 132 drives the media transport arm 55, the gripping claws 70 that grip the media, and the like to transport 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.

  Further, the transport control unit 132 monitors whether the media transport arm 55 has transitioned from the media holding state to the media release state at an unintended timing based on the detection signal of the media detection mechanism 72. If it is determined that the state has changed, the operation of the media transport mechanism is terminated. Here, the unintended timing is a timing other than the timing at which the media transport arm 55 executes the release process in response to a release command transmitted from the host computer 100, for example.

  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 fall detection processing)
Next, a media drop notification process by the media processing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a drop notification process when the media 2 is dropped while the media transport arm is moving, and FIG. 7 is a drop notification process when the media 2 is dropped while the operation of the media transport arm is stopped. FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram of a drop notification.

  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, the media 2 may fall from the gripping claws 70 of the media transport arm 55 during the transport of the media 2. Usually, if it is gripped by the gripping claw 70, it will not fall, but unexpectedly strong vibration is given to the media processing device 1, or the gripping operation by the gripping claw 70 can be executed normally due to a mechanical malfunction or the like. This may occur when the media 2 is transported in a state where it is easy to fall.

In the media processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, in response to a media release instruction given from the host computer 100, the media transport arm 55 detects a drop of the media 2 that occurs at an unintended timing other than the timing at which the release processing is executed. Can do. Then, when the fall of the medium is detected, the operation of the media transport mechanism 6 is stopped and the media 2 is notified of the fall.
In the following, a detailed description will be given of how to detect a drop of media that occurs at an unintended timing and how to perform a drop notification.

  Here, the media transport arm 55 is moved from the home position position of the media transport arm 55 set in advance to the blank media stacker 11, the media picked from the blank media stacker 11 is transported to the media drive 4, and the media tray 71 is pulled out. A series of processes for releasing the picked media after waiting for the recording will be described. In this case, at least from the host computer 100, [1] a movement command for moving from the home position position to the position of the blank media stacker 11, [2] a pick command for picking media from the blank media stacker 11, [3] a media transport arm 55 Is sent from the blank media stacker 12 to the media drive 4, and [4] a release command to release the media that has been picked up after the media tray 71 of the media drive 4 is pulled out. The device 1 executes processing according to each command.

<Monitoring process of detection signal during operation of media transport arm>
First, when [1] a movement command is received from the host computer 100, the conveyance control unit 132 converts the number of steps of the turning motor in accordance with the movement command, and drives by the number of steps calculated by the media conveyance arm 55 to be the target point. Move to (blank media stacker 11) (step S11). When the media transport arm 55 has moved by the designated number of steps, the media transport arm 55 temporarily stops operating (step S12), and determines whether or not the moved point is the final movement point (step S13). In the present embodiment, the point means a place where the turning operation and the raising / lowering operation are switched when the movement command is executed, and the final movement point means a point that finally moves by one movement command.

[1] If it is determined that the point to be moved by the move command is the final move point (step S13: Yes), it is determined whether or not the medium has dropped during the move (step S14). Here, before and after the movement of the media transport mechanism 55, the detection signal does not change because the media transport arm 55 is in the media release state. That is, since the detection signal of the media detection mechanism 72 remains in the OFF state, [1] the movement process based on the movement command is terminated normally (step S14: No).
On the other hand, even when the point stopped in step S12 is not the last movement point designated by the [1] movement command (step S13: No), it is determined whether or not the medium has dropped during the movement (step S15). . Whether or not the medium holding state is changed to the medium releasing state during the movement of the medium, that is, if the detection signal of the medium detecting mechanism 72 is changed from ON to OFF, it is regarded that the medium has dropped and the subsequent operation is continued. The media drop notification is made without any change (step S16).

  When the media transport arm 55 moves to the position of the blank media stacker 11, [2] pick the media from the blank media stacker 11 according to the pick command for picking the media from the blank media stacker 11.

  Next, [3] according to the movement command for moving the media transport arm 55 from the blank media stacker 12 to the media drive 4, the transport control unit 132 converts the number of steps of the turning motor according to the movement command, and the media transport arm 55 is driven by the number of steps to move from the blank media stacker 11 to the media drive 4 (step S11). When the media transport arm 55 has moved by the designated number of steps, the media transport arm 55 temporarily stops operating (step S12), and determines whether or not the moved point is the final movement point (step S13). If it is determined that the point to be moved by the movement command in [3] is the final movement point (step S13: Yes), it is determined whether or not the medium has dropped during the movement (step S14).

