JP2004066761A - Printing device and printing controller - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize a printing device such as a printer which can print to both faces of a continuous medium such as a continuous form paper although the structure is relatively simple. <P>SOLUTION: The printing device has a printing means for printing to the continuous medium when a part of the continuous medium passes a predetermined location. Printing is carried out to the continuous medium by the printing means while the continuous medium is advanced to pass the location in a first direction, whereby printing to a first face of the continuous medium is executed. Printing to the continuous medium is carried out by the printing means while the continuous medium with the one first face printed is advanced to pass the location in a second direction, whereby printing to the second face of the continuous medium is executed. Printing to both faces of the continuous medium is thus enabled. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a printing device and a printing control device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
At present, various types of printers are on the market. Most printers employ a so-called "inkjet system", "ink ribbon system", "laser system", or the like as a printing system. In addition, most printers target "cut sheet paper" such as A4 paper or A3 paper, but some printers target "continuous paper" such as roll paper or folding paper. .
[0003]
A cut sheet refers to a sheet having a relatively small ratio between the height and the width, and a continuous form sheet refers to a sheet having a relatively large ratio between the height and the width. Although a strict boundary between the two is not always clear, for example, a sheet of a size in which a large number of A4 sheets or A3 sheets are continuously arranged in one direction usually corresponds to “continuous sheet”. In the case of A4 paper or A3 paper, the ratio of the vertical width to the horizontal width is about 1.414. Many continuous forms are provided with perforations for convenience of cutting and punch holes for convenience of transportation.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
There is a great need for double-sided printers from the viewpoint of effective utilization of paper resources. However, double-sided printers (including a two-sided printer that cuts continuous form paper into single-sided paper and prints the single-sided paper) are widely used. Duplex printers to be printed are not widely used. Because continuous form paper is longer and thinner than single form paper, continuous form paper is more difficult to handle than single form paper. It is.
[0005]
In order to realize double-sided printing of continuous paper, it is conceivable to provide both printing units for front side printing and for back side printing. For example, in the case of an “ink jet type” printer, it is conceivable to provide ink jet heads for both front side printing and back side printing. For example, in the case of an “ink ribbon type” printer, it is conceivable to provide ink ribbons for both front side printing and back side printing.
[0006]
However, complication of the structure of the printer by providing both printing units for the front side printing and the back side printing in this way leads to an increase in the cost of the printer and difficulty in maintenance. This may be one of the reasons why duplex printers that print continuous form paper are not popular.
[0007]
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to realize a printing apparatus such as a printer that can perform double-sided printing on a continuous medium such as continuous paper, while having a relatively simple structure.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The invention (printing apparatus) according to claim 1 includes a printing unit that prints on the continuous medium when a part of the continuous medium passes through a predetermined location, and moves the continuous medium in the first direction in the location. By printing on the continuous medium by the printing means while passing and passing, the printing is performed on the first side of the continuous medium, and the continuous medium, which has been subjected to single-sided printing on the first side, is moved to the location. By printing on the continuous medium by the printing means while passing and passing in two directions, it is possible to print on both sides of the continuous medium by printing on the second surface of the continuous medium. did.
[0009]
The invention (printing apparatus) according to claim 2 is a printing device that performs printing on the continuous medium when a part of the continuous medium passes through a predetermined place, and the printing device that performs one-sided printing by the printing device. Storage means for storing the medium, and printing the continuous medium by the printing means while advancing the continuous medium in the first direction in the first direction, thereby printing the first surface of the continuous medium. Printing on the first side, the continuous medium on which the single-sided printing has been performed on the first side is stored in the storage means, and the continuous medium stored in the storage means is advanced in the place in the second direction. By printing on the continuous medium by the printing means while passing, it is possible to print on both sides of the continuous medium by printing on the second surface of the continuous medium.
[0010]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print control apparatus for transmitting print data for duplex printing of a continuous medium to the printing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, wherein the print data includes: The print data of the surface to be printed by the printing unit and a switching order for switching the surface to be printed by the printing unit are transmitted.
[0011]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the printing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, wherein print data for duplex printing on a continuous medium is received from the print control apparatus according to the third aspect. The printing unit performs printing on one side based on the print data, and switches the surface on which printing is performed by the printing unit based on the switching order.
