JP2003127451A - Printer and its control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer and its control method which enable a speedy printing process while power consumption is reduced. SOLUTION: The printer 100 is provided with thermal heads 132 and 142, platen rollers 134 and 144 and motors 136 and 146 for driving the platen rollers to print to receipt papers and journal papers respectively. A control part of the printer 100 controls energizing the thermal heads 132 and 142 so as not to overlap respective energization times while the motors 136 and 146 are continuously driven at a constant velocity.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing apparatus configured to print on two recording media substantially in parallel and a control method thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, personal computers, displays, drawers, printers, printers, etc.
A POS station in which a device such as a reader is combined is widely used. One of the printing devices suitable for such a POS station is a printing device having both a receipt printing function for printing a receipt to be given to a customer (purchaser) and a journal printing function for printing a journal for a store. Have been developed (JP-A-9-234930 and JP-A-9-254496). This type of printing apparatus includes two thermal heads that print information on receipt paper and journal paper, respectively.

[0003]

However, such a printing apparatus has a problem that the peak current when the two thermal heads are simultaneously heated is large and the power consumption is increased. On the other hand, in order to reduce the power consumption, it is possible to print the journal after the receipt is printed, but this will increase the time required to print both the receipt and the journal, and There is a problem that it is not possible to deal with various printing processes.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a printing apparatus and a control method thereof that reduce power consumption and enable rapid printing processing.

[0005]

The present invention includes first and second aspects.
First and second transporting means for transporting the respective recording media, first and second motors for driving the first and second transporting means, and transporting by the first and second transporting means, respectively. The first and second thermal heads, which are provided for printing on the first and second recording media, respectively, each having at least one heating element, and the first and second motors, are fixed. While controlling the energization of the first and second thermal heads so that the energization times of the first and second thermal heads do not overlap each other.

As described above, while the first and second motors are driven at a constant speed, the first and second thermal heads are energized and controlled so that their energizing times do not overlap with each other. It is possible to avoid an increase in peak current and reduce power consumption. Furthermore, since the printing by the first and second thermal heads can be performed substantially in parallel, the printing process can be speeded up.

According to the present invention, the control means controls the first and second motors by switching the phase of excitation in each coil for each step, and the control of the first and second motors is performed. It is preferable that each of the first and second thermal heads be energized in accordance with the switching of the phases in each.

Furthermore, in the present invention, it is preferable that the control means provides a time difference between the first and second thermal heads in which the energization start time is longer than the time required for printing one dot line. By doing so, it is possible to alternately print by one dot line by the first and second thermal heads.

In this case, it is preferable that the time difference corresponds to approximately half of the steps. If you do this,
In each step, printing with both the first and second thermal heads can be performed alternately.

Further, in the present invention, the control means makes the timing of phase switching in the first and second motors the same, and the phase switching in the first motor is changed from the phase switching in the first thermal head. It is preferable that the time from the start of energization and the time from the switching of the phase in the second motor to the start of energization of the second thermal head are different by the time difference.

Alternatively, the control means changes the timing of switching the phases of the first and second motors by the amount of the time difference, and changes the switching of the phases of the first motor to the first thermal. The time from the start of energization of the head may be the same as the time from the switching of the phase in the second motor to the start of energization of the second thermal head.

Further, according to the present invention, one of the first and second recording media printed by the first and second thermal heads is discharged to the outside and the other is rolled. It is preferable to hold it in a wound state.

The present invention also provides first and second transport means for transporting the first and second recording media, respectively, and the first.
First and second motors respectively driving the first and second transporting means, and provided for printing on the first and second recording media transported by the first and second transporting means, First with at least one heating element each
And a second thermal head, wherein the first and second thermal heads are driven while driving the first and second motors at constant speeds, respectively. It is characterized in that energization is controlled so that the energization times do not overlap with each other.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will be described below in more detail based on embodiments with reference to the drawings. Figure 1
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an outer shape of the printing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. The printing apparatus 100 prints information on receipt paper and journal paper as recording media.

