CN116922968A

CN116922968A - Printer control method and control circuit

Info

Publication number: CN116922968A
Application number: CN202311041964.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 胡骏; 刘旭东; 陈道来; 曹振飞
Original assignee: Shanghai Qinyun Electronic Technology Co ltd
Current assignee: Shanghai Qinyun Electronic Technology Co ltd
Priority date: 2023-08-17
Filing date: 2023-08-17
Publication date: 2023-10-24

Abstract

The application provides a printer control method and a control circuit, which relate to the technical field of printers, and the printer control method and the control circuit are used for acquiring printing data, wherein the printing data comprises a printing duty ratio, the current temperature of the printer and the proportion of printing points corresponding to printing content of a printing indicating printer to the total points of the printer, a first temperature control function is selected from preset temperature control functions according to the printing data, when the first temperature control function indicates that the printing duty ratio and the current temperature condition of the printer are met, the corresponding relation between printing duration and printing temperature is referred to, and the on-off of the printer is controlled by referring to the corresponding relation.

Description

Printer control method and control circuit

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of printer technologies, and in particular, to a printer control method and a control circuit.

Background

In the existing circuit design of the circuit, a micro control unit (microcontroller unit, MCU) controls the on-off of a heating power supply of the printer through enabling pins (namely, controls the on-off of the heating power supply of the printer by inputting high and low levels to the pins), so as to control whether the printer is heated or not, and detects the temperature of the printer through a negative temperature coefficient thermistor (negative temperature coefficient, NTC), and when the NTC detects that the temperature of the printer is too high, the heating power supply of the printer can be disconnected. However, when the NTC is damaged or the MCU is dead, the continuous heating of the printer is easy to occur, and the paper burning phenomenon of the printer is easy to occur.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a printer control method and a control circuit, which are used for avoiding the condition that paper is burned when a printer is used for printing.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a printer control method executable by a printer, the method comprising:

acquiring print data, the print data comprising: the printing duty ratio and the current temperature of the printer, wherein the printing duty ratio indicates the proportion of printing points corresponding to the printing content of the printer to the total points of the printer; selecting a first temperature control function from preset temperature control functions according to the printing data, wherein the first temperature control function indicates the corresponding relation between printing duration and printing temperature when the printing duty ratio and the current temperature condition of the printer are met; and controlling the on-off of the printer by referring to the corresponding relation.

According to the method, the corresponding relation between the printing time length and the printing temperature is obtained by obtaining the printing duty ratio and the current temperature of the printer, and the printer is controlled to be on-off by referring to the relation. Reasonable temperature control can ensure that the printer works under safe temperature regulation, reduces printing errors and faults caused by overhigh temperature in the printing process, and can improve the printing quality and the service life of equipment by acquiring the printing duty ratio and the current temperature of the printer.

In an alternative manner, the preset temperature control function is determined by fitting to acquired data, and the acquired data includes: and under the condition that the printing contents with different printing duty ratios continuously work at different printing initial temperatures, stopping the printing operation until a preset printing temperature threshold value is reached, and obtaining the corresponding relation between the printing duration and the printing temperature.

In the method, under the condition that the continuous work of the printing contents with different printing duty ratios at different printing initial temperatures is collected, the corresponding relation of the printing temperature along with the change of the printing duration is cut off in the process of presetting the printing temperature threshold. The temperature characteristics of the printer under different printing duty ratios and printing initial temperature conditions can be acquired by acquiring the information, so that the temperature change rule of the printer in actual use can be known, the curve of the temperature change along with time is analyzed by acquiring data, the basis is provided for the acquisition and optimization of a temperature control function, the strategy of temperature control can be adjusted according to the characteristics of the temperature control function, the accuracy and the stability of the temperature control are improved, and the success rate of the realization of the overheat prevention method of the printer is further improved.

In an optional mode, collecting working data of the printer, wherein the working data comprises a corresponding relation between printing time length and printing temperature in the printing process of the printer; and adjusting the first temperature control function according to the working data.

According to the method, the corresponding relation between the printing time length and the printing temperature of the printer in the printing process is acquired, so that more temperature control functions under different printing time lengths and at the printing initial temperature can be obtained through fitting, a machine learning network model can be constructed according to the information, the temperature control functions can be optimized continuously, and the accuracy of the temperature control functions is improved.

In an alternative way, controlling the on-off of the printer with reference to the correspondence relationship includes: determining a printing threshold of the printer according to the corresponding relation, wherein the printing threshold comprises a printing duration threshold, and the printing duration threshold indicates the printing duration when the printer continuously prints to a preset printing temperature threshold; and if the printer is determined to reach the printing duration threshold value, closing the printer.

In the method, the corresponding relation between the printing duration and the printing temperature is obtained through the first temperature control function selected previously, the printing duration threshold value of the printer is determined by referring to the corresponding relation, namely the printing duration of the printer continuously printing to the printing temperature threshold value is determined, the printing is stopped when the printer reaches the printing duration threshold value is ensured by obtaining the printing duration threshold value, the printing safety duration can be obtained predictably, the printer is stopped before overheat is ensured, and the success rate of the overheat prevention method of the printer is improved.

In an alternative manner, the print threshold further comprises: a print time interval threshold indicating a minimum time interval between any two consecutive prints.

In the method, the corresponding relation between the printing time length and the printing temperature is obtained through the first temperature control function selected previously, the printing time interval threshold of the printer is determined by referring to the corresponding relation, the printing time interval threshold is the minimum time interval between any two continuous printing, the printer is ensured not to start printing again before the temperature is reduced to the safe range, the printer is ensured to have enough cooling time, the normal operation of the printer is ensured, and meanwhile, the reliability and the stability of the overheat prevention method are improved.

