JP2008073974A - Manual printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manual printer allowing a user to check the speed and direction suitable for printing. <P>SOLUTION: A speed indication part 24 for indicating the guide for a proper speed and a direction indication part 25 for indicating the guide for a proper direction are provided in the upper part of a case 2. The speed indication part 24 is shaped to be an almost triangle with the left end being the vertex while the right end being the base and consists of five lighting parts. When the lighting part located in the more left side is lighted, the travelling speed is urged to be faster. When the lighting part located in the more right side is lighted, the travelling speed is urged to be slower. The direction indication part 25 consists of 8 lighting arrow heads for indicating 8 directions and gives the indication so that the direction may become proper when the manual printer 1 is made to travel toward the direction of the lighted arrow head part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a manual printing apparatus that performs printing by manually scanning on a recording medium.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, manual printing apparatuses have been proposed as apparatuses for performing printing at desired locations on various recording media. According to this manual printing apparatus, when the user manually scans the manual printing apparatus at an arbitrary speed on the recording medium, printing is performed by driving and controlling the recording head according to the movement amount of the manual printing apparatus. The amount of movement of the manual printing device is detected based on the amount of rotation of a traveling roller that is rotatably provided as a means for the manual printing device to travel on the recording medium. In such a manual printing apparatus, a user can scan the apparatus in a desired direction. However, it has been proposed to designate a scanning direction in advance and control printing in accordance with the direction. (For example, patent document 1).
JP-A-9-300723

    However, in such a manual printing apparatus, the speed at which the user scans the apparatus is not constant, and it is difficult to always maintain a speed suitable for printing, so the quality of printing may be reduced. In addition, since the user can freely scan the apparatus, the printing result may be distorted, and the printing result may be shifted or distorted. Then, there is a problem that the quality of the print result is not known unless printing is actually performed.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a manual printing apparatus capable of confirming a speed and direction suitable for printing.

  In order to achieve the above object, a manual printing apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention is a manual printing apparatus that performs printing on a recording medium by manually scanning the recording medium. Traveling means that travels by scanning, a recording head that records an image made up of characters and figures on the recording medium when the traveling means travels on the recording medium, and traveling by the traveling means An appropriate value storage means for storing at least one of an appropriate value for the direction to be traveled or an appropriate value for the travel speed, a detection means for detecting at least one of the direction traveled by the travel means or the travel speed, and detection by the detection means A determination means for comparing the detected value with the appropriate value stored in the appropriate value storage means and determining whether the difference is within a predetermined range; Characterized by comprising a display means for displaying.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect of the invention, the manual printing apparatus includes a setting unit that sets the appropriate value.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first or second aspect, the manual printing apparatus includes a calculation unit that calculates a guide value for bringing the detected value close to the appropriate value. The display means displays the guide value calculated by the calculation means.

  The manual printing apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention detects at least one of the traveling direction and the traveling speed when the manual printing apparatus travels on the recording medium by an operator, and the detected value is stored in advance. Compare with the appropriate value. Then, it is determined whether or not the difference between the detected value and the appropriate value is within a predetermined range, and the determination result is displayed. Therefore, by confirming the display, the operator can know whether the traveling direction and the traveling speed are appropriate, and high-quality printing can be performed.

  The manual printing apparatus according to claim 2 of the present invention can set an appropriate value in addition to the configuration of the invention according to claim 1, so that an appropriate appropriate value can be set according to the printing content. .

  In addition to the configuration of the invention described in claim 1 or 2, the manual printing apparatus described in claim 3 of the present invention calculates and displays a guide value for bringing the detected value close to an appropriate value. Therefore, since it is possible to confirm on the display how to obtain an appropriate traveling direction and traveling speed, it is possible to perform high-quality printing more easily.

  A manual printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of the manual printing apparatus 1. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the manual printing apparatus 1 with the housing 2 removed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the manual printing apparatus 1 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing 2 having a size that can be easily held by a user. As shown in FIG. 2, the manual printing apparatus 1 is provided with a rotatable roller 3 as a traveling means, and an X-direction roller 31 and a Y-direction roller 32 that rotate as the roller 3 rotates. Yes. An ink jet recording head 23 is provided in the vicinity of the Y direction roller 32.

