JP2005059233A - Roll shape medium printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize an inexpensive printer which can precisely detect a residual amount of a roll shape medium by using the roll shape medium with position marks set at predetermined intervals. <P>SOLUTION: A roll shape medium printer has a medium storing part 22 for storing a medium roll 10 of the medium wound in a roll shape, medium sending mechanisms 23a and 23b for sending the roll shape medium 11 at a constant speed, a mark detector 27 for detecting the position marks 14, a printing head 28 for carrying out printing, and a control part. The position marks 14 are set at predetermined intervals on the medium. The control part has a residual amount storage part for storing the residual amount of the stored medium roll 10, and a residual amount updating part for updating the residual amount in response to the detection of the position mark 14 by the mark detector 27. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a roll-shaped medium printer that prints on a long recording medium wound in a roll shape, and more particularly to a roll-shaped medium printer that prints on a roll-shaped medium with position marks at predetermined intervals.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Printers that use a roll-shaped recording medium that is a continuous medium are widely used. In such a printer, a roll medium is printed in a predetermined format at a predetermined pitch, and individual information is additionally printed by the printer. Also, a printer that is used to additionally print on a label using a roll of media that has been rolled up by attaching a label separated at a predetermined interval to a long substrate on which the adhesive is easily peeled off There is also. In such a roll-shaped medium, it is necessary to print by recognizing the position of a pre-printed format or label, and a position mark indicating the reference position of the format or label is printed on the roll-shaped medium. In the case of a roll-shaped medium in which a label is attached to a long substrate, such a position mark may be printed on the substrate or on the label. In some cases, the reference position is recognized by the edge. In this case, the edge of the label corresponds to the position mark. For example, when the mount is transparent, a slit between labels may be read as a mark. In the following description, the position mark on the substrate, the position mark on the label, and the edge of the label are referred to as a position mark on the roll-shaped medium.
[0003]
The present invention is directed to a printer that uses a medium roll wound with a roll-shaped medium having position marks provided at such predetermined intervals. Such a printer is provided with a mark detector that detects a position mark on the conveyed medium, and performs printing at a predetermined position in accordance with the detection of the position mark by the mark detector. The printed roll-shaped medium may be discharged as it is, or may be cut with a cutter by recognizing the cutting position according to the output of the mark detector. Further, in the case of a label, the label edge may be recognized and peeled off in accordance with the output of the mark detector, and the label may be automatically applied to a predetermined position on another medium.
[0004]
In a roll media printer, it is necessary to always know the remaining amount of media roll. For example, when issuing a ticket using a roll-shaped medium printer, if there is no medium in the middle of ticketing, printing is interrupted, a new media roll is set, and then the ticketing process is resumed. It is necessary to wait for the customer to perform the media roll setting process, which causes a problem of deterioration in customer service. In addition to this, it is very important to grasp the remaining amount of the medium roll in order to perform a smooth print process. Therefore, various methods for informing the user that the remaining amount is low have been conventionally performed.
[0005]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-129590 discloses a combination of weight detecting means for detecting the weight of roll paper and outer shape detecting means for detecting the outer shape of the roll paper, so that the remaining amount of roll paper becomes equal to or less than a predetermined limit remaining amount. A printer apparatus with improved accuracy for detecting this is disclosed.
[0006]
Also, a method of applying a near-end mark with red ink or the like from the end of the roll paper to a predetermined length is widely used in facsimiles and printers that use roll paper. Some conventional printers are provided with a detector for detecting the near-end mark and warn the user when the near-end mark is detected. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-341367 discloses a reflection that detects a black mark in a printer that uses a medium roll wound with a roll-shaped medium having both a black mark and a near-end mark corresponding to position marks provided at predetermined intervals. The structure which detects a near end mark using a type photosensor is disclosed. With this configuration, the near-end mark can be detected without increasing the number of sensors.
[0007]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-172649 discloses a rotation amount detection means for detecting a rotation amount of a medium roll, a length of a recording medium fed out from the detected rotation amount, and an initial value determined from type information inputted in advance. There is disclosed a remaining amount detecting device used for a printer or the like provided with a calculation means for calculating the remaining amount of a recording medium by subtracting the length of the used recording medium from the length.
