JP2009083998A - Printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To detect a stacked state of tags 10 of a stacker 200 by a reflection sensor disposed on a printer 100 side and to control stop of printing processing. <P>SOLUTION: The reflection sensor 104 disposed to a front face of a printer 100 detects stacking of the tag 10 up to the reflection sensor 104 on a bottom plate of the stacker 200 installed to the printer 100, and a detection signal corresponding to the detection result is transmitted to a control part 120. When the control part 120 determines that the tags 10 are stacked at the position of the reflection sensor 140 based on the detection signal transmitted from the reflection sensor 140, the control part 120 stops the printing processing by a printing part 100 to suppress occurrence of a trouble such as jamming of the tag 10 in a discharge port 103. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, and more particularly to a printing apparatus that detects that a stacker for stacking single-leaf tags or the like is full.

Conventionally, when an issued single leaf tag (paper piece) or the like is stacked on a stacker, when the stacker is full, a tag issued from an issuing port may be clogged without being stacked on the stacker. Therefore, an optical sensor is provided on the stacker side so that it can be detected that the tags are stacked until the stacker is full, and the subsequent issuing operation is stopped.
Further, even in the case of a stacker that stacks and stacks paper pieces sequentially from the lower side, a stack full sensor provided so that the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion face each other is provided on the stacker side, and the paper pieces are stacked to stack the stack full sensor. When entering between the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit, a stack full signal is output to stop the printing operation and the stacking operation (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP-A-5-330720

  However, in the background art, since the optical sensor, the stack full sensor, and the like are provided on the stacker side, there is a problem that the stacker mechanism becomes complicated, leading to an increase in cost and usability.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and by providing an optical sensor on the printing apparatus main body instead of the stacker side, the mechanism of the printing apparatus main body and the stacker can be simplified and the cost increase can be suppressed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing apparatus capable of improving usability.

The printing apparatus according to claim 1, a printing unit that prints predetermined print data on a single-leaf tag, a stacker support unit that detachably supports a stacker that stacks the tags, and the tag is attached to the stacker. It is characterized by comprising detection means for detecting that the number of sheets has been stacked, and control means for stopping printing by the printing means based on a detection result by the detection means.
Further, the detection means rotates when the stacker is detachably supported by the stacker support means, and receives the direction of light emitted from the light emitting unit constituting the detection means and the reflected light of the light. The direction of the light receiving portion to be changed can be changed depending on whether or not the stacker is supported by the stacker support means.
In addition, according to the direction of the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit detected by the direction detecting unit, the direction detecting unit for detecting the direction of the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit that change as the detection unit rotates, Adjustment means for adjusting the detection sensitivity of the detection means can be further provided.

  According to the printing apparatus of the present invention, since the detection unit is provided in the printing apparatus main body, the mechanism of the stacker and the printing apparatus main body can be prevented from becoming complicated, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Usability can be improved.

  FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a printer 100 as a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the printer 100 displays various setting information provided on the front side of the housing 160 and various data such as various commands and data input by operating the operation unit 102 described later by the user. Display unit 101, an operation unit 102 composed of a plurality of buttons for inputting various commands and data, a discharge port 103 through which a single leaf tag 10 (FIG. 2) is discharged, a light emitting unit 141 that emits light, and A reflection sensor 140 including a light receiving unit 142 that mainly receives reflected light of light emitted from the light emitting unit 141 and outputs a detection signal corresponding to the intensity of the received light (amount of received light per unit time), and FIG. In order to mount the stacker 200, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 2, the insertion openings 106, 107 for inserting the stacker fixing portions 203, 204 of the stacker 200 are provided. It is.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the configurations of the printer 100 and the stacker 200 and a state in which the stacker 200 is mounted on the printer 100. The printer 100 includes a printing unit 110 that prints print data on the tag 10, a control unit 120 that controls each component constituting the printing unit 110 and a cutter 111 that will be described later, and the printing unit 110 under the control of the control unit 120. The continuous tag (not shown) subjected to the printing process is cut at a predetermined pitch, and the cutter 111 forming the single-leaf tag 10 and the stacker fixing portions 203 and 204 of the stacker 200 described above are inserted. And insertion holes 106 and 107 fixed to 100.