In a second aspect, the application provides a printer control circuit, comprising a temperature detection circuit, a control chip and a switch circuit; the control chip is respectively connected with the temperature detection circuit and the switch circuit; the temperature detection circuit is used for detecting the printing temperature of the printer; the control chip acquires the printing temperature, judges whether the printing temperature exceeds a printing temperature threshold, outputs a control signal which is a pulse width modulation (pulse width modulation, PWM) pulse signal if the printing temperature is not greater than the printing temperature threshold, and outputs a control signal which is not the PWM pulse signal if the printing temperature is greater than the printing temperature threshold; the switch circuit is used for receiving the control signal of the control chip, controlling the printer to be in a working state if the control signal is a PWM pulse signal, and controlling the printer to be in a non-working state if the control signal is a non-PWM pulse signal.

In the application, the printing temperature is obtained through the temperature detection circuit, whether the temperature exceeds the printing temperature threshold value is judged, if the temperature exceeds the printing temperature threshold value, the chip outputs PWM pulse signals to control the switch circuit, and the printer is controlled to stop heating through the switch circuit. The current temperature condition can be obtained more accurately through the temperature detection circuit so as to accurately judge whether the temperature is overheated or is about to overheat, the printer can be controlled to stop heating more effectively through the switch circuit, and under the condition that the chip normally operates, the printer control circuit can effectively realize overheat prevention management of the printer.

In an alternative way, the switching circuit includes: a first capacitor, a second capacitor, a first diode, a second diode, a first resistor, a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOS) transistor; the first end of first electric capacity is connected with control chip, the second end is connected with the negative pole of first diode, the positive pole ground connection of first diode, the negative pole of first diode still is connected with the positive pole of second diode, the negative pole of second diode is connected with the first end of second electric capacity, the second ground connection of second electric capacity, the first end of second electric capacity still is connected with the first end of first resistance, the second ground connection of first resistance, the first end of first resistance still is connected with the grid of MOS pipe, the source electrode ground connection of MOS pipe, the drain electrode of MOS pipe is connected with printer switch control circuit.

In the method, the MOS tube, the capacitor, the resistor and the diode form the switch circuit, and the switch circuit can be controlled and changed according to the pulse signal, so that the printer control circuit is ensured to successfully realize the on-off of the heating of the printer.

In an optional manner, the connection between the drain electrode of the MOS transistor and the printer switch control circuit includes: the drain electrode of the MOS tube is connected with a heating power switch control circuit of the printer; or the drain electrode of the MOS tube is connected with a control pin of the printer.

According to the method, two printer switch control circuits are realized through the difference of the connection objects of the MOS tubes, and the two printer switch control circuits are performed simultaneously, so that the success rate of preventing overheating of the printer can be further improved through the printer control method.

In an alternative way, the temperature detection circuit includes: a second resistor; the first end of the second resistor is connected with the input end of a printer thermistor pull-up power supply, the second end of the second resistor is connected with the printer thermistor, and the second end of the second resistor is also connected with an analog-digital converter (analog to digital converter, ADC) detection port of the control chip.

According to the method, the temperature detection circuit is realized through the resistor, so that the temperature of the current printer can be effectively and accurately detected, whether the printer needs to be controlled by adopting the switch circuit or not is judged in real time at the current temperature, and the accuracy of the printer control circuit in realizing overheat prevention of the printer is improved.

These and other aspects of the application will be more readily apparent from the following description of the embodiments.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings that are needed in the description of the embodiments will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings may be obtained according to these drawings without inventive effort for a person skilled in the art.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a print scenario according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a schematic flow chart of a printer control method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a schematic flow chart of a fitting temperature control function according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a temperature control curve according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a schematic flow chart of optimizing a temperature control function according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a printer control circuit according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a pulse signal waveform according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram of a temperature detection circuit according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram of a printer switch control circuit coupled to a heating power supply according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram of a printer switch control circuit connected to a DST pin according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a circuit diagram of a comparator circuit according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application more clear, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

In the following embodiments of the present application, "and/or" describing the association relationship of the association object indicates that three relationships may exist, for example, a and/or B may indicate: a alone, a and B together, and B alone, wherein a, B may be singular or plural. The character "may be a relationship that generally indicates that the front and rear associated objects are an" or ". "under at least one item(s) or the like, refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single item(s) or plural items(s). For example, at least one (one) of a, b or c may represent: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, wherein a, b, c may be single or plural. The singular expressions "a", "an", "the" and "the" are intended to include, for example, also "one or more" such expressions, unless the context clearly indicates the contrary. And, unless specified to the contrary, references to "first," "second," etc. ordinal words of embodiments of the present application are used for distinguishing between multiple objects and are not used for limiting the order, timing, priority, or importance of the multiple objects.

Reference in the specification to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" or the like means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in one or more embodiments of the application. Thus, appearances of the phrases "in one embodiment," "in some embodiments," "in other embodiments," and the like in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, but mean "one or more but not all embodiments" unless expressly specified otherwise. The terms "comprising," "including," "having," and variations thereof mean "including but not limited to," unless expressly specified otherwise.

Referring to fig. 1, which is a schematic diagram of a printing scene of a printer according to an embodiment of the present application, the diagram includes a POS printer and a print ticket, and fig. 1 is illustrated by taking the POS printer of the XX take-out platform as an example, where the print ticket includes a XX restaurant, a braised chicken cap meal 1 x 20 farmhouse steamed egg 1 x 6 tomato delicacy 1 x 15 packaging fee 2 distribution fee 0, and the following are added up: 43 delivery address: mr. 132XXXX3612 order number for North Carriers X, building XX 2, new Pudong area, shanghai: 10005846253612524 order time 2023-08-10: 49:31 payment method: on-line payment of the number of tableware: 1 part.

In fig. 1, the printer may receive information of a take-out order from a merchant (i.e., XX restaurant), and generate print content according to merchandise information corresponding to the information of the take-out order, which is only illustrated and not particularly limited herein.

