JPH023884Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] This invention relates to a printer control device that adjusts the distance between the hammer and the type body in accordance with the number of stacked printing sheets.

Conventionally, in flying line printers, when the thickness of the printing paper increases or decreases, the flight distance of the hammer changes and the printing timing shifts.In line printers in particular, the printing speed is high, so there is a slight timing shift. Since this has a large effect on the misalignment of the printing position, it is necessary to adjust the distance between the hammer and the type with a fairly high degree of precision in accordance with the number of stacked sheets of printing paper.

For this reason, in the past, driving means such as stepping motors or servo motors that can accurately position the hammers were used to adjust the distance between the hammer and the type, but stepping motors and servo motors are expensive. At the same time, there was a drawback that the drive circuit became complicated.

The object of this invention is to provide a printer control device that can adjust the distance between the hammer and the type body with high precision using an inexpensive drive means that combines a DC motor and a screw shaft.

Below, an embodiment of this invention will be explained with reference to the drawings.A band unit 2 fixed to the machine frame has a plurality of different types engraved on its outer circumferential surface on a pair of pulleys (not shown) that rotate around a vertical axis. Spread the character band 3. The hammer bank unit 4 is supported on the machine frame so as to be movable in the front-rear direction (horizontal direction in Figure 1), and is mounted on the front side (left side in Figure 1).
A plurality of hammers are supported in parallel so as to sandwich the passage path of the printing paper 1 and face the character band 3, and screw holes (not shown) are provided in the hammer bank unit 4 along the direction of movement thereof. A screw shaft 6 supported on the machine frame so as to be rotatable about an axis along the moving direction of the hammer bank unit 4 is screwed into this screw hole, and the base end of the screw shaft 6 is screwed into the machine frame. By rotating the fixed DC motor M in the X direction, the character band 3 and the hammer 5 are separated (in the direction of arrow E in FIG. 1), and by rotating the DC motor M in the Y direction, the character band 3 and the hammer 5 are brought closer together (the first (in the direction of arrow W in the figure).

A U-shaped frame 7 that opens toward the band unit 2 is fixed to the side surface of the hammer bank unit 4, and the lower end 7a of the frame 7 provided with a plurality of slits S ₀ to _{S 5} is made horizontal. Place it in As shown in FIG. 3, the slits S ₁ to _{S 5} are provided along the moving direction of the hammer bank unit 4 at intervals equal to the thickness of one sheet of commonly used printing paper.
The slit _S0 is provided so as to be spaced apart from the slits _S1 to _S5 in the direction of the arrow W and in the direction crossing the moving direction of the hammer bank unit 4.

A U-shaped detector 8 opening rearward with respect to the band unit 2 is fixed to the machine frame so as to sandwich the lower end 7a of the frame 7 vertically apart, and the lower surface of the upper end 8a of the detector 8 is fixed to the machine frame. A pair of light emitters (light emitting diodes) L ₁ and L ₂ are arranged so as to face the movement paths of the slits S ₁ to S ₅ and the movement path of the slit S ₀ , respectively, and the lower end 8b of the detection body 8 There is a light emitter on the top of the
A pair of photoreceptors (phototransistors) _{F1 and F2} are fixed across the lower end 7a of the frame 7 so that the light of L1 _{and L2} can be received through the slits _S0 to _S1 .

Furthermore, when the light emitting body _L1 faces the slit _S5 , the hammer unit 4 is positioned so that the hammer unit 4 is positioned so that the distance between the hammer 5 and the character band 3 corresponds to the thickness of five sheets of printing paper. The slits S 4 to _{S 1} are arranged in relation to the light emitter L 1 , so that the slits S ₄ to S 1 face the light emitter L ₁ at the moving position of the hammer bank unit 4, which corresponds to the thickness of four to one sheets of printing paper, respectively. .

Next, the control circuit of this invention will be explained.
In Fig. 4, MC is a well-known microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as microcomputer), which inputs control signals from various input means etc. through the I/0 port, and controls the forward/reverse rotation drive or stop of the DC motor M. I do.

First, to explain the means of input to the I/0 port, PS is a paper thickness (digital) switch that is placed outside the machine frame and can be manually set.It can be set according to the number of stacked sheets of paper to be printed. Different digital codes are generated in relation to the numerical values "1" to "5".

SSW is an operating switch for generating a starting signal to rotate the DC motor M in the X direction, and BSW is an operating switch for generating a starting signal for rotating the DC motor M in the Y direction. Both are always open circuits. , one end is grounded, and a positive voltage Vcc is applied to the input end to I/0 via resistors R ₁ and R ₂ , respectively.