[0008]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 11-129590 A
[Patent Document 2]
JP 2001-341367 A
[Patent Document 3]
JP 7-172649 A
[0009]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The printer disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-129590 has a problem that the detection accuracy is not sufficient for detecting the weight and outer shape of a roll paper having a large fluctuation, and the number of detection means is increased as compared with the conventional example. There is a problem that the cost increases.
[0010]
Further, the printer disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-341367 needs to use a roll-shaped medium having a near-end mark, and such a medium is particularly problematic if the printed one is used for personal use. However, in the case of ticketing processing or label printing, a near-end mark such as red ink is attached to a portion seen by a third party, causing a problem in appearance.
[0011]
The remaining amount detection device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-172649 requires a separate mechanism for realizing a rotation amount detecting means for detecting the rotation amount of the medium roll, which increases the cost. .
[0012]
The present invention provides a printer that uses a medium roll wound with a roll-shaped medium having position marks provided at predetermined intervals. The present invention solves the above problems and can detect the remaining amount of the medium roll accurately. The object is to realize a medium printer at low cost.
[0013]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the roll-shaped medium printer of the present invention calculates the length of the medium used by using the output of the mark detector for detecting the position mark, and the initial length of the medium roll input in advance. The remaining amount of the medium is calculated by subtracting the length of the used medium from.
[0014]
That is, the roll-shaped medium printer according to the present invention includes a medium accommodating portion that accommodates a medium roll in which position marks are arranged at predetermined intervals, a medium roll that is wound in a roll shape, and the roll-shaped medium at a constant speed during printing. A medium feeding mechanism for feeding, a mark detector for detecting the position mark on the roll-shaped medium fed by the medium feeding mechanism, and the roll-shaped medium according to the position of the position mark detected by the mark detector. A roll-shaped medium printer comprising a print head that performs printing at a predetermined position above and a control unit that controls each unit, wherein the control unit is capable of printing the medium roll stored in the medium storage unit. A remaining amount storage unit for storing a remaining amount corresponding to the length, and a remaining amount for updating the remaining amount stored in the remaining amount storage unit in response to detection of the position mark by the mark detector. Characterized in that it comprises an update unit.
[0015]
Since the roll-shaped medium printer of the present invention calculates the length of the medium used by using the output of the mark detector that detects the position mark, the length of the medium used can be calculated with high accuracy. Therefore, the remaining amount can be calculated with high accuracy. Furthermore, since the length of the medium used is calculated using the output of the mark detector provided for controlling the print position, it is not necessary to provide a separate sensor, and this can be realized at low cost.
[0016]
It is desirable to display the remaining amount stored by providing display means. As a result, not only when the remaining amount of media is low, but also the remaining amount can be grasped at all times. Is possible. Furthermore, it is desirable to display a near-end warning when the remaining amount becomes a predetermined amount or less.
[0017]
Information regarding the printable length of the medium roll stored in the medium storage unit is set by the user. For this reason, a setting information providing unit for the user to provide setting information including such information from the outside is further provided. The setting information providing unit can be realized by a configuration using a display unit such as a display and a personal computer which inputs using an input unit such as a keyboard. ) And a setting information storage means for storing type information such as the type of media roll, the total length, the distance between the position marks, and the number of portions between the position marks in advance corresponding to the barcode. The type information may be set by reading the bar code with a bar code reader attached to or built in the printer.
[0018]
In printers, when the media end detector is installed to detect that all the stored media rolls are no longer used, or to open the cover in order to recover from paper (medium) jamming or to replace the media roll However, it detects that the cover has been opened. A signal that detects this is called a paper set request signal. When a paper set request signal is detected, a new media roll is accommodated or a part of the roll media is cut off. Therefore, it is considered necessary to newly input setting information. Therefore, the setting information giving means performs a display requesting the display means to input setting information in response to the paper setting request signal.