It should be noted that, in the printer field, the printing content can be described by printing dots (also referred to as heating dots), the total printing dots corresponding to different types of printers may be different, for example, 384 heating dots corresponding to a 58mm printer (i.e. full of ink with printing ticket), but in actual printing, the printing ticket cannot be completely laid with white space, as shown in a take-out ticket (for example, printing by a 58mm printer) in fig. 1, and assuming that the printing dots of the take-out ticket in fig. 1 are 115, the printing ratio of the take-out ticket is 30% (115/384).

Of course, it should be noted that, in practical application, other information, such as a pattern, a bar code, etc., may be printed by the printer, where the printing content of the printer is not specifically limited, and the signal of the printer is not limited, and in practical application, the printer may be 80 mm. The present application is not particularly limited herein.

The printer is the thermal printer generally, and the high life and the printing effect of printer can be influenced to the printer temperature that the printer is too high, consequently generally need monitor the printer printing temperature, avoid the heating power of printer to continue the heating, the phenomenon of printer paper burning appears, but, the relevant technique is usually through MCU enable pin control printer heating power's break-make, and then whether control printer heats, detect printer temperature through thermistor, but damage when thermistor or MCU crash still probably appears the printer and continue the heating, the condition of printer paper burning.

It should be noted that, the thermal printer prints through a thermal print head, where the thermal print head is composed of a row of heating elements, these elements are arranged in a lattice form, when a current is passed through them, the elements generate a high temperature, and when the print medium coating encounters these elements, the temperature rises rapidly, so that a chemical reaction is generated, and a color is developed, so that printing is completed. The number of printing dots refers to the number of dots used for heating printing paper in the printer, and the heated dots can be used for generating characters, patterns, bar codes and the like on the printing paper through heating. In the printing process, the number of printing points can directly influence relevant printing conditions such as printing speed, printing quality, temperature rise speed and the like. The total number of points of the printer refers to the total number of points of a heating dot matrix on a printing head used by the thermal printer, and generally, the more the total number of points of the printer are, the denser the arrangement is, which indicates that the printing precision of the printer is higher.

The application provides a printer control method and a control circuit to avoid the occurrence of the above situations. In particular, referring to fig. 2, the printer control method provided in the embodiment of the present application may be implemented by a control chip of a printer, and typically, the control chip may be a processor, such as an MCU, etc., which is not specifically limited herein. The method can be executed by a control chip, and is executed as follows:

Step 201, obtaining print data, the print data including: the printing duty ratio indicates the proportion of the printing points corresponding to the printing content of the printer to the total points of the printer, and the current temperature of the printer.

Note that, the number of print dots required may be affected by differences in the character size and complexity in the print content, the resolution of the print image, the print demand, and other conditional factors. Smaller character, smaller character size print content typically requires fewer print points to print, while larger, more complex print content often requires more print points to ensure presentation of detail. If the print content includes an image, the number of print points required is related to the resolution of the image, higher resolution images typically require more print points to ensure accurate representation of image details, while lower resolution images require less print points. Different print demands can also affect the number of print points required to print content, with some scenes requiring more print points to achieve the printed text or image being clearer and finer, and some scenes requiring less print points to print quality. As can be seen from this, the number of printing points by the printer varies depending on the print content, and the proportion of the printing points by the printer to the total points by the printer varies.

The print content is generally transmitted from the user to the control chip of the printer through other terminal devices such as a computer, a mobile phone, etc., and the specific source of the print content is not particularly limited herein. For example, a certain type of 58mm printer is used for printing the image 1 (i.e. printing content), 288 printing points are needed to be used for calculating the pattern 1 through the control chip, the total number of the printer is 384, and the occupation proportion of the printing points needed by the pattern 1 to the total number of the printer is 288/384=75% through calculation.

In the above step 201, the control chip monitors the printing temperature (may also be referred to as the initial printing temperature) of the printer in the current printing environment (also referred to as the initial printing temperature) through a sensor, such as a thermistor, where the current printing environment may be understood as being the printing temperature of the printer (e.g., the temperature of the printer detected by the thermistor) when the printing content in the step 201 needs to be printed after the printer intermittently or uninterruptedly, the printing temperature is not the temperature of the indoor or outdoor environment where the printer is located, and the printing temperature may be 20 ℃,50 ℃, etc. which are only illustrated herein, but not particularly limited. In practical application, the patch type temperature monitor can be used for monitoring the current temperature of the printer, and the application is not particularly limited to the acquisition equipment. For example, the control chip acquires the initial printing temperature and the current temperature of the printer by detecting the current temperature of the printer by using a patch type temperature monitor, and the current temperature of the printer is acquired to be 36 ℃.

Step 202, selecting a first temperature control function from preset temperature control functions according to the printing data, wherein the first temperature control function indicates the corresponding relation between the printing duration and the printing temperature when the printing duty ratio and the current temperature condition of the printer are met.

It should be noted that, different print data correspond to different temperature control functions, and when in actual application, the control chip can select and call the appropriate temperature control function according to the requirement of actual application, so as to control the on-off of the printer with reference to the temperature control function. The temperature control function is usually preset, the preset temperature control function is determined by fitting acquired data, and the acquired data comprises: and under the condition that the printing contents with different printing duty ratios continuously work at different printing initial temperatures, stopping the printing operation until a preset printing temperature threshold value is reached, and obtaining the corresponding relation between the printing duration and the printing temperature. Of course, in practical application, the temperature control function also includes a correspondence relationship between the drop of the printing temperature from the printing temperature threshold value and the time.

Specifically, in the process of obtaining the preset temperature control function, because the printing points corresponding to different printing contents are different, different printing duty ratio intervals can be separated according to the proportion of the printing points corresponding to the printing contents of the printer to the total points of the printer, so as to obtain the law of real scenes suitable for different printing content types. Therefore, in the implementation process of the method, a plurality of printing duty ratio intervals are required to be divided according to different printing duty ratios, and a plurality of different initial printing temperatures are required to be set. For example, as shown in fig. 3, after data acquisition, the data are divided into 3 print duty intervals (less than 40%, 40% -70%, more than 70%) according to the print duty, 3 typical temperature values (-15 ℃, 25 ℃, 55 ℃) are divided according to the initial temperature of printing, and after data fitting, 9 temperature control functions can be obtained respectively.