  On the other hand, the stacker 200 that can be detachably attached to the printer 100 regulates the bottom plate 202 on which the single-leaf tag 10 discharged from the discharge port 103 of the printer 100 is stacked, and the tip of the tag 10 stacked on the bottom plate 202. Stopper 201, side wall plates 205, 206 for restricting the stacking position of the tag 10 in the width direction (direction orthogonal to the discharge direction), the stacker fixing portion 203 joined to or integrally formed with the side wall plate 205, and the side wall The stacker fixing portion 204 is joined to or integrally formed with the plate 206, and the stacker fixing portions 203 and 204 are fitted into the insertion openings 106 and 107 of the printer 100, respectively, and are detachably fixed. Yes.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration example of the control unit 120 of FIG. As shown in the figure, a control unit 120 operates in accordance with a ROM (Read Only Memory) 122 that stores a control program and a control program stored in the ROM 122, executes various processes, and controls each unit (CPU) A central processing unit (121), a RAM (Random Access Memory) 123 that stores various data necessary for the CPU 121 to execute various processes and processes for controlling each unit, and an external device such as the host computer 300. An interface (I / F) 124 that controls transmission / reception of various commands and data to be performed, a print control unit 128 that controls printing processing on a continuous tag by the printing unit 110 under the control of the CPU 121, and under the control of the CPU 121, The cutter 111 is controlled, the continuous tag is cut at a predetermined pitch at a predetermined timing, and the tag 10 is formed. Under the control of the cutter control unit 129 and the CPU 121, the light emitting unit 141 and the light receiving unit 142 constituting the reflection sensor 140 are controlled to emit light from the light emitting unit 141 and to correspond to the detection signal output from the light receiving unit 142 A sensor control unit 127 that supplies detection data to the CPU 121 via the bus 150; an interface (I / F) 125 that supplies display data to the display unit 101 connected to the bus 150 under the control of the CPU 121; An interface (I / F) 126 that supplies various commands and data input by operating the operation unit 102 by the user to the CPU 121 via the bus 150 is configured.

  The reflection sensor 140 includes a light emitting unit 141 and a light receiving unit 142 and is connected to the sensor control unit 127. Under the control of the CPU 121, light is emitted from the light emitting unit 141 under the control of the sensor control unit 127, and the light receiving unit 142 transmits detection data corresponding to the amount of received light to the CPU 121 via the bus 150 via the sensor control unit 127. To supply. When the tag 10 is stacked up to the position of the light emitting unit 141 (position where the light emitting unit 141 is provided), the reflected light from the tag 10 is received, and detection data corresponding to the amount of the received reflected light is received by the sensor control unit. It is supplied to the CPU 121 via the bus 150 via 127.

  Next, the operation of the printer 100 will be described. Although not shown, the printing unit 110 includes a tag supply unit that supplies a continuous tag wound in a roll shape with a paper sheet such as cardboard, an ink ribbon supply unit that supplies an ink ribbon, a continuous tag, A platen roller that sandwiches an ink ribbon with a thermal head, which will be described later, is rotated by a stepping motor (not shown) and conveys the continuous tag and the ink ribbon synchronously toward the cutter 111, and a CPU 121 on the printing surface of the continuous tag. A thermal head or the like that prints characters, graphics, or the like corresponding to the predetermined print data supplied from the printer, and performs a printing process on the continuous tag at a predetermined pitch.

  The continuous tag printed by the printing unit 110 is transferred to the cutter 111. The cutter 111 includes a fixed blade and a movable blade (not shown), and moves forward and backward so that the movable blade overlaps the fixed blade, whereby the continuous tag is predetermined in the direction (width direction) perpendicular to the transfer direction. Cut at a pitch of. Thereby, the single-leaf tag 10 is formed. The timing at which the cutter 111 cuts the continuous tag is controlled by the cutter control unit 129.

  The single-leaf tag 10 formed by the cutter 111 cutting the continuous tag is discharged from the discharge port 103 and sequentially stacked on the bottom plate 202 of the stacker 200. The bottom plate 202 is provided so as to be inclined so that the side closer to the stopper 201 is lower than the side closer to the discharge port 103, and the tag 10 discharged from the discharge port 103 slides along the inclination, and the tip of the tag 10. The part comes into contact with the stopper 201.

  When the tag 10 is stacked up to the position where the reflection sensor 140 is provided on the bottom plate 202 (more precisely, the position where the light emitting unit 141 is provided), the light emitted from the light emitting unit 141 constituting the reflection sensor 140 Is irradiated to the rear end portion of the tag 10 stacked on the stacker 200, and the reflected light is incident on the light receiving portion 142. In this example, light is emitted from the light emitting unit 141 in a substantially horizontal direction.

  The light receiving unit 142 that has received the reflected light supplies a detection signal corresponding to the amount of the received reflected light to the sensor control unit 127. The sensor control unit 127 supplies detection data corresponding to the detection signal supplied from the light receiving unit 142 to the CPU 121 via the bus 150.