  The X direction roller 31 is connected to the encoder gear 33 of the X encoder 21, and the rotational force of the X direction roller 31 is transmitted to the encoder gear 33. The encoder gear 33 is provided with slits at predetermined intervals, and the rotation speed and rotation speed of the X-direction roller 31 are detected by a photo interrupter 34 that is turned ON / OFF by the rotation of the encoder gear 33. Similarly, the Y direction roller 32 is connected to the encoder gear 35 of the Y encoder 22, and the rotational force of the Y direction roller 32 is transmitted to the encoder gear 35. The encoder gear 35 is provided with slits at predetermined intervals, and the rotational speed and rotational speed of the Y-direction roller 32 are detected by a photo interrupter 36 that is turned ON / OFF by the rotation of the encoder gear 35. The X encoder 21 and the Y encoder 22 correspond to detection means of the present invention.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a speed display unit 24 for displaying a guide to an appropriate travel speed and a direction display unit for displaying a guide to an appropriate travel direction are displayed on the top of the housing 2. 25. These display units compare the current travel speed and travel direction detected from the X encoder 21 and the Y encoder 22 with the appropriate travel speed and travel direction preset by the user or set in advance by the user. It is displayed how to operate to bring it closer to the correct speed and direction. The speed display unit 24 and the direction display unit 25 correspond to the display means of the present invention.

  Specifically, the speed display unit 24 has a substantially triangular shape with the left at the top and the right at the bottom, and includes five lighting units. This means that it is urged to run faster as the lighting unit on the left side is lit, and to drive slower as the lighting unit on the right side is lit. That is, if the leftmost part 51 is lit, it is “faster”, if the left middle part 52 is lit, “somewhat fast”, if the central part 53 is lit, “appropriate speed”, and if the right middle part 54 is lit, “slightly late”. If the rightmost part 55 is lit, it means “more late”.

  Moreover, the direction display part 25 consists of the arrow part which can be lighted which shows 8 directions, and when the manual printing apparatus 1 is made to drive to the direction of the lighted arrow part, it will be displayed so that it may become an appropriate direction. That is, when the left arrow 41 is lit, “running left”, when the upper left arrow 42 is lit, “running diagonally upward left of the recording medium”, when the up arrow 43 is lit, “running upward of the recording medium”, upper right When the arrow 44 is lit, “running the recording medium diagonally upward right”, when the right arrow 45 is lit, “traveling rightward”, when the right lower arrow 46 is lit, “traveling diagonally downward the recording medium right”, down When the arrow 47 is lit, it means a guide “running downward in the recording medium”, and when the lower left arrow 48 is lit, it means “traveling diagonally down the left of the recording medium”.

  The user holds the case 2 of the manual printing apparatus 1 having the above-described configuration, and presses the print button 15 (see FIG. 3) provided on the side of the case 2 while bringing the roller 3 into contact with the recording medium (not shown). By running while running, the print data supplied from the external device is printed on the recording medium. During printing, the current traveling direction and traveling speed are detected, and a guide is displayed on the speed display unit 24 and the direction display unit 25. In the following description, it is assumed that an appropriate traveling direction of the manual printing apparatus 1 is an arrow direction in FIG.

  Next, the configuration of the control system of the manual printing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the electrical configuration of the manual printing apparatus 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the manual printing apparatus 1 is provided with a CPU 10 that controls the entire manual printing apparatus 1. The CPU 10 is supplied from a ROM 11 storing a control program and various default values, and supplied from an external device. The RAM 12 that stores the print data to be printed, the appropriate values of the traveling speed and the traveling direction, and the print button 15 that instructs the start of printing are connected. Further, the CPU 10 is connected to an X encoder 21 and a Y encoder 22, a head drive control unit 13 that controls the recording head 23, and a display control unit 14 that controls the speed display unit 24 and the direction display unit 25. . The RAM 12 corresponds to the appropriate value storage means of the present invention.

  Next, the printing operation of the manual printing apparatus 1 having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of the printing process of the manual printing apparatus 1. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the direction display process executed in the printing process. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the speed display process executed in the printing process. Print data to be printed is transmitted from an external device such as a personal computer and stored in the RAM 12.

  When the manual printing apparatus 1 is turned on, initial settings such as clearing the RAM 12 and resetting appropriate values of the printing direction and printing speed are first performed (S10). Next, it is determined whether or not an appropriate value for the printing direction and printing speed has been input by the user and changed from the default value (S20). Although not shown, appropriate values for the printing direction and printing speed can be set as appropriate by the user within a predetermined range. Here, since the manual printing apparatus 1 does not have an input unit, it may be configured to accept an input by connecting to an external apparatus.

  When there is a user setting of appropriate values of direction and speed (S20: YES), the appropriate value is changed from the default value to the user setting value and stored in the RAM 12 (S30). If there is no user set value (S20: NO), the process proceeds directly to S40.

  Next, the display control part 14 is controlled and the display to the speed display part 24 and the direction display part 25 is started (S40). Next, it is determined whether or not a printing operation is started by pressing the print button 15 and running the housing 2 (S50). If the operation has not been started (S50: NO), the process waits as it is. If the operation is started (S50: YES), then the values of the X encoder 21 and the Y encoder 22 are acquired (S60).