It should be noted that, in the present application, the collected data refers to continuous printing under the condition that the printing content with different printing duty ratios continuously works at different initial printing temperatures, the printer temperature rises from the scene temperature to the printing threshold temperature, the printing is stopped, the correspondence between the printer temperature falling from the printing temperature threshold and the time is continuously monitored, and a series of discrete printing time points and printer temperature points obtained in the process are continuously collected, and these points can be expressed as (t) ₀ ，T ₀ )、(t ₁ ，T ₁ )、(t ₂ ，T ₂ ) Etc., where t _i Represents the ith time point, T _i Representing the corresponding temperature value, and calculating the corresponding relation between the printing time length and the printing temperature according to the data points. The patch type temperature monitor can be used for collecting printer temperature information, and the collecting tool is not particularly limited in practical use.

For example, data is collected for a model 58mm printer, the collection is shown in Table 1 below. The printer has 384 heating points in total, the printing duty ratio is divided into 3 printing duty ratio intervals according to different printing scenes, namely, scenes with the printing duty ratio less than 40% (such as hundred degrees, beauty groups, public praise and how small tickets are hungry), scenes with the printing duty ratio between 40% and 70% (such as continuous printing of two-dimensional codes, printing of forms, continuous printing of bar codes and printing of pictures), and scenes with the printing duty ratio greater than 70% (such as printing of images and large black blocks).

And for different printing duty ratio intervals, adopting the printing duty ratio in one interval, calculating to obtain a fixed value of the printing point number, and designing a standard model corresponding to the point number according to the fixed value to print. In scenes with print duty ratios less than 40%, a standard model of 384×0.3=153 dots is printed. In a scene with a printing duty ratio of 40% -70%, a standard model with 384 x 0.7=268 points is printed. In scenes with print duty ratios greater than 70%, a standard model of 384 dots is printed.

In the specific acquisition process, setting three initial printing temperatures of-10deg.C, 25deg.C and 55deg.C, and respectively making the printer continuously print the above-mentioned 3 printing temperatures at different temperaturesPrinting the standard model of the duty ratio interval, the printer continuously prints until the temperature rises to a temperature threshold, for example, the temperature threshold is 80 ℃, namely, continuously prints until the printer temperature rises to 80 ℃ and then stops printing, and after stopping printing, the printer temperature drops until the printer returns to the printing initial temperature. In the process, a patch type temperature monitor is used for continuously collecting the temperature point of the printer, and simultaneously corresponding printing time points are recorded to obtain a series of discrete information points (t _i ，T _i ). Taking a scene with a printing duty ratio of less than 40% and a printing initial temperature of-10 ℃ as an example for explanation, adopting a standard model with 384 x 0.3=153 points to print, starting to print to obtain the 1 st information point (0, -10 ℃), that is, when the printing time is 0, the printer temperature is-10 ℃ of the printing initial temperature, and as the printing is performed, the printer temperature rises to obtain the 2 nd information point (t) ₁ -9 ℃ below zero), illustrated at pass t ₁ After the time, the printer temperature rises to-9 ℃, printing is continued, and the printer passes through t _i After a time the printer temperature reached a threshold of 80 c, an information point (t _i At 80 c), at this time, the printer stops printing, and the printer temperature drops, and information point (t) is obtained _i+1 79 deg.c), the passage of t from the start of printing is described _i+1 After the time, the printer temperature is reduced to 79 ℃, and recording is continued until t _i+n After the time, the printer temperature was returned to-10℃at the initial printing temperature to obtain information points (t _i+n And (5) at-10 ℃ to collect temperature information.

TABLE 1

It should be noted that, according to the collected data, the temperature control function is obtained by fitting. In order to better understand and apply the data, excel and other tools can be adopted to fit and obtain a temperature control curve, refer to fig. 4, and the printing temperature is continuously increased along with the increase of the printing duration, and the printing is stopped when the printing temperature is increased to the printing temperature threshold (i.e. 80 ℃ in fig. 4) for 10 minutes. And then generating a temperature control function through the temperature control curve, and using a mathematical model to approximately describe the change rule of the temperature along with time. It should be noted that, in practical applications, other types of fitting calculation tools may be used, which are not limited herein.

Furthermore, the fitting function may be a polynomial function, an exponential function, a logarithmic function, etc., the specific choice depending on the nature of the temperature data and the accuracy of the fitting required. By fitting the function, we can get a functional expression, using the printing time as an argument, predicting or calculating the corresponding temperature value.

It should be noted that, each time the temperature control function is selected according to the print data, the most appropriate temperature control function is selected to be used as the first temperature control function. The temperature control function has limited initial printing temperature, and can be calculated by adopting the function closest to the current initial printing temperature and the printing duty ratio in practical application.

For example, when an image is printed by a certain type of 58mm printer, 288 print points are required for calculating the print content, the total number of the printer is 384, and the print ratio of the print points required for calculating the print content to the total number of the printer is 288/384=75%, so that the case is a scene with the print ratio of more than 70%. Meanwhile, the printing initial temperature is monitored to be 30 ℃, if the corresponding temperature control functions at the three printing initial temperatures of minus 10 ℃, 25 ℃ and 55 ℃ are obtained through previous calculation, the condition that the current printing initial temperature is closest to 25 ℃ can be known, so that the temperature control functions at the printing initial temperature with the point occupation ratio of more than 70% and 25 ℃ are adopted as the first temperature control function to carry out calculation, and the printing duration threshold and the printing time interval threshold under the current condition are obtained through calculation. In practical application, the detected printing duty ratio and the initial printing temperature are input, and the printer automatically processes and matches the most suitable first temperature control function.