[0012]
An invention (printing apparatus) according to a fifth aspect is the printing apparatus according to the fourth aspect, wherein when a printing interruption event occurs during the duplex printing of the continuous medium, the printing control apparatus sends the printing interruption event to the printing control device. By transmitting an execution order of the print resuming process transmitted from the print control device based on the notification, and executing the print resuming process based on the received order. Enabled continuation.
[0013]
According to the first or second aspect of the invention (printing apparatus), it is possible to realize a printing apparatus capable of performing double-sided printing on a continuous medium while having a relatively simple structure.
[0014]
According to the third aspect of the invention (print control device), printing is performed by transmitting double-sided printing data for double-sided printing on a continuous medium to the printing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, and performing double-sided printing on the continuous medium. A control device can be realized.
[0015]
According to the invention (printing apparatus) according to the fourth or fifth aspect, double-sided printing data for double-sided printing on a continuous medium is received from the printing control apparatus according to the third aspect, and double-sided printing on the continuous medium is performed. The printing apparatus according to 1 or 2 can be realized.
[0016]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the present invention will be described.
[0017]
(1) Description of Printer FIG. 1 shows a printer 101 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, FIG. 1A shows the printer 101 during the front side printing of the continuous form paper 102, and FIG. 1B shows the printer 101 during the back side printing of the continuous form paper 102. Represents the printer 101 in the middle.
[0018]
1 includes a print head 111, an ink ribbon 112, a platen 113, a hopper section 121, a stacker section 122, a hopper / stacker section 123, a front side printing tractor 124, and a back side printing tractor 125. And a controller 131.
[0019]
The print head 111, the ink ribbon 112, and the platen 113 constitute one printing unit that performs printing on the continuous paper 102 by the ink ribbon method. The ink ribbon 112 is located between the print head 111 and the platen 113. A point P in FIG. 1 is a point between the ink ribbon 112 and the platen 113. The printing unit prints on the continuous form paper 102 when a part of the continuous form paper 102 passes through the point P. That is, the ink of the ink ribbon 112 is transferred to the part of the continuous paper 102 on the side of the ink ribbon 112.
[0020]
Each of the hopper section 121, the stacker section 122, and the hopper / stacker section 123 is a mechanism for storing the continuous form paper 102. However, the hopper section 121 is a mechanism for storing the continuous form paper 102 before duplex printing, and the stacker section 122 is a mechanism for storing the continuous form paper 102 after duplex printing. Further, the hopper / stacker unit 123 is a mechanism for storing the continuous form paper 102 after front side printing and before back side printing, that is, the continuous form paper 102 during duplex printing.
[0021]
The front side printing tractor 124 and the back side printing tractor 125 are both mechanisms for sucking and transporting the continuous form paper 102. These tractors are, for example, rollers having protrusions at both ends. By inserting the punch holes of the continuous form paper 102 into the protrusions of the rollers, the continuous form paper 102 can be set on the rollers. Then, by rotating the roller on which the continuous form paper 102 is set, the continuous form paper 102 can be sucked and transported.
[0022]
Before starting the front side printing, the user sets the leading end of the continuous form paper 102 stored in the hopper section 121 to the front side printing tractor 124. The operation of setting the leading end of the continuous paper 102 stored in the hopper section 121 to the front-side printing tractor 124 can be automated.
[0023]
As shown in FIG. 1A, the printer 101 that has started front-side printing transfers the set continuous form paper 102 through a paper transport path (suction path or discharge path) by suction of the front-side printing tractor 124 or the like. From the hopper section 121 to the hopper / stacker section 123. Hereinafter, this is referred to as “forward conveyance”.
[0024]
Similarly, the user sets the leading end of the continuous form paper 102 stored in the hopper / stacker unit 123 to the back side printing tractor 125 before starting the back side printing. Note that the operation of setting the leading end of the continuous paper 102 stored in the hopper / stacker unit 123 to the back side printing tractor 125 can be automated.
[0025]
As illustrated in FIG. 1B, the printer 101 that has started backside printing transfers the set continuous form paper 102 via a paper conveyance path (suction path or discharge path) by suction of the tractor 125 for backside printing or the like. And transports it from the hopper / stacker unit 123 to the stacker unit 125. Hereinafter, this is referred to as “reverse transport”.
[0026]
Note that, as shown in FIG. 1, it is preferable that the continuous form paper 102 is obliquely accumulated in the hopper / stacker unit 123 by giving a slope to the bottom surface of the hopper / stacker unit 123 or the like. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 1, it is easy to take out the leading end of the continuous paper 102 from the hopper / stacker unit 123, which is set on the front-side printing tractor 124, and set it on the back-side printing tractor 125. become.