  The level of the detection signal output from the light receiving unit 142 is such that the light emitted from the light emitting unit 141 irradiates the rear end of the tag 10 stacked up to the position where the reflection sensor 140 is provided on the stacker 200. This is different from the case where the tag 10 is not stacked on the stacker 200 up to the position of the light emitting unit 141 and the light emitted from the light emitting unit 141 does not irradiate the rear end of the tag 10.

  Therefore, by comparing the level of the detection signal output from the light receiving unit 142 with a predetermined reference value, it can be determined whether or not the tag 10 has been stacked on the stacker 200 up to the position of the light emitting unit 141.

  For example, when the light emitted from the light emitting unit 141 irradiates the rear end of the tag 10, the level of the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 142, and the light emitted from the light emitting unit 141 is the rear end of the tag 10. If a predetermined level between the light intensity levels of light received by the light receiving section 142 is set as the reference level A when the light receiving section 142 is not irradiated, the light intensity level of the light received by the light receiving section 142 is greater than the reference level A. At this time, it can be determined that the tag 10 is stacked on the stacker 200 up to the position of the light emitting unit 141.

  When the CPU 121 determines that the tag 10 is stacked on the stacker 200 up to the position of the light emitting unit 141 by the above method, the CPU 121 controls the print control unit 128 to stop the printing process by the printing unit 110 and controls the cutter control unit 129. Then, the cutting process by the cutter 111 is also stopped.

  As described above, when the tag 10 is stacked on the stacker 200 up to the position of the light emitting unit 141, the printing process and the cutting process are stopped, and the tag 10 discharged from the discharge port 103 is obstructed by the tag 10 stacked on the stacker 200. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a problem that the tag 10 loses its place and becomes clogged with the discharge port 103.

  FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of a printer 400 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the printer 400 as the second embodiment, a rotation sensor 440 is provided instead of the reflection sensor 140 in the printer 100 as the first embodiment. The rotation sensor 440 includes a light emitting unit 141 and a light receiving unit 142 as in the case of the reflection sensor 140, and is further attached to the front side of the casing 401 of the printer 400 so as to be rotatable within a predetermined range in the vertical direction. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the user can change the orientation of the light emitting unit 141 and the light receiving unit 142 up and down within a predetermined range by operating the rotation sensor 440 with a finger. For example, by adjusting the direction of the rotation sensor 440 so that light is emitted from the light emitting unit 141 in the horizontal direction, the tag 10 is attached to the stacker 200 in the same manner as in the printer 100 of the first embodiment. It is possible to detect that the layers are stacked up to the position 141.

  In addition, the printer 400 can arbitrarily select one of a stacking mode in which the single-leaf tag 10 is discharged from the discharge port 103 and stacked on the stacker 200 and a holding mode in which the tag 10 is temporarily held in the discharge port 103. For example, by adjusting the direction of the rotation sensor 440 so that light is emitted obliquely upward from the light emitting unit 141, a part of the tag 10 is fed out from the discharge port 103 and discharged. The light emitted from the light emitting unit 141 can be irradiated to the tag 10 that has the remaining part held at the outlet 103.

  In this case, the reflected light enters the light receiving unit 142, and the light receiving unit 142 supplies a detection signal corresponding to the amount of received light to the sensor control unit 127. The sensor control unit 127 supplies detection data corresponding to the detection signal supplied from the light receiving unit 142 to the CPU 121 via the bus 150.

  The level of the detection signal output from the light receiving unit 142 is different between when the tag 10 is held at the discharge port 103 and when it is not held. The CPU 121 can determine whether or not the tag 10 is held in the discharge port 103 by comparing the predetermined reference level B with the level of the detection signal.

  For example, between the level output from the light receiving unit 142 when the tag 10 is held at the discharge port 103 and the level output from the light receiving unit 142 when the tag 10 is not held at the discharge port 103. When the predetermined level is set as the reference level B, when the level of the detection signal output from the light receiving unit 142 is higher than the reference level B, it can be determined that the tag 10 is held in the discharge port 103.

  When the CPU 121 determines that the tag 10 is fed out from the discharge port 103 and a part is held in the discharge port 103, the supply of the continuous tag and the printing process by the printing unit 110 are stopped. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the tag 10 from being newly discharged from the discharge port 103 until the tag 10 held in the discharge port 103 is taken out by the user.

  FIG. 6 is an external perspective view of a printer 500 as a third embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, in the printer 500 as the third embodiment of the present invention, the leg portion is provided on the rear side of the rotation sensor 440 provided rotatably in the printer 400 as the second embodiment. 545 is newly attached by bonding or the like, or integrally molded. The leg portion 545 can be a rectangular plate-shaped member, for example, having such a size as to close the upper portions of the insertion openings 106 and 107.