And 203, controlling the on-off of the printer by referring to the corresponding relation.

The print threshold includes a continuous print duration threshold and a print time interval threshold. The printing time period threshold value refers to the printing time period when the printer continuously prints to a preset printing temperature threshold value, wherein the threshold temperature refers to the temperature at which control measures are required when the temperature of the printer rises to a certain degree. The printing time interval threshold refers to the minimum time interval between any two continuous printing, and when the printer continuously prints to a certain degree, the printing time interval threshold is triggered, namely, control measures are needed to avoid the continuous rising of the temperature. At this time, the print time interval threshold functions to ensure that printing is not started again until the printer temperature falls to the safe range. If the print interval is too short, the printer may not have enough time to dissipate heat, resulting in a sustained rise in temperature, which may damage the device or affect print quality. Therefore, by setting the printing time interval threshold, it is possible to ensure that the printer has enough time to cool down at the time of continuous printing, to ensure the normal operation of the printer. In printer temperature control, the setting of the printing duration threshold and the printing time interval threshold is used for avoiding overheat or overload of the printer and ensuring the stability and reliability of the printer.

In the step 203, firstly, the point occupation proportion of the total points of the printer occupied by the printing points required by the printing content is monitored and calculated, the printing initial temperature is monitored in real time, the collected printing duty ratio and the printing initial temperature are used as input parameters, the calculation is performed through a temperature control function, the estimated time of the printer to the threshold temperature under the current condition is calculated, namely the printing duration threshold, and the time of the printer to fall from the threshold temperature to the safety range after stopping printing under the current condition is calculated and is used as the printing time interval threshold.

It should be noted that, in a specific application, the printing duration is monitored according to the previously calculated printing duration threshold, and when the working time reaches the printing duration threshold, that is, the preset working time is exceeded, the risk that the printer may overheat is indicated. Once the print duration threshold is triggered, the printer takes corresponding temperature control measures. Meanwhile, the printer starts timing and records the rest time, and particularly, the reasonable rest time can be set according to user experience, but it should be noted that the rest time must be greater than or equal to the printing time interval threshold. After the printer performs temperature control, the printer monitors the minimum printing interval in real time. If a new print job arrives within the rest time, the printer waits for the rest time to end and then starts printing. Once the rest time is over, the printer resumes normal printing operation and continues printing.

In addition, the collected printing duty ratio, printing initial temperature and temperature information can be subjected to data processing by constructing a machine learning network model or a deep learning network model, for example, the temperature rise condition of the printer is determined by constructing a temperature rise rule model. The above model may be constructed by, for example, mobilet, but may alternatively be constructed by other lightweight convolutional networks such as Ghostnet, fasternet, etc., the application is not particularly limited herein.

According to the application, the control chip controls the on-off of the printer based on the first temperature control function corresponding to the printing data by acquiring the printing data, so that the condition of paper burning of the printer can be avoided, and the service life of the printer is further prolonged.

Of course, in the process of practical application, the control chip can also collect the working data of the printer, wherein the working data comprises the corresponding relation between the printing time length and the printing temperature in the printing process of the printer; according to the working data, the first temperature control function is adjusted, and the first temperature control function optimized in the mode is more suitable for the actual application requirements of the printer. The specific steps may be performed with reference to the steps of fig. 5, where data is continuously collected during use of the printer by the user to continuously optimize the temperature control function, after which the optimized temperature control function may be imported into the printer for use.

Step 501, collecting the initial printing temperature to obtain the initial printing temperature of the printer.

Step 502, calculating a print duty ratio to obtain the proportion of the print points of the printer to the total points of the printer.

In step 503, a continuous printing duration and a printing interval duration are set according to the printing initial temperature and the printing duty.

In step 504, data is continuously collected during use of the printer by the user to continuously optimize the temperature control function.

And step 505, importing the optimized temperature control function into a printer for use.

Of course, in practical application, the on-off of the printer can also be controlled directly by the control circuit, and the printer control circuit is described with reference to fig. 6, where the printer control circuit shown in fig. 6 includes: a temperature detection circuit 601, a control chip 602 (wherein the control chip may be an MCU, FPGA, etc. not specifically limited herein), and a switching circuit 603; the control chip 602 is connected to the temperature detection circuit 601 and the switch circuit 603, respectively.

The temperature detection circuit 601 is used for detecting the printing temperature of the printer; the control chip 602 acquires the printing temperature, judges whether the printing temperature exceeds a printing temperature threshold, outputs a control signal which is a PWM pulse signal if the printing temperature is not greater than the printing temperature threshold, and outputs a control signal which is not the PWM pulse signal if the printing temperature is greater than the printing temperature threshold; the switch circuit 603 is configured to receive a control signal from the control chip, and control the printer to be in an operating state if the control signal is a PWM pulse signal, and to be in a non-operating state if the control signal is a non-PWM pulse signal. Referring to fig. 7, a waveform diagram of the PWM pulse signal for controlling the on-off of the printer heating power supply is schematically depicted. When the PWM pulse signal works, pulse signal waves are regularly emitted, and a heating power supply of the printer is conducted at the moment to heat the printer; when the PWM pulse signal does not work, the pulse signal wave may be in an irregular state, a certain regularity is lost, and at the moment, the heating power supply of the printer is disconnected, and the heating is stopped.

According to the application, the working state of printing is controlled by PWM pulse, so that the situation that the printer cannot be shut down when the MCU fails can be avoided, and the situation that paper is burnt when the printer continuously prints is avoided.

The temperature detection circuit 601 includes: a second resistor; the first end of the second resistor is connected with the input end of the printer thermistor pull-up power supply, the second end of the second resistor is connected with the printer thermistor, and the second end of the second resistor is also connected with the ADC detection port of the control chip.

Fig. 8 schematically illustrates a temperature detection circuit provided for an embodiment of the present application, and the detection circuit shown in fig. 8 includes an NTC thermistor pull-up power supply prt_vd33_sw, an ADC detection signal prt_th1, and a voltage dividing resistor R1 (i.e., a second resistor).