[0027]
The controller unit 131 controls the printer 101 to perform “front side printing”, “back side printing”, “forward conveyance”, “reverse conveyance”, and the like. The control by the controller unit 131 will be described later in detail.
[0028]
By the way, as shown in FIG. 1A, the continuous conveyance of the continuous form paper 102 by the printer 101 in FIG. 1 is performed such that the continuous form paper 102 is made to pass through the point P in the direction from the front to the rear. Done. Then, the printer 101 performs one-sided printing of the continuous form paper 102 with the printing unit while passing the continuous form paper 102 in a direction from the front to the rear from the point P to pass therethrough. This is the front side printing of the continuous form paper 101.
[0029]
In the printer 101 of FIG. 1, the ink ribbon 112 is disposed above the point P, so that the single-sided printing is performed during the forward conveyance only when the ink ribbon 112 passes through the point P. Is on the side. Therefore, when the surface to be subjected to the front surface printing is determined in advance, the leading end of the continuous form paper 102 is set on the front surface printing tractor 124 such that the surface faces upward at the point P.
[0030]
Similarly, the reverse transport of the continuous form paper 102 by the printer 101 in FIG. 1 is performed by moving the continuous form paper 102 from the rear to the front at the point P as shown in FIG. 1B. It is done to make it. The printer 101 performs single-sided printing of the continuous form paper 102 by the printing unit while passing the continuous form paper 102 in a direction from the rear to the front from the point P. This is the back printing of the continuous paper 101.
[0031]
As described above, in the printer 101 of FIG. 1, the ink ribbon 112 is disposed above the point P, so that the single-sided printing is performed during the reverse conveyance, even when the ink ribbon 112 passes through the point P. The surface is facing upwards. The surface on which single-sided printing is performed in the reverse conveyance must be different from the surface on which single-sided printing is performed in the forward conveyance. Therefore, the leading end of the continuous form paper 102 is set on the back-side printing tractor 125 such that the surface faces upward at the point P.
[0032]
As described above, in the printer of the present embodiment, one printing unit is used for both front side printing and back side printing. That is, in the printer of this embodiment, it is not necessary to separately provide a printing unit for front side printing and a printing unit for back side printing, so that the structure of the printer is relatively simple.
[0033]
Further, in the printer of the present embodiment, the continuous printing paper is printed on the front side of the continuous printing paper by the printing unit while the continuous printing paper is made to pass through the point P in the direction from the front to the rear, and the front printing is performed. The printing unit prints the back side of the continuous form paper while passing the book paper through the point P in the direction from the rear to the front.
[0034]
Here, if it is assumed that the continuous form paper is made to advance and pass through the point P in the direction from the front to the rear during the reverse side printing, the continuous form paper on which the front side printing is performed is bypassed by the printing unit and the continuous form paper is printed. It is necessary to return the front side of the point P from the back of the point P by circumventing the printing unit, for example, by providing a sheet conveyance path for returning from the rear of the point to the front.
[0035]
That is, in the printer of this embodiment, it is not necessary to return the front side printed continuous form paper to the printing unit since it is not necessary to bypass the printing unit and return the front side from behind the point P to the front side. It is not necessary to provide a paper transport path for returning from the rear side to the front side of the point P by bypassing the printer, so that the structure of the printer is relatively simple.
[0036]
(2) Description of Printer System FIG. 2 shows a printer system including a printer 101 and a host computer 201 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0037]
The printer 101 in FIG. 2 is the printer 101 in FIG. 1 and includes a controller unit 141, a mechanism unit 142, and an operation panel 143.
[0038]
The controller unit 141 is the controller unit 131 in FIG. 1 and includes a CPU 151, a memory 152, a mechanical I / F 153, a panel I / F 154, and a host I / F 155. In addition to the printer control program 161, the controller unit 141 has a duplex printing control program 162 that enables duplex printing.
[0039]
The mechanism unit 142 includes the print head 111, the ink ribbon 112, the platen 113, the hopper section 121, the stacker section 122, the hopper / stacker section 123, the front side printing tractor 124, and the back side printing tractor 125 of FIG.
[0040]
2 includes a motherboard 211, a disk unit 212, a keyboard 213, and a display 214. The host computer 201 has a double-sided print data control program 224 that enables double-sided printing in addition to the OS 221, the application program 222, and the printer driver 223.