  Next, the obtained encoder value is compared with the appropriate value stored in the RAM 12, and the direction display process (S70) for displaying the direction guide and the speed display process (S90) for displaying the speed guide are performed. Execute. Details of the direction display process and the speed display process will be described later with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

  Then, the print data is read from the RAM 12, and the head drive control unit 13 drives the recording head 23 to execute printing (S110). Next, it is determined whether or not printing of all print data stored in the RAM 12 has been completed (S120). If printing of all the print data has not been completed (S120: NO), the process returns to S60, and S60 to S110 are repeated. When printing of all the print data in the RAM 12 is completed (S120: YES), the display of the direction display unit and the speed display unit is ended (S130). Then, it is determined whether or not the power is turned off (S140). When the power is turned off (S140: YES), the process is terminated. If the power is not turned off (S140: NO), the process returns to S50 and waits for a printing operation.

  Next, the direction display process executed in S70 of FIG. 4 will be described with reference to FIG. When the direction display process is started, first, it is determined whether or not the value of the Y encoder 22 is “0” (S71). As described above, since it is desired to proceed the manual printing machine 1 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1, if the value of the Y encoder 22 is “0” (S71: YES), the shift in the Y direction is not. Just go to the left as it is. Therefore, the left arrow 41 is turned on (S72), and the process returns to the printing process.

  If the value of the Y encoder 22 is not “0” (S71: NO), it is next determined whether or not the value of the Y encoder 22 is greater than “0” (S73). If the value of the Y encoder 22 is larger than “0” (S73: YES), it is subsequently determined whether or not the value of the X encoder 21 is larger than “0” (S74). If the value of the X encoder 21 is also larger than “0” (S74: YES), whether or not the value obtained by dividing the value of the Y encoder 22 by the value of the X encoder 21 is smaller than “0.41”; That is, it is determined whether it is smaller than tan (45 ° / 2) (S75). When Y / X is smaller than “0.41” (S75: YES), since there is almost no deviation in the Y direction, the left arrow 41 is turned on (S72), and the process returns to the printing process.

  If Y / X is “0.41” or more (S75: NO), the lower left arrow 48 is turned on (S76), and the process returns to the printing process.

  If the value of the Y encoder 22 is larger than “0” (S73: YES) and the value of the X encoder 21 is “0” or less (S74: NO), then the value of the Y encoder 22 is changed to the X encoder 21. It is determined whether or not the value divided by the value of is greater than “−0.41”, that is, whether or not it is greater than tan (−45 ° / 2) (S77). When Y / X is larger than “−0.41” (S77: YES), since there is almost no deviation in the Y direction, the left arrow 41 is turned on (S78), and the process returns to the printing process.

  If Y / X is equal to or less than “−0.41” (S77: NO), the lower left arrow 48 is turned on (S79), and the process returns to the printing process.

  If the value of the Y encoder 22 is equal to or less than “0” (S73: NO), it is next determined whether or not the value of the X encoder 21 is greater than “0” (S80). If the value of the X encoder 21 is greater than “0” (S80: YES), then whether or not the value obtained by dividing the value of the Y encoder 22 by the value of the X encoder 21 is greater than “−0.41”. That is, it is determined whether it is larger than tan (−45 ° / 2) (S81). If Y / X is greater than “−0.41” (S81: YES), there is almost no deviation in the Y direction, so the left arrow 41 is lit (S83), and the process returns to the printing process.

  If Y / X is “−0.41” or less (S81: NO), the upper left arrow 42 is turned on (S82), and the process returns to the printing process.

  If the value of the Y encoder 22 is “0” or less (S73: NO) and the value of the X encoder 21 is also “0” or less (S80: NO), then the value of the Y encoder 22 is set to the value of the X encoder 21. It is determined whether or not the value divided by the value is smaller than “0.41”, ie, smaller than tan (45 ° / 2) (S84). When Y / X is smaller than “0.41” (S84: YES), since there is almost no deviation in the Y direction, the left arrow 41 is turned on (S83), and the process returns to the printing process.

  When Y / X is “0.41” or more (S84: NO), the upper left arrow 42 is turned on (S85), and the process returns to the printing process.

  With the above direction display processing, when the user wants to scan in the left direction, the direction in which the user should operate the manual printing apparatus 1 is indicated by the lighting of the eight direction arrows on the direction display unit 25. Accordingly, the user moves the manual printing apparatus 1 to perform printing in an appropriate direction, and a high-quality printing result can be obtained. In the present embodiment, the case of scanning straight in the left direction has been described (in the case where the set appropriate value is the left direction), but the appropriate value is not limited to the left direction and can be set as appropriate.

  Next, the speed display process executed in SS90 of FIG. 4 will be described with reference to FIG. When the speed display process is started, first, it is determined whether or not a value obtained by dividing the current speed X detected from the X encoder 21 and the Y encoder 22 by a set value is not less than “0” and not more than “0.8”. (S91). When the value obtained by dividing X by the set value is not less than “0” and not more than “0.8”, the current speed is considerably slower than the set value. The unit 51 is turned on (S92), and the process returns to the printing process.

  If the value obtained by dividing X by the set value is not between “0” and “0.8” (S91: NO), is it larger than “0.8” and smaller than “0.9”? It is determined whether or not (S93). When the value obtained by dividing X by the set value is larger than “0.8” and smaller than “0.9”, the current speed is still slower than the set value. Lights up (S94) and returns to the printing process.

  If the value obtained by dividing X by the set value is not greater than “0.8” and less than “0.9” (S93: NO), then the value obtained by dividing X by the set value is “0.9. It is determined whether it is between “1.1” and “1.1” (S95). If the value obtained by dividing X by the set value is not less than “0.9” and not more than “1.1” (S95: YES), the central portion 53 that means “appropriate speed” is turned on because the speed is almost appropriate. Then, the process returns to the printing process (S96).

  If the value obtained by dividing X by the set value is not between “0.9” and “1.1” (S95: NO), then the value obtained by dividing X by the set value is “1.1”. It is determined whether it is larger and smaller than “1.2” (S97). If the value obtained by dividing X by the set value is more than “1.1” and less than “1.2” (S97: YES), the current speed is slightly faster than the set value, so the right meaning “slightly slower” The middle part 54 is turned on (S98), and the process returns to the printing process.

  When the value obtained by dividing X by the set value is not more than “1.1” and not “1.2” (S97: NO), the value obtained by dividing X by the set value is “1.2” or more, and the current speed Is considerably faster than the appropriate value, so the rightmost portion 55 meaning “more late” is turned on (S99), and the process returns to the printing process.

  In this way, the current speed detected from the encoders 21 and 22 is compared with the appropriate value of the default value or the speed set by the user, and the speed how the current speed should be approximated to the appropriate value is determined. It is displayed by lighting the arrow part of the display unit 25. Accordingly, the user can operate the manual printing apparatus 1 while confirming the lighting state of the speed display unit 25, and can easily approach the appropriate speed, so that it is easy to obtain a high-quality printing result.

  As described above, according to the manual printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the current traveling speed and traveling direction are always detected from the X encoder 21 and the Y encoder 22 and compared with the appropriate values stored in the RAM 12. Thus, a guide for approaching an appropriate speed is displayed on the speed display unit 24, and a guide for setting an appropriate direction is displayed on the direction display unit 25. Accordingly, the user can operate the manual printing apparatus 1 while confirming the guide display of the speed display unit 24 and the direction display unit 25, so that appropriate scanning can be easily performed, and high-quality printing results can be obtained. Can be obtained.

  In the above embodiment, the CPU 10 that executes the direction display process in S70 and the speed display process in S90 in FIG. 4 corresponds to the determination means and calculation means of the present invention.

  In the above embodiment, the speed display unit 24 and the direction display unit 25 display a guide for approaching an appropriate value, but the display is not limited to the guide display. The result of comparing the appropriate value with the current value may be displayed.

1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of a manual printing apparatus 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the manual printing apparatus 1 with a housing 2 removed. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of the manual printing apparatus 1. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of printing processing of the manual printing apparatus 1. It is a flowchart of the direction display process performed in a printing process. It is a flowchart of the speed display process performed in a printing process.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Manual printing apparatus 2 Case 3 Roller 10 CPU
11 ROM
12 RAM
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 13 Head drive control part 14 Display control part 15 Print button 21 X encoder 22 Y encoder 23 Recording head 24 Speed display part 25 Direction display part 31 X direction roller 32 Y direction roller 33 Encoder gear 34 Photo interrupter 35 Encoder gear 36 Photo interrupter 41 Left arrow 42 Upper left arrow 43 Up arrow 44 Upper right arrow 45 Right arrow 46 Right lower arrow 47 Down arrow 48 Left lower arrow 51 Leftmost part 52 Left middle part 53 Center part 54 Right middle part 55 Rightmost part

Claims (3)

A manual printing apparatus that performs printing on a recording medium by being manually scanned on the recording medium,
Traveling means that travels by being manually scanned;
A recording head for recording an image made up of characters and figures on the recording medium when the recording medium travels on the recording medium;
An appropriate value storage means for storing at least one of an appropriate value of the direction traveled by the travel means and an appropriate value of the travel speed;
Detecting means for detecting at least one of a direction or a traveling speed traveled by the travel means;
A determination means for comparing the detection value detected by the detection means with the appropriate value stored in the appropriate value storage means and determining whether or not the difference is within a predetermined range;
A manual printing apparatus comprising: display means for displaying a judgment result by the judgment means.   The manual printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising setting means for setting the appropriate value. A calculating means for calculating a guide value for bringing the detected value close to the appropriate value;
The manual printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display unit displays a guide value calculated by the calculation unit.

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