The input end of the NTC thermistor pull-up power supply PRT_VDD33_SW is connected with the first end of the divider resistor R1, the second end of the divider resistor R1 is connected with an ADC detection signal PRT_TH1, and two ends of the ADC detection signal PRT_TH1 are respectively connected with the MCU and the NTC thermistor.

It should be noted that prt_vdd33_sw is an NTC thermistor pull-up power supply for supplying an operating power to the NTC thermistor, and in order to read the NTC thermistor value, it is necessary to connect it to a circuit and supply an appropriate power supply. The pull-up power supply is to connect the power supply voltage to one end of the NTC thermistor through a resistor so that the NTC thermistor forms a voltage division network in the circuit. When the temperature changes to cause the change of the NTC resistance value, the output voltage of the voltage dividing network also changes correspondingly, and the change of the printer temperature can be deduced by measuring and analyzing the voltage change led out by the pull-up power supply of the NTC thermistor. The voltage dividing resistor R1 is a voltage dividing resistor in the MCU ADC detection circuit and is used for dividing the voltage and dividing a high voltage signal into a low voltage signal for the subsequent circuit. The NTC thermistor is a temperature sensitive resistor, and is characterized in that as the temperature increases, the resistance decreases, and as the temperature decreases, the resistance increases, and the NTC thermistor is widely used in the fields of temperature measurement, temperature control, etc., and may be implemented by using other types of thermistors in practical application, which is not particularly limited herein.

As can be seen from the circuit diagram of fig. 8, when the heating power switch prt_vdd33_sw is in a conducting state, the power end conducts the voltage to the voltage dividing circuit composed of the NTC thermistor and the voltage dividing resistor R1, the voltage signal passing through the thermistor is converted by the ADC and then is transmitted to the MCU for temperature calculation and judgment, and when the temperature exceeds the set threshold, the MCU controls the printer heating power to be turned off, so as to protect the printer from overheating.

Wherein the switching circuit 603 includes: the first capacitor, the second capacitor, the first diode, the second diode, the first resistor and the MOS transistor; the first end of first electric capacity is connected with control chip, the second end is connected with the negative pole of first diode, the positive pole ground connection of first diode, the negative pole of first diode still is connected with the positive pole of second diode, the negative pole of second diode is connected with the first end of second electric capacity, the second ground connection of second electric capacity, the first end of second electric capacity still is connected with the first end of first resistance, the second ground connection of first resistance, the first end of first resistance still is connected with the grid of MOS pipe, the source electrode ground connection of MOS pipe, the drain electrode of MOS pipe is connected with printer switch control circuit.

Fig. 9 schematically illustrates a switching circuit provided for an embodiment of the present application, where the switching circuit shown in fig. 9 includes a capacitor C1 (i.e., a first capacitor), a capacitor C2 (i.e., a second capacitor), a diode D1 (i.e., a first diode in the switching circuit), a diode D2 (i.e., a second diode in the switching circuit), a resistor R1 (i.e., a first resistor in the switching circuit), and an NMOS transistor Q1 (i.e., a MOS transistor in the switching circuit).

The PWM control signal input end of the control chip is connected with the first end of the capacitor C1, the second end of the capacitor C1 is connected with the cathode of the diode D1 and the anode of the diode D2, the anode of the diode D1 is grounded, the cathode of the diode D2 is connected with the grid of the NMOS tube Q1 and the first end of the capacitor C2, the second end of the capacitor C2 is grounded, the first end of the resistor R1 is connected with the grid of the NMOS tube Q1, the second end of the resistor R1 is grounded, the source electrode of the NMOS tube Q1 is grounded, and the drain electrode of the NMOS tube Q1 is connected with the heating power supply U1401.

Wherein, the PWM control signal is generated by MCU, and the turn-off and turn-on of the heating power U1401 can be controlled by adjusting the duty ratio of the PWM control signal. The capacitor C1 plays a role in blocking direct current and passing alternating current, and changes the PWM control signal into an alternating current signal. The diodes D1 and D2 rectify the ac signal and output the forward signal. The capacitor C2 is used for freewheeling, when the alternating current signal is in the forward voltage, the capacitor C2 is charged, and when the negative voltage is filtered, the positive voltage is kept, so that the grid electrode of the NMOS tube Q1 is kept at a high level, and the conduction state of the NMOS tube Q1 is ensured. The resistor R1 is used to keep the initial state of the gate of the NMOS transistor Q1 low. The NMOS tube Q1 is a field effect tube, and under the control of PWM signals, when the grid electrode of the NMOS tube Q1 is at a high level, the NMOS tube Q1 is conducted, and the heating power supply U1401 is started; when the gate of the NMOS transistor Q1 is at a low level, the NMOS transistor Q1 is turned off, and the heating power U1401 is turned off, thereby controlling the switching state of the heating power U1401. The present application is not limited to the above elements.

As can be seen from the circuit diagram of fig. 9, the resistor R1 makes the initial state of the gate of the NMOS transistor Q1 be low level, and the heating power supply U1401 is turned off at this moment, when the MCU works normally, the PWM signal is rectified into a forward signal through the diode D1 and the diode D2 after being isolated from direct current and connected to alternating current by the capacitor C1, and the forward signal is freewheeled through the capacitor C2, so that the gate of the NMOS transistor Q1 is kept high level, and the NMOS transistor Q1 is turned on, and the heating power supply U1401 is turned on. When the MCU crashes or stops outputting the PWM signal, the PWM signal stops changing, the NMOS tube Q1 is not conducted any more, the heating power supply U1401 is disconnected, and the heating is stopped. When the MCU resumes normal operation and outputs the PWM signal again, the NMOS transistor Q1 is turned on again according to the change of the PWM signal, the heating power supply U1401 is turned on again, and the heating is restarted. Therefore, the circuit controls the on and off of the NMOS tube Q1 through PWM signals, and realizes the control of a heating power supply of the printer. When the MCU is in a halt, the PWM signal stops outputting, and the heating power supply is disconnected, so that the safety of the system is ensured; when the MCU works normally, PWM signals are continuously output, the conduction state of the heating power supply is kept, and the normal operation of the heating function is ensured. In addition, after the heating power supply is disconnected, the ADC detection circuit can also detect the heating voltage, and whether the heating power supply is turned off successfully is confirmed again. In fig. 9, the drain electrode of the MOS tube is connected to the heating power switch control circuit of the printer, and the working state of the printer is controlled by directly controlling the on-off of the heating power.