  At this time point, the media transport arm 55 is picking up the media by the [2] pick command, so the media transport arm 55 is in the media holding state. However, if the media falls from the transport arm 55 during the movement based on the movement command of [3], the media is not held when the arm operation is stopped in step S12, so the media transport arm 55 is not held. Is in a media release state. This is determined by the detection signal of the media detection mechanism 72 in step S14. That is, the state transition from the media holding state to the media release state is determined by ON / OFF of the detection signal, and if the detection signal changes from ON to OFF, it is considered that the medium has dropped and the subsequent operation is continued. The media drop notification is made without any change (step S16).

<Detection signal monitoring process while the media transport arm is stopped>
Next, when executing the above [4] release command, the media transport arm 55 waits until the media tray 71 is pulled out at the position of the media drive 4, and releases the media when the media tray 71 is pulled out. However, if a large vibration is applied while waiting for the media tray 71 to be pulled out, the media may fall from the media transport arm 55. In order to detect this, in this embodiment, the detection signal of the media detection mechanism 72 can be monitored even when the operation of the media transport arm 55 is stopped.

  When the operation of the media transport arm 55 in FIG. 6 is finished, the transport control unit 132 acquires the media pick information of the media transport arm 55 from the detection signal of the media detection mechanism 72, and holds the latest pick information (step S21, step S21). S22). Here, since the media transport arm 55 is stopped at the position of the media drive 4 while holding the media, the media detection signal is ON.

  If the operation of the media transport arm 55 is stopped, the media detection signal is monitored with this ON state (step S24). If the media falls while the operation is stopped, the media transport arm 55 transitions from the media holding state to the media released state, so that the detection signal of the media detection mechanism 72 is switched from ON to OFF. If the detection signal is switched from ON to OFF, it is assumed that the medium has fallen and a media drop notification is made (step S25).

  The media detection mechanism 72 monitors the detection signal of the media detection mechanism 72 every 50 [msec]. If the media transport arm 55 is operating in step S23, the monitoring process during operation shown in FIG. 6 is performed. If the detection signal does not change in step S24, the detection signal monitoring process is continued as it is (step S24). Step S26).

(About media drop notification processing)
Next, the media drop notification process performed in step S16 in FIG. 6 and step S25 in FIG. 7 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram of the media drop notification process.

  If it is detected that the media has been dropped during the operation of the media transport arm 55 or has been dropped while the operation of the media transport arm is stopped, if the media transport arm 55 is in the middle of a movement operation based on the movement command, Subsequent operations based on the movement command are stopped, and the fall of the medium is first notified by the LED on the operation surface 34 (T11). Then, the user near the installation location of the media processing device 1 can recognize that the media has dropped in the media processing device 1 from the blinking (or lighting) display of the LED (T12).

  Further, while notifying the fall of the media by the LED on the operation surface 34, the fall notification unit 133 transmits the media fall notification to the host computer 100 via the transmission / reception units 131 and 103 (T13). Then, the user can recognize that the media has dropped in the media processing apparatus 1 via a user interface (not shown) of the host computer 100 (T14). Thereby, it is possible to notify the user who is remote from the media processing apparatus 1 of the fall of the media.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, in the monitoring process when the media transport arm 55 is operating, the media transport arm 55 is moved in response to a move command from the host computer. Although it is set to monitor the detection signal of the detection mechanism 72, it is not limited to such processing. For example, during the turning operation or the raising / lowering operation of the media transport arm 55, it can be set to monitor each time the raising / lowering motor or the turning motor is driven by a predetermined step. For example, if the monitoring is performed for each step, the operation of the media transport arm 55 can be stopped almost simultaneously with the detection of the fall of the media. It is possible to more reliably prevent a failure of a mechanical component constituting the.

In this embodiment, when the fall of the medium is detected, the operation of the media transport mechanism 6 is terminated. That is, the entire operation of the media transport mechanism 6 is terminated without executing processing according to a command such as a move command, a pick command, or a release command transmitted from the host computer 100.
In addition, if the media transport mechanism 6, the label printer 5, and the media drive 4 are configured to perform linked processing, when the operation of the media transport mechanism 6 is finished, the label printer 5 and the media drive 4 The operation can also be set to end. For example, an end process execution unit may be provided to stop the operation of the entire media processing apparatus 1 by forcibly executing the end process without receiving a command given from the host computer 100 thereafter.

  As described above, in the media processing device 1 according to the present embodiment, the media transport arm 55 of the media transport mechanism 6 is set to the media at an unintended timing other than the timing at which the release process is executed according to the release instruction transmitted from the host computer 100. Since the release state can be detected, the media processing apparatus 1 can recognize that the media held by the media transport arm 55 has dropped due to some unexpected situation. In addition, when the detection signal of the media detection mechanism 72 is switched from ON to OFF at an unintended timing, the operation of the media transport mechanism 6 is terminated, so that the dropped media can be prevented from being damaged by continuing the operation. Thus, it is possible to prevent a mechanical component constituting the media processing device 1 from being damaged by the dropped media.