A positive voltage Vcc is applied to the anodes of the light emitters (light emitting diodes) L ₁ and L ₂ , and the cathodes are connected to each resistor.
By grounding through R ₄ and R ₆ both light emitters L ₁ ,
Make L ₂ always emit light.

A positive voltage Vcc is applied to the collectors of the photoreceptors (phototransistors) F ₁ and F ₂ , and their emitters are grounded via resistors R ₃ and R ₆ to turn them on.

The ON signals of the photoreceptors F ₁ and F ₂ are amplified by amplification circuits A ₁ and A ₂ , respectively, and input to the I/0 port.

Next, the drive circuit for _the DC motor M controlled via the I/ ₀ port will be explained. The collectors of transistors _{TR 2 and} TR ₄ are connected, the emitters of transistors TR ₂ and TR ₄ are grounded, and both input terminals of a DC motor M are connected between the collectors of transistors TR 2 and TR ₄ .

DR is a switching circuit that has two output terminals, Q ₁ and Q _2. The Q ₁ terminal is connected to the base of transistor TR ₄ , and the Q ₂ terminal is connected to the base of transistor TR ₂ and is connected to inverter IN. ₂ to the base of the transistor TR ₃ . and,
Q ₁ and Q ₂ can each switch the output voltage to H (high) level or L (low) level, and (Q ₁ , Q ₂ )
= (H, L) turns on transistors TR ₁ and TA ₄ to rotate DC motor M in the X direction (Fig. 1), and (Q ₁ , Q ₂ ) = (L, H) turns on transistors TR 1 and TA 4. Turn on TR ₂ and TR ₃ to rotate the DC motor M in the Y direction (Fig. 1), and turn off all transistors TR ₁ to TR ₄ by (Q ₁ , Q ₂ ) = (L, L). Stop the DC motor M.

Next, the microcomputer involved in drive control of the DC motor M
To explain the flowchart of the MC program, in FIG. 5, after the power is turned on, first in the "Initial Set" routine, the SSW flag and BSW flag used below are reset to "0".
Next, “determine” whether the operation switch SSW is on or not.
If it is on, the SSW flag is set to "1".

Next, “determine” whether the SSW flag is “0” or “1”,
If it is "1", the DC motor M is rotated in the X direction to "determine" whether the light emitter F ₂ is on or off, and if it is off, the DC motor M is continued to be rotated in the X direction and the light emitter F ₂ is turned on. When turned on, the SSW flag becomes “0”
At the same time, the DC motor M is stopped.

Next, it is determined whether the operation switch BSW is on or not, and if it is on, the setting value of the paper thickness switch PS is
Read N ₀ and store it in the specified register (set as the first register) and set the BSW flag to "1".
Set to . Next, the BSW flag is “0” or “1”
If it is "1", the value "6" is stored in a predetermined register (second register), and the DC motor M is rotated in the Y direction, and the light emitting body is
When _F1 rises from off to on, "1" is subtracted from the value N stored in the second register. Next, the value stored in the first register N ₀ and the value stored in the second register N
If N> _N0 , the DC motor M is continued to rotate in the Y direction, and if N= _N0 , the BSW flag is reset to "0" and the DC motor M is stopped.

This invention has the above structure, and its operation will be explained next.

Now, let's talk about printing on three sheets of printing paper, for example. In this case, set the paper thickness switch PS to N ₀ = "3" and press the operation switch.
When the SSW is operated, the SSW flag is set to "1", so the DC motor M rotates in the X direction, which causes the hammer unit 4 to rotate in the E direction (Fig. 1).
Move to. When the hammer bank unit 4 moves to a position where the slit _S0 of the frame body 7 faces the light emitter _L2 arranged on the detection body 8, the light from the light emitter _L2 is transferred to the light receiver _F2 through the slit _S0 . When the light is received, the SSW flag is reset to "0" and the DC motor M stops, thereby stopping the hammer bank unit 4 at a position with a wide gap between the character band 3 and the hammer 5 (paper setting position). do.

In order to perform copy printing between the character band 3 and the hammer 5, three sheets of printing paper are inserted in a stacked state and the operation switch RSW is operated.
Since the BSW flag is set to "1", "N=6" is stored in the second register of the microcomputer MC, and the DC motor M rotates in the Y direction, thereby causing the hammer bank unit 4 to rotate in the W direction (first
Go to Figure).