And the drain electrode of the MOS tube is connected with the control pin of the printer in practical application. The control pin is used for controlling the on-off of the printer, wherein the control pin can be a DST pin, and also can be an STB pin, and the DST pin is taken as an example for illustration. As shown in fig. 10, the switching circuit includes a capacitor C1, a diode D2, a capacitor C2, a resistor R1, an NMOS transistor Q1, a resistor R2, and a PMOS transistor Q2.

The input end of the PWM control signal PWM_DST_EN is connected with the first end of a capacitor C1, the second end of the capacitor C1 is connected with the negative electrode of a diode D1 and the positive electrode of a diode D2, the positive electrode of the diode D1 is grounded, the negative electrode of the diode D2 is connected with the grid electrode of an NMOS tube Q1, the first end of the capacitor C2 and the first end of a resistor R1, the second end of the capacitor C2 is grounded, the first end of the resistor R1 is connected with the grid electrode of the NMOS tube Q1, the second end of the resistor R1 is grounded, the source electrode of the NMOS tube Q1 is connected with the first end of a resistor R2, the grid electrode of a PMOS tube Q2 is connected with a DST signal PRT_DST_3V3, and the drain electrode of the PMOS tube Q2 is connected with a DST signal PRT_DST.

The PWM control signal pwm_dst_en is generated by the MCU, and the on/off of the DST pin of the printer can be controlled by adjusting the duty ratio of the PWM control signal pwm_dst_en. The capacitor C1 plays a role of blocking direct current and passing alternating current, and changes the PWM control signal pwm_dst_en into an alternating current signal. The diodes D1 and D2 rectify the ac signal and output the forward signal. The capacitor C2 is used for freewheeling, when the alternating current signal is in the forward voltage, the capacitor C2 is charged, and when the negative voltage is filtered, the positive voltage is kept, so that the grid electrode of the NMOS tube Q1 is kept at a high level, and the conduction state of the NMOS tube Q1 is ensured. The resistor R1 is used to keep the initial state of the gate of the NMOS transistor Q1 low. The NMOS tube Q1 is a field effect tube, and under the control of a PWM signal, when the grid electrode of the NMOS tube Q1 is at a high level, the NMOS tube Q1 is conducted; when the gate of the NMOS transistor Q1 is at a low level, the NMOS transistor Q1 is turned off. The PMOS tube Q2 is a field effect tube, and when the grid electrode of the PMOS tube Q2 is at a low level, the PMOS tube Q2 is conducted; when the grid electrode of the PMOS tube Q2 is at a high level, the PMOS tube Q2 is turned off. The present application is not limited to the above elements.

As can be seen from the circuit diagram of fig. 10, the resistor R1 makes the initial state of the gate of the NMOS transistor Q1 be low level, at this time, the current reaches the PMOS transistor Q2 through the resistor R2, the gate of the PMOS transistor Q2 is turned on at the low level, and the DST pin controlled by the PMOS transistor Q2 is turned on, at this time, the printer is heated normally. When the PWM control signal pwm_dst_en is dc-cut and ac-cut through the capacitor C1, the forward signal is rectified into a forward signal by the diode D1 and the diode D2, the forward signal is freewheeled through the capacitor C2, the gate of the NMOS transistor Q1 is kept at a high level, so that the NMOS transistor Q1 is turned on, the current reaches the PMOS transistor Q2 through the resistor R2, the gate of the PMOS transistor Q2 receives the high level, so that the PMOS transistor Q2 is turned off, and because the source of the PMOS transistor Q2 is connected with the DST signal prt_dst3v3, the drain of the PMOS transistor Q2 is connected with the DST signal prt_dst, so that when the PMOS transistor Q2 is turned off, the DST pin is also turned off, thereby stopping heating. Therefore, the circuit controls the on and off of the DST pin through the PWM signal, and realizes the control of heating of the printer. When the temperature is detected to be too high, the MCU sends a PWM signal, the DST pin is disconnected, and heating is stopped, so that the safety of the system is ensured; when the temperature is normal, the DST pins keep an initial conduction state, and normal operation of a heating function is ensured.

In addition, it is proposed to control the printer by a comparator circuit to avoid paper burning of the printer. Fig. 11 schematically illustrates a comparator circuit provided for an embodiment of the present application, and the comparator circuit illustrated in fig. 11 includes a resistor R1, a capacitor C1, a comparator chip U107, a resistor R2, a resistor R3, a capacitor C2, and a resistor R4.

The pin 1 of the comparator chip U107 is connected with the heating power supply control switch, the comparator power supply VDD33 is connected with the first end of the resistor R1, the second end of the resistor R1 is connected with the first end of the capacitor C1 and the pin 2 of the comparator chip U107, the second end of the capacitor C1 is grounded, the pin 3 of the comparator chip U107 is grounded, the thermistor voltage signal is connected with the first end of the resistor R3, the second end of the resistor R3 is connected with the first end of the capacitor C2 and the pin 5 of the comparator chip U107, the second end of the capacitor C2 is grounded, the comparator input voltage VDD33 is connected with the first end of the resistor R2, the second end of the resistor R2 is connected with the pin 4 of the comparator chip U107 and the first end of the resistor R4, and the second end of the resistor R4 is grounded.