[0019]
When a new media roll is set, the setting information is input in the same manner as described above. However, when a paper set request signal is generated when the cover is opened to recover from a paper (medium) jam, etc. The media roll is used halfway, and when it is set again, it is difficult for the user to know the length of the media roll. Therefore, when performing a display requesting input of setting information to the display means in response to the paper setting request signal, the remaining amount is displayed when the remaining amount stored in the remaining amount storage unit is greater than or equal to a predetermined amount, and the displayed remaining amount Is preferably re-enterable as information regarding the printable length of the media roll.
[0020]
In addition, the setting information input by the user includes information related to the interval between the position marks of the roll-shaped medium, calculates a time difference for detecting adjacent position marks when the roll-shaped medium is conveyed at a predetermined speed, and calculates the predetermined speed. It is preferable that the position mark interval is calculated by multiplying by and whether the calculated position mark interval is equal to the position mark interval included in the setting information. If they are not equal, a display requesting the user to re-enter the setting information is performed. This processing is desirably performed by a setup operation.
[0021]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a roll-shaped medium printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 indicates a roll-shaped medium printer engine. The printer engine 1 has a base portion 2 and a cover 3, and the medium roll can be exchanged by opening the cover 3. The printer engine 1 is provided with a control circuit for controlling each part in the printer engine 1, and this control circuit is connected to a control terminal 5 constituted by a personal computer or the like via a communication cable 4. A display 6 and a barcode reader 7 are connected to the control terminal 5 and are used for setting various conditions of the printer engine 1 and inputting setting information to be described later. The printer may have a built-in bar code reader. In that case, the built-in bar code reader may be used. Therefore, each control means is realized in the control circuit and the control terminal 5 in the printer engine 1.
[0022]
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a medium roll in which a medium used in the embodiment is wound in a roll shape. The medium roll 10 is obtained by processing a surface of a plastic film, paper, or the like and attaching a label 13 having a predetermined shape at a predetermined pitch (interval) to a long base 12 on which an adhesive is easily peeled off. It is wound around a roll core 15. The label 13 is a thermal paper that develops color when heated, and a predetermined format is printed in advance, and additional information is printed by the printer. Here, the base 12 and the label 13 are collectively referred to as a roll-shaped medium 11. As shown in the drawing, a position mark 14 is provided on the base 12 between the labels 13. The edge of the position mark 14 and the label 13 has a predetermined positional relationship, and the position of the edge of the label 13 can be known by detecting the position mark 14 when the roll-shaped medium 11 is being conveyed at a predetermined speed. FIG. 2 shows an example of a roll-shaped medium, and the present invention can be applied to any roll-shaped medium provided with position marks, and various modifications can be made.
[0023]
FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a method of setting a roll-shaped medium, and shows a state where the cover 3 of the printer engine 1 of FIG. 1 is opened. As shown in the figure, with the cover 3 opened, the medium roll 10 shown in FIG. 2 is placed in the medium container 22, and the roll-shaped medium 11 is pulled out so that the tip of the roll-shaped medium 11 is sandwiched between the rollers 23b. Set by closing 3. Reference numeral 28 denotes a print head. Here, the print head 28 is a thermal head in which a plurality of heating elements that can independently control heat generation are arranged.
[0024]
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a cross-sectional structure of the printer engine 1 according to the embodiment. The cover 3 is held so as to be rotatable about the fulcrum 21 with respect to the base portion 2 and can be opened and closed. Although not shown, a switch that switches when the cover 3 is completely closed is provided so that the open / closed state of the cover 3 can be detected. The base portion 2 includes a medium accommodating portion 22 that accommodates the medium roll 10, a lower conveying roller 23a, a lower first conveying guide 24, a platen roller 29, a lower second conveying guide 30, and a cutter. A movable blade 31a is provided. The cover 3 includes an upper conveyance roller 23b, a medium end detection mechanism that detects the absence of the conveyed roll-shaped medium 11, a position mark detector 27 that detects the position mark 14, a thermal head 28, and a cutter. The fixed blade 31b which comprises is provided. In addition, although the upper conveyance guide is also provided in the cover 3, illustration is abbreviate | omitted here.