  In addition, when the media processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment detects a change from the media holding state to the media released state at an unintended timing, the media processing apparatus 1 regards the media as falling and displays the media falling. Further, since the media drop notification is sent to the host computer 100, the user of the media processing apparatus 1 can visually grasp that the media has fallen from the media transport arm 55 for some unexpected situation. Even when the media processing device 1 and the host computer 100 are installed at a remote location, the user at the host computer side quickly recognizes the fall of the media in the media processing device, You can head out for falling media. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the media from being damaged, and to prevent the mechanical components constituting the media processing apparatus from being damaged by the dropped media.

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 the schematic diagram which showed the mechanical structure of the media processing apparatus of this embodiment. (A) is a schematic diagram of the media transport arm in the media release state, and (b) is a schematic diagram of the media transport arm in the media holding state. 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 drop notification process when a medium is dropped while the media transport arm is moving. 12 is a flowchart for explaining a drop notification process when a medium falls while the operation of the media transport arm is stopped. It is a sequence diagram of a drop notification process.

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, 81: printer tray, 123 : Print control unit, 132: Transport control unit, 133: Drop notification unit, 142: Write control unit

Claims (14)

A stacker for storing 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;
In response to a movement instruction from a host computer, the medium is held, and at least one of a swiveling operation and an elevating operation is performed to move between the stacker, the writing device, and the printing device. A media transport mechanism that transports the media while releasing the media at a target point according to a release instruction;
A media detection mechanism for detecting whether the media transport mechanism is in a media holding state or a media release state;
A media control device having a transport control unit for controlling the operation of the media transport mechanism,
The transport control unit ends the operation of the media transport mechanism when determining that the media transport mechanism has transitioned from the media holding state to the media release state at an unintended timing based on a detection signal of the media detection mechanism. A media processing device.   The media processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the unintended timing is a timing other than a release process.   2. The display device according to claim 1, further comprising: a display unit configured to display that the medium has fallen when the medium transport mechanism makes a transition from the media holding state to the media released state at the unintended timing. 2. The media processing apparatus according to 2.   And a drop notification unit for notifying the host computer of a media fall when the media transport mechanism makes a transition from the media holding state to the media release state at the unintended timing. The media processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. A detection signal monitoring unit for monitoring a detection signal of the media detection mechanism;
5. The media processing device according to claim 1, wherein the detection signal monitoring unit monitors a detection signal of the media detection mechanism at a predetermined cycle while the operation of the media transport mechanism is stopped. 6. . 6. The medium according to claim 5 , wherein the detection signal monitoring unit monitors each time the drive motor of the media transport mechanism is driven for a predetermined step during the turning operation or the raising / lowering operation of the media transport mechanism. Processing equipment. 5. The apparatus according to claim 4 , further comprising: an end process execution unit that forcibly executes an end process without accepting an instruction given from the host computer when the drop notification unit notifies that the medium has dropped. The media processing device described. A stacker for storing 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;
In response to a movement instruction from a host computer, the medium is held, and at least one of a swiveling operation and an elevating operation is performed to move between the stacker, the writing device, and the printing device. A media transport mechanism that transports the media while releasing the media at a target point according to a release instruction;
A media detection mechanism that detects whether the media transport mechanism is in a media holding state or in a media release state,
Based on the detection signal of the media detection mechanism, a detection step of detecting that the media transport mechanism has transitioned from the media holding state to the media release state at an unintended timing;
And a step of ending the operation of the media transport mechanism when a transition is made from the media holding state to the media releasing state.   The method according to claim 8, wherein the unintended timing is a timing other than the release process.   The detection step includes a drop display step of performing a media fall display by assuming that the media has fallen when the media transport mechanism transitions from the media holding state to the media release state at an unintended timing. A method for controlling a media processing apparatus according to claim 8 or 9.   The detection step includes a drop notification step of performing a media fall notification to the host computer when the media transport mechanism transitions from the media holding state to the media release state, assuming that the media has fallen. The method for controlling a media processing device according to claim 8.   12. The media processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein in the detection step, if the operation of the media transport mechanism is stopped, a detection signal of the media detection mechanism is monitored at a predetermined cycle. Control method.   9. In the detection step, if the media transport mechanism is in a turning operation or an elevating operation, the detection signal is monitored each time the drive motor of the media transport mechanism is driven for a predetermined step. 12. A method for controlling a media processing apparatus according to any one of claims 12 to 13. 12. The method of controlling a media processing device according to claim 11 , wherein when the drop notification step is executed, the termination processing is forcibly executed without receiving an instruction given from the host computer thereafter.

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