[0041]
The motherboard 211 has a CPU 231, a memory 232, a BIOS 233, a disk I / F 234, a keyboard I / F 235, a display I / F 236, and a printer I / F 237.
[0042]
In the host computer 201, when a print instruction is issued from the application program 222, the OS 221 and the printer driver 223 perform drawing processing of the application data, and generate and spool print data for printing continuous form paper. The host computer 201 and the printer 101 are interconnected by a printer I / F 237 and a host I / F 155, and are capable of bidirectional communication. Utilizing this, the host computer 201 transmits print data, and the printer 101 receives the print data. When print data is received in the printer 101, the controller unit 141 controls the mechanism unit 142 and causes the mechanism unit 142 to print a continuous paper by the printer control program 161.
[0043]
Hereinafter, a procedure of duplex printing of continuous paper in the printer system of FIG. 2 will be described with reference to flowcharts of FIGS. 3, 4, and 5.
[0044]
FIG. 3 shows an example of a set flow of continuous paper.
[0045]
When the continuous form paper 102 is set on the front-side printing tractor 124 in FIG. 1, the controller 131 in FIG. 1 sets the value of the carry amount LF to “0” (S301 and S302). When the set continuous form paper 102 is transported in the forward direction, the printer 101 counts the transport amount of the continuous form paper 102, and the controller unit 131 updates the value of the transport amount LF by that amount (S303 / S304). The carry amount LF is used as a start position of the back side printing. The set continuous form paper 102 is transported to the hopper / stacker unit 123 by forward transport. By the time the backside printing is started, the continuous form paper 102 is set on the backside printing tractor 125 in FIG. 1 (S305).
[0046]
FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a control flow on the printer 101 side.
[0047]
If there is print data received from the host computer 201, first, the print data is sequentially expanded to perform front side printing (S401 and S402). For example, odd-numbered pages of the double-sided print data for all 100 pages are printed in page order (1, 3, 5,...). If the paper runs out during printing, a paper-out notification is sent to the host computer 201 to urge the temporary stop of the front side printing, and waits for an order to switch to the back side (S403 / S404).
[0048]
When the switching order transmitted from the host computer 201 is received, a paper cut / paper discharge / tractor switching notification is transmitted to prompt the paper cut / paper discharge / tractor switching, and the paper cut processing / paper discharge processing / tractor switching processing is executed. (S405 to S409). If the paper is not out of paper, the front-side printing tractor 124 temporarily retreats the unused paper and then switches the paper transport direction to the reverse transport. When the paper is out, the tractor switching process is executed by automatically discharging the paper, and the switching operation to the back side can be omitted. When the tractor switching process is completed, the sheet set in the tractor 125 for back side printing is automatically sucked in, and the sheet is skipped to the start position of the front side printing (S410 / S411).
[0049]
Next, the print data is sequentially developed and backside printing is performed (S401 and S402). For example, front-side printing of even-numbered pages in double-sided printing data for all 100 pages is performed in the page order (2, 4, 6,...). Since the paper transport direction is reversed from the forward transport to the reverse transport, the print data developing direction is also reversed accordingly. If the paper runs out during printing, a paper-out notification is transmitted to the host computer 201 to urge the suspension of the printing on the back side, and waits for an order for switching to the front side (S403 / S404). This is repeated until there is no more double-sided print data.
[0050]
FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a control flow on the host computer 201 side.
[0051]
First, the application data is drawn, print data is created and spooled (S501). If double-sided printing is specified, the total number of pages TP of the print data is counted, and the single-sided printed page number OP is calculated (S502 to S504). Note that OP = TP / 2 (decimal point rounded up).
[0052]
Next, single-sided print data for the OP page for front side printing is transmitted (S505). For example, the single-sided print data of the odd-numbered pages in the double-sided print data for all 100 pages is transmitted in page order (1, 3, 5,...). If the printer 101 receives the out-of-paper notification from the printer 101 during printing, it does not transmit the subsequent front-side print data but holds it, and transmits a switching order to the printer 101 (S506 / S508 / S509). Also, when the transmission of the front side print data is completed, the switching order is transmitted to the printer 101 (S507 / S509).