[0025]
When the cover 3 is closed, the upper conveyance roller 23a and the lower conveyance roller 23b come into contact with each other to sandwich the roll medium 11, and the two rollers rotate to convey the roll medium 11. The medium end detection mechanism includes a lever 25 and a photo interrupter 26. When the roll-shaped medium 11 is present, the lever 25 is in a position indicated by a solid line in the figure, one end is in contact with the roll-shaped medium 11, and the other end is located in the photo interrupter 26 so as to block the photo interrupter 26. To do. Accordingly, when the photo interrupter 26 is in the cut-off state, a signal indicating that the roll-shaped medium 11 exists is output. When this portion of the roll-shaped medium 11 is exhausted, the lever 25 rotates to the position indicated by the broken line, and the other end moves out of the photo interrupter 26 so that the photo interrupter 26 passes through. Therefore, when the photo interrupter 26 is in the passing state, a signal indicating that the roll-shaped medium 11 has disappeared, that is, the medium end is output. When a signal indicating the end of the medium is output, this may be done by some means such as displaying on the display 6 in FIG. 1 that the user has used up the roll medium 11 and needs to set a new medium roll 10. To inform.
[0026]
The position mark detector 27 includes a light beam irradiation unit that irradiates the surface of the roll-shaped medium 11 with a light beam and a light detection unit that detects reflected light reflected by the surface of the roll-shaped medium 11. The passage of the position mark 14 of the roll-shaped medium 11 is detected using the fact that the intensity of reflected light is different between 14 and other portions.
[0027]
When the cover 3 is closed, the thermal head 28 faces the platen roll 29. In synchronization with the detection of the position mark 14 by the position mark detector 27, the thermal head 28 selectively heats the label 13 of the roll-shaped medium 11 conveyed between the platen rolls 29, and the label 13 Make a color and print. The rolled medium 11 that has been printed is guided between the movable blade 31a and the fixed blade 31b constituting the cutter, and in synchronization with the detection of the position mark 14 by the position mark detector 27, a predetermined gap between the labels 13 is obtained. Cut at position. If the next label is not printed immediately after the printing of the label 13 is finished except when printing is continuously performed, the transport rollers 23a and 23b are once rotated in reverse after cutting with a cutter. Then, the roll-shaped medium 11 is conveyed in the reverse direction so that the tip is positioned in front of the position mark detector 27.
[0028]
When the medium roll 10 is set, the medium roll 10 has a large diameter as indicated by a solid line, and the roll-shaped medium 11 enters the conveyance rollers 23a and 23b through a path indicated by a solid line. As printing is performed, the diameter of the medium roll 10 decreases and becomes indicated by a broken line, and enters the conveyance rollers 23a and 23b along the path indicated by the broken line.
[0029]
As described above, a switch for detecting the open / closed state of the cover 3 is provided, and a medium end detection mechanism for detecting the absence of the roll-shaped medium 11 being transported is also provided. Here, the paper set request signal is generated based on the cover open detection signal in which the switch detects the state in which the cover 3 is opened and the medium end detection signal in which the medium end detection mechanism detects that the roll-shaped medium 11 has disappeared. The The state where the paper set request signal is generated is a state where printing cannot be performed. The state in which the paper set request signal is not generated, that is, the paper set state is a state where printing can be performed.
[0030]
The basic configuration and operation of the roll-shaped medium printer according to the embodiment of the present invention have been described above. However, these configurations are similar to the prior art, and the configurations described in the above-described known examples can be used. Will be easily understood by those skilled in the art, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted here.
[0031]
The roll-shaped medium printer according to the embodiment of the present invention has the basic configuration as described above, but is characterized by processing based on the detected signal. Hereinafter, this feature will be described.
[0032]
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a control process related to detection of the remaining amount of the roll medium in the roll medium printer of the embodiment. Needless to say, control other than the control processing relating to the detection of the remaining amount of the roll-shaped medium is performed in the same manner as in the past.
[0033]
In step 101, it is detected whether or not the paper setting state has not been issued, that is, whether or not the unprinted roll-shaped medium 11 exists and the cover 3 is closed. If it is not in the set state, it waits until it is in the set state.
[0034]
In step 102, a display requesting that the user input role information regarding the medium roll 10 set is performed. The request may be made using not only the display but also an acoustic signal or the like.