As shown in FIG. 1, the printing apparatus 100 includes
A case 102 having a shape elongated in one direction is provided,
A discharge port 104 for discharging a printed receipt is provided on one end face in the longitudinal direction (front face in the drawing). In the following description, the discharge port 104 side of the printing apparatus 100 is referred to as “front”,
The opposite side is "back". The case 102 includes a lower case 106 accommodating each mechanism of the printing apparatus 100, and an upper case 108 provided above the lower case 106.
It has and. A front cover 116 that can be opened and closed is provided on the front surface of the upper case 108.
On the rear side of the upper surface of 08, an upper cover 118 that can be opened and closed.
Is provided. An operation panel 114 including a power switch and the like is provided adjacent to the front cover 116. In this printing apparatus 100, a receipt paper before printing is wound in a roll shape (referred to as a receipt roll),
The journal paper before printing is wound in a roll shape (referred to as a journal roll) and loaded. The receipt paper and journal paper used here are both so-called thermal papers that can be printed by heating.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement and control system of the main components of the printing apparatus. As shown in FIG.
The inside of the case 102 of the printing apparatus 100 is divided into two sections, front and rear. The front section (on the side of the discharge port 104) is a section for performing receipt printing, and in order from the front, an automatic cutter 120 for cutting a printed receipt, a receipt printing mechanism 122 for performing receipt printing, and a receipt roll 110 are provided. A receipt roll accommodating portion 124 for accommodating is arranged. On the other hand, the rear section is a section for performing journal printing, and in order from the front, the journal printing mechanism 126 for performing journal printing and the journal roll 1
A journal roll accommodating portion 128 for accommodating 12 and a journal winding portion 130 for winding and holding a printed journal in a roll shape are arranged.

The receipt printing mechanism 122 has a thermal head 132 in which a large number of heating elements are arranged in a line on a substrate.
And a platen roller 134 that is arranged in parallel with and facing the thermal head 132, and a motor 136 that rotationally drives the platen roller 134 at a constant speed. The receipt paper pulled out from the receipt roll 110 is guided between the thermal head 132 and the platen roller 134, and is sandwiched by the thermal head 132 and the platen roller 134 there.
The motor 136 is a stepping motor (for example, a 4-phase stepping motor), and is configured to rotate the platen roller 134 via a power transmission mechanism (not shown). By the rotation of the platen roller 134, the receipt paper is conveyed in the direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the heating elements of the thermal head 132. While the receipt paper is conveyed at a constant speed by the rotation driving of the motor 136, the heating elements of the thermal head 132 are selectively energized to generate heat, whereby desired characters or figures are printed on the receipt paper. The printed receipt is discharged to the outside from the discharge port 104 and cut by the auto cutter 120 provided inside the discharge port 104.

The platen roller 134 is the front cover 1
16, the thermal head 132 is attached to the fixed portion of the upper case 108. Front cover 1
When 16 (FIG. 1) is opened, the thermal head 132 and the platen roller 134 are separated from each other, the front side of the receipt roll accommodating portion 124 is opened, and the receipt roll 11 is opened.
Exchange of 0 becomes possible.

The journal printing mechanism 126, like the receipt printing mechanism 122, has a thermal head 142 in which a large number of heating elements are arranged in a row on a supporting substrate, and a platen roller 14 arranged to face the thermal head 142.
4 and a motor 146 that rotationally drives the platen roller 144 at a constant speed. The journal paper pulled out from the journal roll 112 is guided between the thermal head 142 and the platen roller 144, and is sandwiched by the thermal head 142 and the platen roller 144 there. The motor 146 is a stepping motor (for example, a 4-phase stepping motor), and is configured to rotate the platen roller 144 via a power transmission mechanism (not shown). By rotating the motor 146 to convey the journal sheet at a constant speed and selectively energizing the heating elements of the thermal head 142 to generate heat, desired characters or figures are printed on the journal sheet. The printed journal is a guide plate 148 provided on the top of the thermal head 142.
It is guided to the journal winding section 130 via.

The journal take-up section 130 has a take-up reel 150 for taking up a printed journal.
Is provided. The take-up reel 150 is rotatably driven by a motor (not shown) or the like, and a printed journal is wound around the take-up reel 150. Opening the upper cover 118 (FIG. 1) of the upper case 108 allows the journal roll 112 and the printed journal to be replaced. In addition, the thermal head 142
Are separable from the platen roller 144.

The control unit 200 of the printing apparatus 100 is, for example, a CPU, and upon receiving a print command from an external computer 202, prints a character or a graphic corresponding to the received command on receipt paper and journal paper. , Thermal heads 132 and 142 and motor 136
The drive control of 146 is performed.