The VDD33 power supply is a power supply line in the circuit for supplying power to the comparator chip U107 and inputting a reference voltage signal to the comparator chip U107. The comparator control signal vp_close is used to connect the heating power control switch to control it. The thermistor voltage signal prt_th1 is used to input the voltage signal of the thermistor into the comparator chip U107 for comparison. The comparator chip U107 is a core element of the entire circuit for comparing two input voltages and outputting corresponding control signals. It should be noted that the specific type of the element used in the present circuit is not particularly limited.

As can be seen from the circuit diagram of fig. 11, this circuit connects the voltage output of the thermal sensor to pin 5 (positive input) of the comparator chip U107, the comparator input voltage VDD33 to pin 4 (negative input) of the comparator chip U107, sets the reference voltage of the comparator chip U107 to a set value, and inputs the set voltage signal as a comparator reference voltage signal, for example, to set as a threshold value of the thermal sensor partial voltage. When the voltage division signal (positive input end) of the thermal sensor is lower than the reference signal of the comparator chip U107 (negative input end), the comparator control signal vp_close output by the pin 5 (OUT end) of the comparator chip U107 is at a low level, the comparator control signal vp_close output by the comparator chip U107 is connected to the printer heating power supply, and when the output of the comparator chip U107 is at a low level, the hardware turns off the printer heating power supply and stops heating. When the voltage division signal (positive input end) of the thermal sensor is higher than the reference signal of the comparator chip U107 (negative input end), the comparator control signal vp_close output by the pin 5 (OUT end) of the comparator chip U107 is at a high level, the comparator control signal vp_close output by the comparator chip U107 is connected to the printer heating power supply, and when the output of the comparator chip U107 is at a low high level, the printer heating power supply is turned on to heat. Meanwhile, the comparator control signal vp_close of the output of the comparator chip U107 is also connected to the interrupt pin of the MCU, and when it is interrupted by the MCU, the software is notified for further processing. Therefore, the circuit realizes real-time temperature monitoring and automatic power-off protection through the hardware comparator circuit, and can prevent the temperature of the thermal head from exceeding a set maximum value and avoid paper burning and safety problems. Meanwhile, control can be given to software for more processing, such as displaying warning information, recording abnormal temperature and the like, through an interrupt pin connected to the MCU.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that embodiments of the present application may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present application may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present application may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

The present application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products according to the application. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the present application without departing from the scope of the application. Thus, it is intended that the present application also include such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

Claims

1. A printer control method, comprising:

acquiring print data, the print data comprising: the printer comprises a printing duty ratio and the current temperature of the printer, wherein the printing duty ratio indicates the proportion of printing points corresponding to printing content of the printer to the total points of the printer;

selecting a first temperature control function from preset temperature control functions according to the printing data, wherein the first temperature control function indicates the corresponding relation between printing duration and printing temperature when the printing duty ratio and the current temperature condition of the printer are met;

and controlling the on-off of the printer by referring to the corresponding relation.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined temperature control function is determined for fitting to acquisition data comprising: and under the condition that the printing contents with different printing duty ratios continuously work at different printing initial temperatures, stopping the printing operation until a preset printing temperature threshold value is reached, and obtaining the corresponding relation between the printing duration and the printing temperature.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising:

collecting working data of the printer, wherein the working data comprises a corresponding relation between printing duration and printing temperature in the printing process of the printer;

And adjusting the first temperature control function according to the working data.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein said controlling the on-off of the printer with reference to the correspondence relationship comprises:

determining a printing threshold of the printer according to the corresponding relation, wherein the printing threshold comprises a printing duration threshold which indicates the printing duration when the printer continuously prints to a preset printing temperature threshold;

and closing the printer if the printer is determined to reach the printing duration threshold value.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the print threshold further comprises: a print time interval threshold indicating a minimum time interval between any two consecutive prints.

6. A printer control circuit, comprising: a temperature detection circuit, a control chip and a switch circuit;

the control chip is respectively connected with the temperature detection circuit and the switch circuit;

the temperature detection circuit is used for detecting the printing temperature of the printer;

the control chip acquires the printing temperature, judges whether the printing temperature exceeds a printing temperature threshold, outputs a control signal which is a Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) pulse signal if the printing temperature is not greater than the printing temperature threshold, and outputs a control signal which is not the PWM pulse signal if the printing temperature is greater than the printing temperature threshold;

The switch circuit is used for receiving the control signal of the control chip, controlling the printer to be in a working state if the control signal is the PWM pulse signal, and controlling the printer to be in a non-working state if the control signal is a non-PWM pulse signal.

7. The circuit of claim 6, wherein the switching circuit comprises: the MOS transistor comprises a first capacitor, a second capacitor, a first diode, a second diode, a first resistor and a metal-oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOS);

the first end of the first capacitor is connected with the control chip, the second end of the first capacitor is connected with the cathode of the first diode, the anode of the first diode is grounded, the cathode of the first diode is also connected with the anode of the second diode, the cathode of the second diode is connected with the first end of the second capacitor, the second end of the second capacitor is grounded, the first end of the second capacitor is also connected with the first end of the first resistor, the second end of the first resistor is grounded, the first end of the first resistor is also connected with the grid electrode of the MOS tube, the source electrode of the MOS tube is grounded, and the drain electrode of the MOS tube is connected with the printer switch control circuit.

8. The circuit of claim 7, wherein the connection of the drain of the MOS transistor to the printer switch control circuit comprises:

the drain electrode of the MOS tube is connected with a heating power switch control circuit of the printer; or alternatively, the first and second heat exchangers may be,

and the drain electrode of the MOS tube is connected with the control pin of the printer.

9. The circuit of any one of claims 6-8, wherein the temperature detection circuit comprises: a second resistor;

the first end of the second resistor is connected with the input end of the printer thermistor pull-up power supply, the second end of the second resistor is connected with the printer thermistor, and the second end of the second resistor is also connected with the analog-digital converter ADC detection port of the control chip.