[0035]
In step 103, the process waits until the user inputs this information. The information input by the user needs to include at least the roll length TL and the distance ML between the position marks 14 or information corresponding thereto. For example, in the case of this embodiment, the information is pasted on the substrate. Since it is a label, the number m of labels affixed to the medium roll and the distance between label marks (label affixing pitch) ML may be used. This is the same when a predetermined format is repeatedly printed in advance. Although not directly related to the present invention, in order to actually perform printing, information on the contents printed on the label and the format is also necessary. Therefore, here, the types of media rolls 10 that can be used by the printer are determined, and a list of types of media rolls 10 that can be used is displayed on the display 6 in FIG. 1 so that the user can select from the list. The control terminal 5 stores information necessary for printing corresponding to the type of the media roll 10 in advance, and fetches the information as control information according to the user's selection. This information includes the roll length TL and the distance ML between the position marks or information corresponding thereto.
[0036]
In step 104, the roll length TL, the distance ML between the position marks, and the number m of labels are stored in the control register. In step 105, a setup operation is performed. The set-up operation is an operation for setting a state in which printing can be performed after the medium roll 10 is set. The roll medium 11 is moved from the state where the position mark detector 27 detects the position mark 14 until the next position mark 14 is detected. When the next position mark 14 is detected, the roll-shaped medium 11 is returned in the reverse direction, and the position mark 14 is detected again and stopped. As a result, when a print command is received, printing can be started immediately. As described above, in the setup operation, the distance between the position marks 14 is measured. This measurement is performed by measuring the time until the next position mark 14 is detected after the position mark 14 is detected. Since the roll-shaped medium 11 is conveyed by rotating the conveyance rollers 23a and 23b at a constant speed, the conveyance speed is obtained by multiplying the circumferential length of the conveyance rollers 23a and 23b by the rotation speed and is constant. Therefore, the distance ML between the position marks 14 can be measured by multiplying the transport speed by the above time.
[0037]
In step 106, the position mark distance ML measured in step 105 is within a predetermined error range with respect to the position mark distance ML stored in step 104, that is, the measured ML matches the ML input by the user. Judge whether to do. If they do not match, the ML entered by the user is incorrect, and it is highly likely that other information is also incorrect. Therefore, the process proceeds to step 107 and the roll information on the media roll 10 set for the user is re-entered. The display requesting to be performed is performed, and the process returns to step 103.
[0038]
If the measured ML matches the ML input by the user, the process proceeds to step 108, where the roll length TL and the number m of labels stored in step 104 are stored as a remaining length RT and a remaining number Rm, respectively. In step 109, the remaining amount RT and the remaining number Rm are displayed so as to be confirmed by the user. In step 110, it is checked whether a paper setting request signal has been generated. If a paper setting request signal has been generated, the process returns to step 102, and if not, the process proceeds to step 112. In this case, the presence or absence of the paper setting request signal is detected in steps 101 and 110. However, it is also possible to perform interrupt processing by the paper setting request signal without providing such a step.
[0039]
In step 112, it is determined whether or not a print command has occurred. If not, the process returns to step 109 to wait until a print command is generated. If a print command is generated, a printing operation is performed once in step 113, the position mark distance MT is subtracted from the remaining length RT, and the remaining number Rm is decreased by one. In step 114, it is determined whether the remaining amount length RT is equal to or less than a threshold value T. Instead, it may be determined whether the remaining number Rm is equal to or less than the threshold value Tm. If it is equal to or less than the threshold value T, the process proceeds to step 115 to display a warning that the remaining amount is low, and the process returns to step 109. Even when the remaining amount RT is larger than the threshold value T, the process returns to step 109. As described above, steps 112 to 115 and 109 to 110 are repeated by the number of prints.
[0040]
As described above, in the control processing related to the detection of the remaining amount of the roll-shaped medium in the roll-shaped medium printer of the embodiment, the length of the used roll-shaped medium is calculated by detecting the position mark. The length of the medium can be detected very accurately. Usually, since a media roll made with a predetermined specification is set, the length of the set media roll is very accurate, and the remaining amount can be calculated very accurately. In particular, when setting information corresponding to the type of the media roll is stored in advance and the type of the media roll is input by reading the barcode attached to the new media roll, there is almost no input error by the user. It is possible to accurately input the length of the set media roll.