[0053]
Thereafter, the completion of the tractor switching process is monitored, and when the tractor switching process is completed, the single-sided print data for the TP-OP page for back side printing is transmitted (S510 / S511). For example, single-sided print data of an even-numbered page in double-sided print data for all 100 pages is transmitted in page order (2, 4, 6,...). When the printer 101 receives the out-of-paper notification from the printer 101 in the middle of printing, the subsequent back-side print data is not transmitted but is held, and the switching order is transmitted to the printer 101 (S512, S514, S515).
[0054]
Thereafter, the completion of the tractor switching process is monitored, and when the tractor switching process is completed, the one-sided print data for the front side printing that has been suspended is transmitted (S516 / S505). This is repeated until there is no more double-sided print data. Then, when the transmission of the double-sided print data is completed, the printing process ends (S513).
[0055]
As a transmission procedure of the double-sided print data, a switching order may be added between the front side print data and the back side print data, and these may be spooled and transmitted to the printer 101 in a combined form.
[0056]
When the paper runs out during printing, as in the printer 101 described above, a paper-out notification is transmitted to the host computer 201, and based on the notification, the switching order transmitted from the host computer 201 is received. If continuous printing (recovery printing) of the remaining print data is enabled by executing paper cut processing, paper discharge processing, and tractor switching processing based on the There are advantages such as being able to. The same is true for printing interruption reasons other than paper shortage.
[0057]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a printing apparatus such as a printer that can perform double-sided printing on a continuous medium such as continuous paper, while having a relatively simple structure.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 shows a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 illustrates a printer system including a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention and a host computer.
FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a set flow of a continuous form paper.
FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a control flow on the printer side.
FIG. 5 shows an example of a control flow on the host computer side.
[Explanation of symbols]
101 Printer (printing device)
102 Continuous paper (continuous media)
111 Print head 112 Ink ribbon 113 Platen 121 Hopper unit 122 Stacker unit 123 Hopper / stacker unit 124 Tractor for surface printing 125 Tractor for backside printing 131 Controller unit 141 Controller unit 142 Mechanism unit 143 Operation panel 151 CPU
152 Memory 153 Mechanical I / F
154 Panel I / F
155 Host I / F
161 Printer control program 162 Double-sided printing control program 201 Host computer (print control device)
211 Motherboard 212 Disk unit 213 Keyboard 214 Display 221 OS
222 application program 223 printer driver 224 double-sided print data control program 231 CPU
232 Memory 233 BIOS
234 Disk I / F
235 Keyboard I / F
236 Display I / F
237 Printer I / F

Claims (5)

When a part of the continuous medium passes through a predetermined place, a printing unit that performs printing on the continuous medium,
By printing on the continuous medium by the printing unit while passing the continuous medium in the first direction in the first direction, printing is performed on the first surface of the continuous medium, and single-sided printing is performed on the first surface. By performing printing on the continuous medium by the printing unit while passing the performed continuous medium in the second direction in the second direction, printing on the second surface of the continuous medium is performed. A printing apparatus capable of printing on both sides of the printing apparatus. When a part of the continuous medium passes through a predetermined location, a printing unit that performs printing on the continuous medium, and a storage unit that stores the continuous medium on which the printing unit has performed single-sided printing,
By printing on the continuous medium by the printing unit while passing the continuous medium in the first direction in the first direction, printing is performed on the first surface of the continuous medium, and single-sided printing is performed on the first surface. The performed continuous medium is stored in the storage means, and the continuous medium stored in the storage means is passed through the place in the second direction while passing through the place, and the continuous medium is transferred to the continuous medium by the printing means. A printing apparatus, wherein printing is performed on the second surface of the continuous medium, thereby enabling printing on both sides of the continuous medium. A print control apparatus for transmitting print data for double-sided printing of a continuous medium to the printing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
A print control apparatus for transmitting, as the print data, print data of a surface on which printing is performed by the printing unit and a switching order for switching a surface on which printing is performed by the printing unit. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein print data for duplex printing on a continuous medium is received from the print control apparatus according to claim 3.
A printing apparatus, wherein printing is performed on one side by the printing unit based on the print data, and the side on which printing is performed by the printing unit is switched based on the switching order. The printing device according to claim 4, wherein
When a printing interruption event occurs during double-sided printing of a continuous medium, a notification of the occurrence of the printing interruption event is transmitted to the print control device, and a print restart process transmitted from the print control device is executed based on the notification. A printing apparatus characterized by receiving an order and executing a print resumption process based on the order, thereby enabling continuous continuation of double-sided printing of a continuous medium.

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