FIG. 3 shows the thermal heads 132 and 142 and the motors 136 and 146 performed by the controller 200.
3 is a timing chart for explaining the control method of FIG. The motors 136 and 146 are stepping motors as described above, and are driven by switching the phase to be excited in each coil for each step. The control unit 200 drives the motors 136 and 146 so that the phases of the respective coils are switched at the same time (that is, synchronous drive). The step a is, for example, 1 ms. The control unit 200 further includes a receipt motor 136.
Simultaneously with the switching of the phase (start of each step), the print data is transmitted to the receipt thermal head 132, and the heating element is energized. By this operation, printing for one dot line is performed on the receipt paper. Further, the control unit 200 transmits print data to the journal thermal head 142 after switching the phase of the journal motor 146 (starting each step), and after a predetermined time difference c, energizes the heating element thereof. I do. By this operation, printing for one dot line is performed on the journal paper. In this way, the control unit 200 alternately drives the receipt thermal head 132 and the journal thermal head 142 so that the energization time does not overlap with the energization time.

The time difference c is preferably about half of the above step a, and is 0.5 ms here. The energization time b of each of the thermal heads 132 and 142 is shorter than the time difference c, and is 0.35 m here.
s. By doing so, in each step, the thermal heads 132 and 142 can print one dot line at a time, and both thermal heads 13 can be printed.
This is because the energization times of 2,142 do not overlap.

Next, the printing apparatus 10 configured as described above.
The operation of 0 will be described. When the printing apparatus 100 starts to be used, the front cover 116 is opened, the receipt roll 110 is loaded in the receipt roll accommodating portion 124, and then the front cover 116 is closed. Also, the upper cover 118
Is opened, the journal roll 112 is loaded in the journal roll accommodating portion 128, and then the upper cover 118 is closed. At this time, a predetermined amount of journal paper is pulled out from the journal roll 112, and the leading end thereof is taken up by the take-up reel 1.
Engage with 50 predetermined parts. By operating the power switch of the operation panel 114, various components of the printing apparatus 100 are turned on.

The control unit 200 is an external computer 20.
When the print command is received from the control unit 200, the control unit 200 synchronously drives the motors 136 and 146 as shown in FIG.
42 is energized alternately. The receipt paper pulled out from the receipt roll 110 is conveyed while being sandwiched between the thermal head 132 and the platen roller 134, and printing is performed by the heat generated by the heating elements of the thermal head 132.
The journal paper pulled out from the journal roll 112 is conveyed while being sandwiched between the thermal head 142 and the platen roller 144, and printing is performed by the heat generated by the heating elements of the thermal head 142. The printed receipt is discharged to the outside from the discharge port 104, and the auto cutter 1
Cut at 20. The cut receipt is handed to, for example, a customer of the store. On the other hand, the printed journal is guided to the journal take-up section 130 and wound around the take-up reel 150. This journal is stored, for example, as a store copy.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the motors 136 and 146 are continuously driven at a constant speed, and the thermal heads 132 and 142 are energized so that their energizing times do not overlap. Therefore, the increase in peak current can be avoided and the power consumption can be reduced. Further, since the receipt printing and the journal printing can be processed almost in parallel, the time required for the printing processing can be shortened.

In particular, a time difference (c: 0.5 ms) longer than the time required for printing one dot line (energization time b: 0.35 ms) is provided between the thermal heads 132 and 142 when the energization starts. Therefore, the thermal heads 132 and 142 can alternately print one dot line at a time.

Further, since the motors 136 and 146 are driven synchronously, and the energization start time of the thermal heads 132 and 142 is provided with a time difference c corresponding to half (0.5 ms) of step a, each step is performed. It becomes possible to perform receipt printing and journal printing,
A faster printing process is possible.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. This embodiment is different from the first embodiment only in the method of controlling the thermal heads 132, 142 and the motors 136, 146 by the control unit 200, and the other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment. is there.

FIG. 4 is a timing chart for explaining a method of controlling the thermal heads 132 and 142 and the motors 136 and 146 in this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, in the present embodiment, the motors 136, 14 are
The six phases are switched (start of each step) by a predetermined time difference c. The step a of the motors 136 and 146 is, for example, 1 ms. The thermal heads 132 and 142 for receipt perform energization at the same time when the phases of the motors 136 and 146 are switched. The above time difference c
Is about half of step a of the motors 136 and 146, and here is 0.5 ms. Also, thermal head 1
The energization time b of 32 and 142 is smaller than the time difference c,
Here, it is 0.35 ms.

In this embodiment, the motors 136 and 146 are used.
The timings of switching the phases of are different from each other, and
By energizing the thermal heads 132 and 142 at the same time as switching the respective phases of the motors 136 and 146, the energizing times of the thermal heads 132 and 142 are prevented from overlapping. As a result, similar to the first embodiment, quick processing is possible while reducing power consumption.

In this case, the thermal heads 132, 146 are switched at the same time when the phases of the motors 136, 146 are switched.
It is decided to start energization of the motor 142, but the motor 136,
The thermal heads 132 and 142 may be started to be energized after a fixed period of time after the phase switching of 146.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the matters shown in the embodiments, and the description of the claims and the detailed description of the invention, and well-known Based on the above technology, a range in which those skilled in the art can make modifications and applications is included. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the receipt paper and the journal paper are used as the recording medium, but other recording media can be used.

[0034]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the first and second motors are driven at constant speeds and the first and second thermal heads are controlled so that their respective energization times do not overlap with each other, the peak current is reduced. The power consumption can be reduced by avoiding the increase in power consumption. Further, since it becomes possible to perform the print processing by the first and second thermal heads substantially in parallel, it is possible to shorten the time required for the print processing. That is, it is possible to perform a quick print process while reducing the power consumption.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outer shape of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an arrangement and control system of main components of the printing apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a timing chart for explaining a method of controlling the thermal head and the motor according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a timing chart for explaining a method of controlling the thermal head and the motor according to the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

100 printing device 102 cases 104 outlet 106 Lower case 108 upper case 110 receipt roll 112 Journal Roll 116 front cover 118 Top cover 120 auto cutter 122 receipt printing mechanism 124 receipt roll storage section 126 Journal Printing Mechanism 128 journal roll housing 132,142 Thermal head 134,144 Platen roller 136,146 motor 150 take-up reel

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme coat (reference) B41J 3/20 109Z F term (reference) 2C055 KK06 KK10 2C058 AB08 AC06 AC12 AD05 AE04 AF06 HA03 HC01 2C061 AQ04 AS06 HH03 HH11 HJ01 HK19 HN02 HN15 2C065 AA01 AB01 AC04 AD01 AD02 CC22 CC24 CZ01 CZ04 CZ06 CZ13 2C066 AA08 AB00 AB01 AB03 AB07 AC01 AC17

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A first and second transport means for transporting a first and a second recording medium, respectively, a first and a second motor for driving the first and second transport means, respectively, The first conveyed by the first and second conveying means.
And first and second thermal heads provided for printing on the second recording medium and each having at least one heating element, and driving the first and second motors at constant speeds. In addition, a printing device comprising: a control unit that controls the energization of the first and second thermal heads so that their energization times do not overlap with each other. 2. The control means controls the first and second motors by switching the phase to be excited in each coil for each step, and the phase of each of the first and second motors is controlled. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the first and second thermal heads is energized in accordance with the switching. 3. The control means provides a time difference between energization start times of the first and second thermal heads that is longer than a time required for printing one dot line. The printing device according to item 2. 4. The printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the time difference corresponds to approximately half of the step. 5. The control means sets the same phase switching timing in the first and second motors, and switches the phase switching in the first motor to the start of energization of the first thermal head. Time and the second
5. The printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the time from the switching of the phase in the motor of the above to the start of energization of the second thermal head is made different by the amount of the time difference. 6. The control means changes the timing of phase switching in the first and second motors by the amount of the time difference, and switches the phase switching in the first motor from the first thermal The time until the start of energization of the head and the second
5. The printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the time from the switching of the phase of the motor to the start of energization of the second thermal head is the same. 7. A state in which one of the first and second recording media printed by the first and second thermal heads is discharged to the outside and the other is wound in a roll shape. 2. It is held by
The printing apparatus according to any one of 1 to 6. 8. A first and a second transport means for transporting a first and a second recording medium, respectively, a first and a second motor for driving the first and second transport means, respectively, and First and second thermal heads provided for printing on the first and second recording media transported by the first and second transporting means, each having at least one heating element; A method of controlling a printing apparatus provided with the first and second motors, wherein the first and second thermal heads are driven at a constant speed and the energization times of the first and second thermal heads do not overlap with each other. A method for controlling a printing apparatus, wherein energization control is performed on each of them.