[0041]
Furthermore, not only when the remaining amount is low, but also when the media roll is set, the remaining amount is always detected and displayed, so the entire amount can be printed even when a large amount of printing is performed continuously. It is possible to easily determine whether or not there is.
[0042]
In addition, since the distance between the position marks can be easily measured, the distance between the position marks is included in the setting information, and it is confirmed that the distance between the measured position marks and the distance between the position marks in the setting information match. Then, it can be determined whether the setting information is reliable.
[0043]
In the above embodiment, a list of types of media rolls 10 that can be used is displayed on the display 6, and the user inputs the setting information by selecting from the list. However, as shown in FIG. 7 is attached, and when a bar code indicating the type of the medium roll is attached to the medium roll 10 or an accessory such as wrapping paper, setting information can be input using these. The processing of this modification will be described with reference to FIG. The bar code indicating the medium type may be at the top of the back side of the roll paper, and the position mark may be the medium type bar code.
[0044]
The control terminal 5 stores medium roll setting information in advance in association with the barcode. After step 103 in FIG. 5, it is determined in step 121 whether the input is a barcode input by the barcode reader 7. If the input is not a bar code, the input is from the keyboard or the like by the user, and the process proceeds to step 104 in FIG. If it is a bar code input, the process proceeds to step 122 to determine whether or not the input bar code is stored. If it is not stored, the process proceeds to step 124 to confirm that the input bar code is not stored. Display and return to step 102.
[0045]
If the input bar code is stored, the process proceeds to step 123 to read out the media roll setting information (roll length TL, distance ML between position marks and number m of labels) corresponding to the bar code. Store and proceed to step 105.
[0046]
As described above, in this modification, the setting information is input using the bar code attached to the medium roll 10 or its accessory, so that input errors by the user are reduced.
[0047]
5 and 6 is based on the premise that a new roll-shaped medium is set. In actual usage, it is common to set a new roll-shaped medium, and when all of the roll-shaped medium is used up, another new roll-shaped medium is set. In this process, there is no problem in most cases. However, although rarely, a paper (medium) jam may occur in the middle. In that case, it is necessary to recover the state where the cover can be opened and printing can be performed. At this time, the medium roll 10 has been used halfway. When the medium roll 10 is restored to a state where printing can be performed and the medium roll 10 is set again, the user knows the length of the roll-shaped medium. Is difficult.
[0048]
As described above, when the cover is opened, the switch generates a cover open detection signal, and the medium end detection mechanism generates a medium end detection signal because the cover is further opened. Therefore, a paper set request signal is generated, and a display requesting input of setting information is performed on the display unit in response to the paper set request signal. In such a case, the roll medium to be reset by the user is displayed. It is difficult to grasp the length, which causes a problem that accurate setting information cannot be input. The modification described below is an example for facilitating the input of setting information in such a case.
[0049]
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the control process of this modification. After step 109 in FIG. 5, it is determined in step 131 whether a paper set request signal has been generated. If no paper set request signal has been generated, the process proceeds to step 112. When the paper set request signal is generated, the routine proceeds to step 132, where it is determined whether the remaining length RT is smaller than the threshold T. When RT is smaller than T, it is considered that the user replaces the medium roll 10 in response to a warning that the remaining amount is low, so the process proceeds to step 111 to clear the display and then returns to step 102.
[0050]
If RT is greater than T, it is considered that a paper set request signal has been generated for reasons such as recovery of a paper jam, and the process proceeds to step 133 to store the distance ML between the position marks at that time and the remaining length RT. The remaining number Rm is stored so as to be saved. At step 134, the display is cleared, and the process waits until it is detected again at step 135 whether the set state is reached again. When in the set state, a display requesting the user to input information on the media roll is performed in the same manner as in the process of FIG. 5. At this time, whether a new media roll is set or whether a previously used media roll is reused. Display that asks the user to select.