When the hammer bank unit 4 moves to a position where the slit _S5 of the frame body 7 faces the light emitting body _L1 arranged on the detection body 8, the light emitting body passes through the slit _S5.
The light of L ₁ is received by the photoreceptor F ₁ , and "1" is subtracted from the value N = "6" stored in the second register of the microcomputer MC, and the value stored in the second register becomes N = "5". .
The DC motor M further rotates in the Y direction, the hammer bank unit 4 moves in the W direction, and the slit S ₄
When the light emitter L ₁ and the light emitter L 1 face each other, the value stored in the second register is further subtracted by ``'' and becomes N = ``4''.
Next, when the slit S ₃ and the light emitter L ₁ face each other, the value stored in the second register becomes N = "3", which matches the value stored in the first register N ₀ = "3".
The BSW flag is reset to "0" and the DC motor M stops, and at this time, the hammer bank unit 4 stops with the light emitter S ₁ of the detector 8 and the slit S ₃ of the frame 7 aligned. Therefore, the distance between the character band 3 and the hammer 5 is set to a width suitable for stamping exactly three sheets of printing paper stacked one on top of the other.

If you want to set the paper again after completing the specified printing, operate the operation switch SSW to rotate the DC motor M in the X direction, move the hammer bank unit 4 in the E direction, and return it to the paper setting position. Then, set the number of sheets of paper to print using the paper thickness switch.
After resetting it to the PS, insert the paper between the character band 3 and the hammer 5, and turn the operation switch.
When the BSW is operated, the hammer bank unit 4 is rotated in the Y direction of the DC motor M as described above.
moves in the W direction, and the hammer bank unit 4 stops when the distance between the character band 3 and the hammer 5 becomes wide enough to accommodate the thickness of the number of sheets of printing paper set in the paper thickness switch PS. .

Incidentally, in the above embodiment, the band unit 3 is fixed and the hammer bank unit 4 is movable, but conversely, the hammer bank unit 4 may be fixed and the band unit 3 is movable.

Furthermore, although the above embodiments have been described with reference to a character band type line printer, it goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to type drum type line printers.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the amount of adjustment of the distance between the typeface and the hammer is manually set using a paper thickness (digital) switch.
The thickness of the paper may be automatically detected using the configuration shown in Japanese Patent No. 53-14022, and the above adjustment control may be performed based on this detection signal.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the type carrier and the hammer are separated from each other by a predetermined distance, and then the hammer bank unit is moved so that the two come close to each other at a distance that matches the number of sheets of printing paper. If there is no setting mode, then for example, after bringing the type support and the hammer close to each other to a predetermined distance, the hammer bank unit can be moved so that they are separated from each other by a distance that matches the number of sheets of printing paper. Good too.

As described above, according to this invention, in a printer in which the distance between a type body such as a character band or a type drum and a hammer can be adjusted, the distance between the two can be adjusted using a light emitting body, a light receiving body, and a plurality of slits. Since detection is performed by a combination of By reducing the amount of change in the distance between the typeface and the hammer with respect to the amount of drive of the drive means using a connecting means such as the above, it is possible to set the distance between the two to a desired value with high accuracy, thereby improving print quality. can be improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement of the band unit and hammer bank unit and the state of connection of the driving means to the hammer bank unit, Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the arrangement of the frame and the detection body, and Fig. 3 is a frame A diagram showing the positional relationship between the slit provided on the body and the light emitter placed on the sensing body, Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the control circuit,
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the microcomputer program.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A type unit 2 having a type body 3 in which a plurality of type characters are arranged and supported on a machine frame, and a plurality of hammers arranged so as to face the type body across the paper passage path. a holding means 6 which movably supports either the type unit or the hammer bank unit so that the type body and the hammer can be brought into contact with each other; A motor M that is rotatable and connected to a holding means so as to bring the type body and the hammer close to each other in connection with forward rotation and to separate them in connection with reverse rotation; Detection means 7 connected to a movable type unit or hammer bank unit so as to move in one direction and move in the other direction in relation to spacing, and provided with a plurality of slits at predetermined intervals along the direction of movement. , a light-emitting body L 1 placed on the machine frame to face the slit of the detection means and constantly emitting light, and a light-emitting body L ₁ placed on the machine frame to face the light-emitting body across the moving route of the detection means and receiving light from the light-emitting body. A photoreceptor _F1 that generates a detection signal related to the thickness of the printing paper, a setting means PS that generates a signal with a different digital value corresponding to the thickness of the printing paper, and a motor that can be driven in the forward or reverse direction by manual operation. control circuits MC, DR, TR ₁ to TR ₄ , which have a counting circuit that counts the detected signals and stop the motor when the counted value matches the digital value of the setting means. A printer control device comprising: