JP2000143006A - Printer and printing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simply carry out the seal print of 16 partitions or the like without mistaking a sheet of recording paper. SOLUTION: A ROM is installed in a chart cartridge 12. The classified data of recording paper to be stored in the cartridge 12 are written in the ROM. When the chart cartridge 12 is set up in an insertional port of a printer body 11, a system controller reads the classified data of the recording paper from the ROM. On the basis of the read classified data, it will come to a print mode corresponding to the recording paper charged in the chart cartridge 12. In this print mode, respective keys 46 to 48 set up in an operation panel part 45 are pushed, whereby various prints such as all frame prints, residual frame prints, the latest frame prints, etc., can be done without fail.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer and a printing method for taking out recording paper from a paper feed tray or a recording paper cartridge and performing printing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, digital cameras have rapidly become widespread. Normally, an image captured by the digital camera is taken into a personal computer or the like, where the image is processed, and then printed by various printers connected to the personal computer.

[0003] In addition, image data from a digital camera is directly sent to a printer for printing without intervening a personal computer or the like. Similarly, a video signal is obtained from a video movie and printed.

In such a printer, a mechanical mark or an optical mark for identifying a sheet size is attached to a sheet tray for each sheet size, and these marks are detected on the printer side. Then, based on the detected mark, the size of the set recording paper is identified, the type of the size of the recording paper attached thereto is detected, and this is displayed on a display or the like. Further, in the selection of the recording paper, only the set recording paper is selected.

[0005]

However, in the conventional printer, when a print of a size different from the size of the set recording paper is specified, it is only impossible to specify the print. For this reason, a full-frame print of one frame may be performed on a sticker print sheet that performs multi-printing of 16 divisions, and the recording paper may be wasted. Also, when printing, it is necessary to select the size and type of recording paper and perform printing.
The operation was incomprehensible and troublesome.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printer and a printing method capable of performing special printing or the like easily and without mistake in recording paper.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, in the printer according to the first aspect, an operation member corresponding to the type of the recording paper to be stored is provided at an operable portion of the paper feeding means. It is preferable that the paper feeding unit has type information indicating the type of recording paper. Further, there is provided reading means for reading the type information, and control means for selecting an operation procedure corresponding to the recording paper based on the read type information and performing printing according to the operation procedure, wherein the operation member corresponds to each control procedure. It is preferable that the operation button is constituted by an operation button. It is preferable that a warning is issued or printing is prohibited when the type information is unreadable.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the paper feeding means for storing the recording paper for each type is provided with type information indicating the type of the recording paper and an operation member corresponding to the type of the recording paper. When is loaded, the type information is read, an operation procedure corresponding to the recording paper is selected based on the read type information, and printing is performed by operating an operation member based on the operation procedure.

[0009]

According to the present invention, various print instructions are issued by operating the operation member provided on the paper feeding means. Therefore, since the operation is performed from the operation member unique to each recording paper,
It is possible to easily perform a print instruction without giving a print designation with a wrong type of recording paper.

[0010]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a color thermal printer according to the present invention. The color thermal printer 10 of the present invention comprises a box-shaped printer main body 11 and a recording paper cartridge 12 which is detachably attached thereto. As shown in FIG. 2, the recording paper cartridge 12 normally stores recording paper 13 in a stacked state. In addition to the normal recording paper cartridge 12, as shown in FIG. 3, a sealing recording paper cartridge 15 in which sealing recording papers 14 are stacked and stored is separately provided.

As shown in FIG. 1, a loading port 16 for a recording paper cartridge 12 is provided in the front of the printer main body 11 near the center thereof. A paper discharge port 17 is provided above the loading port 16. Furthermore, an insertion slot 19 for a smart media (small IC memory card) 18 is provided on the upper left side, and a power switch 20 is provided below it.

As shown in FIG. 4, the normal recording paper cartridge 12 is composed of a thin box-shaped cartridge main body 30 having an open top and a lid 31. The lid 31 is attached to the cartridge body 30 via an attachment shaft 32 so as to be freely opened and closed. When the lid 31 is opened, the recording papers 13 are normally stacked and stored in the cartridge body 30. As shown in FIG. 1, paper guides 31a, 31b, and 31c are provided on both sides and one end of the lid 31 so as to protrude. This paper guide 31a ~
The guide 31 c guides the recorded recording paper 13 discharged from the paper exit 15 to prevent the recording paper 13 from falling off the lid 31.

A gap is formed near the mounting shaft 32 at a portion where the cartridge main body 30 and the lid 31 are joined. The lid 31 has a paper feed roller opening 36 into which the paper feed roller 35 enters. A movable bottom plate 37 is disposed in the cartridge main body 30, and the movable bottom plate 37 presses the recording paper 13 against the paper feed roller 35 by the bias of a coil spring 38.
Further, a recording paper separating section 39 is provided in the cartridge main body 30 below the paper feed port 34.

In the empty space in the recording paper separating section 39,
A ROM 41 attached to a substrate 40 is provided. In the ROM 41, type information including the size and type of the recording paper 13 stored in the cartridge body 30 is written. Further, a connection pattern 40a is formed on the substrate 40, and the connection pattern 40a is exposed from the opening 39a of the recording paper separating section 39.

An end face of the cartridge body 30 opposite to the paper feed port 34 is an operation panel section 45. As shown in FIG. 2, the operation panel section 45 has three button switches 46 to 48. Are located. Each button switch 4
6 to 48 are connected to the connection patterns 40a of the substrate 40 via the connection cords 49 as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, three button switches 46 to 48 are assigned functions of all-frame printing, remaining frame printing, and latest photographing frame printing in order from the left.
They are all-frame print key, remaining frame print key, and latest shot frame print key. All-frame print key 46
Is selected when all the frames stored in the smart media 18 are sequentially recorded. Remaining frame print key 4
Reference numeral 7 is selected when referring to the print history data written in the smart media 18, extracting only unprinted frames that have not been recorded, and sequentially recording them. The latest shot frame print key 48 is selected when printing the frame shot most recently.

As shown in FIG. 3, the recording paper cartridge 15 for the seal is also constructed in the same manner as the normal recording paper cartridge 12, and the difference is that the storage contents of the ROM 41 and the operation panel unit 45 are arranged. Button switch 5
The number and arrangement of 0,51. The button switch 50 arranged at the center is a key (different image multi key) for selecting different image multi print in which different images are respectively allocated to 16 multi frames. The button switch 51 on the left side is a key (same image multi key) for selecting the same image multi print in which images most recently photographed are allocated to 16 multi frames.

As shown in FIG. 4, a contact pin 55 is formed in the printer body 11 at a position corresponding to the connection pattern 40a of the recording paper cartridge 12 set at the paper supply position. The contact pin 55 is urged by a coil spring 56 in the protruding direction. When the recording paper cartridge 12 is set at the paper feeding position, the contact pins 5
5 contacts the connection pattern 40a, and the ROM 41 and the button switches 46 to 38 are connected to the system controller 57 in the printer main body 11.

The system controller 57 controls each part of the printer main body 11 to print on the recording papers 13 and 14 based on the image stored in the smart media 16. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a printing procedure in the system controller 57. When the power is turned on, first, each unit is initialized. Next, it is detected whether or not the recording paper cartridge 12 or 15 is set in the loading port 16. This detection may be performed by providing a cartridge detection sensor. Alternatively, the presence or absence of the setting of the recording paper cartridge 12 may be detected based on whether data can be read from the ROM 41 or not.

If the recording paper cartridge 12 or 15 is not set, an alarm indicating no cartridge is issued, and the setting of the recording paper cartridge 12 is prompted. Next, based on the data read from the ROM 41, in the case of the normal recording paper cartridge 12, the standard print mode is selected. In the case of a 16-part sticker recording paper cartridge 15, the 16-part sticker print mode is selected. If the type information that can be printed is not obtained from the ROM 41, a message indicating that the cartridge has been replaced is displayed, and a warning is issued that the recording paper cartridge is not the designated recording paper cartridge. In this case, printing is prohibited.

In each print mode, input of an operation key is awaited. When the button switches 46 to 48, 50, and 51 are pressed, the system controller 57 performs printing corresponding to the pressed button switch. For example, when the all-frame print key 46 is pressed in the standard print mode, all the frames stored in the smart media 18 are sequentially read out, and each of these frames is displayed on the entire recording area of the recording paper 13 as one image. Are sequentially recorded.

When the remaining frame print key 47 is depressed, the image data of the frames that have not been printed are sequentially read out with reference to the print history data written in the smart media 18, and the image of each frame is displayed as one. Each frame is recorded on the entire print area of the recording paper 13. When the latest frame print key 48 is pressed, the image data of the most recently recorded frame is read out and recorded on the entire printing area of the recording paper 13.

When the different image multi-print key 50 is pressed in the seal print mode of 16 divisions,
Each frame recorded on the smart media 18 is reduced and recorded on the recording paper 14 as 16 multi-frames composed of different images. Also, the same image multi-print key 51
When is pressed, the frame most recently recorded on the smart media 18 is reduced and recorded as 16 multi-frames of the same image.

As described above, the recording paper cartridge 12 is set in the loading port 16 and the recording paper cartridge 12 or 1 is set.
5 various keys 46 to 48, 50, 5 of the operation panel unit 45
By operating the button 1, the user can easily instruct various prints in the print menu corresponding to the recording papers 13 and 14. In addition, since the keys for operating various prints correspond to the recording paper to be stored, for example, an operation of printing one frame on the entire surface of the print area on the recording paper 14 for 16 divided seals is performed. Is eliminated, and print designation errors are eliminated.

In the above-described embodiment, the keys 46 to 48, 50, and 51 for designating the print type are provided on the recording paper cartridge 12 as operating members, but the operating members are provided on these keys 46 to 48, 50, and 51. Without being limited,
Various keys may be provided. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, in addition to the keys 46 to 48 shown in FIG.
By providing the numbers 0 to 63 and the enter key 64, the print can be specified more finely. For example, the frames to be printed are sequentially displayed on, for example, an external display using the cursor keys 60 to 63, and the frames to be printed are individually selected. Instead of using an external display, a display composed of a liquid crystal panel may be incorporated.

In the above embodiment, 1 is used as the special recording paper.
Although the six-part seal recording paper 14 was used, the number of divisions is not limited to this, and various types of seal recording paper such as four divisions, twelve divisions, twenty-four divisions, and other divisions may be used. Good. In this case, the type information for identifying them is written in the ROM 41. Also, the shape of each frame of the sticker recording paper is not limited to a rectangle, and a seal notch 72 of various shapes such as an ellipse and a heart may be provided. Further, as a special recording paper, a label recording paper such as VHS, 8 mm, or a normal cassette tape may be used.

In the above embodiment, the recording paper cartridge 1
Although 2 and 15 are used as the paper feeding means, a paper feeding tray or a recording paper package may be used as the paper feeding means, although not shown. The recording paper package is set alone in the insertion slot 14 of the printer main body 11, and is also set after being loaded in a paper feed tray or a recording paper cartridge. In this case as well, operating members such as button switches and ROMs are built in these paper feed trays and recording paper packages. Then, the type of the recording paper loaded in the tray or the package is recorded in the ROM. Further, an electrically erasable / writable EEPROM may be used as the ROM.

In the above-described embodiment, the ROM is provided to generate the signal of the recording paper type of the recording paper cartridge 12.
Alternatively, the type of recording paper may be determined by changing the number of operation buttons for each type of recording paper cartridge. For example, when the number of operation buttons is two, it is determined that the recording sheet is a normal recording sheet, and when the number of operation buttons is three, it is determined that the recording sheet is a sticker recording sheet.

Further, type information composed of irregularities may be used instead of the ROM. In this case, the mechanical switch on the printer side is switched by the unevenness to obtain the type information of the recording paper. Further, the type information may be constituted by a white mark or a black mark instead of the unevenness. In this case, a white mark or a black mark is formed on the paper feeding means, and these marks are detected by a photo sensor to identify the type of the recording paper. Also,
A mark such as a barcode may be used as the type information in addition to the white and black marks.

In the above embodiment, the color thermal printer 1
Although the present invention was implemented at 0, the present invention may be implemented in other thermal printers such as a sublimation type and a heat melting type. Further, the present invention may be applied to other inkjet recording methods, silver halide printers using laser light, and the like, in addition to the thermal printing method. In the above embodiment,
Although printing is performed without using a display, an external display 13 may be connected and printing may be performed after an image to be printed is displayed on the display and confirmed. Further, instead of the external display, a display may be built in the printer body.

[0031]

According to the present invention, since the operating member corresponding to the type of the recording paper to be stored is provided at the operable portion of the paper feeding means, printing is easily executed by operating the operating member. be able to. Moreover, the operating members are
Since it corresponds to the type of the recording paper to be stored, the operation member corresponding to the different recording paper is not erroneously operated, and an erroneous print designation that does not correspond to the recording paper is not performed. Moreover, since there is no need to provide an operation member on the printer main body side, the configuration can be simplified by that much.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a color thermal printer of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where a recording paper cartridge is set at a paper feed position.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a recording paper cartridge for storing ordinary recording paper.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a recording paper cartridge that stores recording paper for a seal.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing another recording paper cartridge having a cursor key.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Color thermal printer 11 Printer main body 12 Normal recording paper cartridge 13 Normal recording paper 14 Sealing recording paper 15 Sealing recording paper cartridge 18 Smartmedia 30 Cartridge main body 41 ROM 45 Operation panel 46-48, 50, 51 key 55 Contact pin 57 System controller 60-63 Cursor keys 64 Enter key

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C061 AP06 AQ04 AS02 BB08 CQ34 CQ41 HH03 HJ06 HK07 HK08 HN04 3F343 FA02 FB04 HA14 HA33 HB07 MA03 MA08 MA10 MA26 MA27 MB03 MB08 MB10 MC27 MC28

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A printer in which paper feeding means provided for each type of recording paper to be stored is removably mounted, wherein the paper feeding means is provided with an operable member corresponding to the type of recording paper to be stored. A printer characterized by being provided in a printer. 2. The printer according to claim 1, wherein said paper supply means has type information indicating a type of recording paper. 3. A reading means for reading the type information, and a control means for selecting an operation procedure corresponding to the recording paper based on the read type information and performing printing in accordance with the operation procedure, wherein the operation member comprises 3. An operation button corresponding to a procedure.
The printer described. 4. The printer according to claim 2, wherein a warning is issued or printing is prohibited when the type information cannot be read. 5. A printing method for printing on different types of recording paper, wherein the paper feeding means for storing the recording paper for each type is provided with type information indicating the type of recording paper and an operating member corresponding to the type of recording paper. Reading the type information when the paper feeding unit is loaded, selecting an operation procedure corresponding to the recording paper based on the read type information, and performing printing by operating an operation member based on the operation procedure. A printing method characterized by the following.