[0051]
After there is an input related to this, it is determined in step 138 which is selected and input. If a new medium roll has been set, the process proceeds to step 104. If a previously used medium roll is to be reused, the process proceeds to step 139. The long RT and the remaining number of sheets Rm are displayed, and in step 140, the user's confirmation content is determined. If the user denies the content, the process proceeds to step 102 where a display requesting the user to input information related to the new media roll is performed. When the user affirms the content, the process proceeds to step 141, where the stored remaining amount RT is set as the roll length TL, the stored remaining number Rm is set as the number m, and the process proceeds to step 105.
[0052]
As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was described, various modifications are possible, and it cannot be overemphasized that this invention is not limited to the Example demonstrated.
[0053]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, in a printer that uses a roll-shaped medium having position marks provided at predetermined intervals, it is possible to accurately detect the remaining amount of the roll-shaped medium and always display the remaining amount. A roll media printer can be realized at low cost.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a medium wound in a roll shape used in an embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a roll medium setting method in the printer of the embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of a printer engine according to an embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating control processing according to the embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a modified example of the control process according to the embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a modified example of the control process according to the embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 ... Printer engine
2 ... Base part
3 ... Cover
5 ... Control terminal
6 ... Display
7 Bar code reader
10 ... Media roll
11 ... Roll-shaped medium
27 ... Position mark detector

Claims (9)

A medium accommodating portion for accommodating a medium roll in which a medium in which position marks are arranged at predetermined intervals is wound in a roll shape;
A medium feeding mechanism for feeding the roll-shaped medium at a constant speed during printing;
A mark detector for detecting the position mark on the roll-shaped medium fed by the medium feeding mechanism;
A print head for performing printing at a predetermined position on the roll-shaped medium in accordance with the position of the position mark detected by the mark detector;
A roll-shaped medium printer comprising a control unit for controlling each unit,
The control unit includes a remaining amount storage unit that stores a remaining amount corresponding to a printable length of the medium roll stored in the medium storage unit;
A roll-shaped medium printer comprising: a remaining amount updating unit that updates the remaining amount stored in the remaining amount storage unit in response to the mark detector detecting the position mark. The roll media printer according to claim 1,
A roll-shaped medium printer further comprising display means for displaying the remaining amount stored in the remaining amount storage unit. A roll media printer according to claim 2,
The display unit is a roll-type medium printer that displays a near-end warning when the remaining amount stored in the remaining amount storage unit becomes a predetermined amount or less. A roll media printer according to claim 2,
A roll-type medium printer further comprising setting information providing means for a user to provide setting information including information relating to a printable length of the medium roll accommodated in the medium accommodating unit. A roll media printer according to claim 4,
The setting information providing means includes a barcode reader that reads a barcode attached to the medium roll or its accessory, and setting information storage means that stores the setting information corresponding to the barcode. A roll-shaped medium printer that provides the setting information according to a barcode read by a code reader. The roll-shaped medium printer according to claim 4 or 5,
The setting information adding unit is a roll-type medium printer that performs a display requesting the display unit to input the setting information in response to a paper setting request signal. The roll media printer according to claim 6,
The paper set request signal includes a signal generated when a cover that opens and closes to accommodate the medium roll in the medium accommodating portion and a signal generated by a detector that detects the absence of the roll-shaped medium. Roll media printer generated based on. A roll-shaped medium printer according to claim 6 or 7,
The setting information giving means performs a display requesting input of the setting information to the display means in response to the paper set request signal, and when the remaining amount stored in the remaining amount storage unit is a predetermined amount or more. A roll-shaped medium printer that displays the remaining amount on the display means and allows the displayed remaining amount to be re-input as information on a printable length of the medium roll. A roll media printer according to claim 4,
The setting information includes information related to the interval between the position marks of the roll-shaped medium,
The control unit calculates a time difference for detecting the adjacent position marks when the roll-shaped medium is conveyed at a predetermined speed, calculates the interval between the position marks by multiplying the predetermined speed by the time difference, and calculates the calculated A roll-shaped medium printer that confirms whether a position mark interval is equal to a position mark interval included in the setting information, and displays a request to the user to re-enter the setting information when they are not equal.

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