  FIG. 7 shows a configuration example of a main part of a printer 500 as the third embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, one end of a spring 546 is attached to a leg 545 attached to the rear side of the rotation sensor 440 provided on the front side of the casing 501 of the printer 500, and the other end of the spring 546 is It is attached inside the front surface of the housing 501. A micro switch 508 is disposed at a predetermined position on the rear side of the leg portion 545.

  The micro switch 508 includes a case 508a and an actuator 508b. When a force is applied to the actuator 508b from the outside, the micro switch 508 is slid and housed in the case 508a, and at the same time, the micro switch 508 is turned on.

  When the stacker 200 is not attached to the printer 500, the leg 545 is pulled toward the front side of the housing 501 by the restoring force of the spring 546 attached between the leg 545 and the housing 501. It is stationary with the maximum surface almost parallel to the vertical downward direction. Here, the maximum surface is a surface having the largest area among the six surfaces of the rectangular leg portion 545.

  FIG. 8 shows a state in which the stacker fixing portions 203 and 204 of the stacker 200 are inserted into the insertion openings 106 and 107 of the printer 500, respectively. That is, when the stacker 200 is mounted on the printer 500, the stacker fixing portions 203 and 204 are inserted into the insertion openings 106 and 107, respectively, and the end portions of the leg portions 545 of the rotation sensor 440 are pushed upward obliquely upward. Accordingly, the rotation sensor 440 rotates by a predetermined angle. As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, the upper portions of the stacker fixing portions 203 and 204 and the end portions of the leg portions 545 come into contact with each other, and the rotation sensor 440 is held in a state rotated by a predetermined angle. In this state, light is emitted from 141 in a substantially horizontal direction.

  At this time, the leg portion 545 presses the actuator 508b of the micro switch 508. Thereby, the actuator 508b is slid and accommodated in the case 508a. When the actuator 508b is slid and housed in the case 508a, the micro switch 508 is turned on, and a signal (stacker mounting signal) indicating that the actuator is turned on is output.

  FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an electrical configuration of the control unit 520 included in the printer 500 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The control unit 520 is newly provided with a switch control unit 130 that controls the microswitch 508 in the control unit 120 according to the first embodiment. Other configurations are the same as those of the control unit 120, and the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted as appropriate.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the rotation sensor 440 is connected to the sensor control unit 127 in the third embodiment. The rotation sensor 440 replaces the reflection sensor 140 in the first embodiment, and the rotation sensor 440 is connected to the sensor control unit 127 as in the case of the second embodiment.

  When the actuator 508b constituting the micro switch 508 slides and is housed in the case 508a, the micro switch 508 is turned on, and a stacker mounting signal indicating that the micro switch 508 is on is supplied to the switch control unit 130. When the stacker mounting signal is supplied from the micro switch 508, the switch control unit 130 supplies digital stacker mounting data corresponding to the stacker mounting signal to the CPU 121 via the bus 150. The CPU 121 can determine whether or not the stacker 200 is attached to the printer 500 based on the stacker attachment data supplied from the sensor control unit 130.

  Next, a processing procedure of the printer 500 according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in step S1, the CPU 121 determines whether or not the micro switch 508 is turned on. As described above, this determination can be made based on stacker mounting data supplied from the sensor control unit 127 via the bus 150.

  For example, the stacker mounting data has a value of 1 when the microswitch 508 is turned on and a value of 0 when the microswitch 508 is off. Therefore, in this case, the CPU 121 can determine that the micro switch 508 is on when the stacker mounting data value is 1, and determines that the micro switch 508 is off when the stacker mounting data value is 0. be able to.

  If it is determined in step S1 that the microswitch 508 is on, the process proceeds to step S2. In step S2, the CPU 121 compares the light amount level represented by the detection data supplied from the sensor control unit 127 with the reference level in the stacker use mode stored in advance in the ROM 122, and based on the comparison result. Whether or not the stacker 200 is full, that is, whether or not the tag 10 is stacked on the stacker 200 up to the position of the light emitting unit 141 is determined.

  Next, in step S3, control is performed according to whether or not it is determined in step S2 that the stacker 200 is full. That is, when it is determined that the stacker 200 is not full, control is returned to step S1. Thereby, the process after step S1 is repeatedly performed. On the other hand, when it is determined that the stacker 200 is full, the control proceeds to step S6.

  If it is determined in step S1 that the microswitch 508 is off, the process proceeds to step S4. In step S4, the CPU 121 compares the light amount level represented by the detection data supplied from the sensor control unit 127 with the reference level in the stacker unused mode stored in advance in the ROM 122, and the tag 10 is It is determined whether or not the discharge port 103 is held.

  By reducing the value of the reference level, the detection sensitivity of the light receiving unit 142 can be substantially increased. On the contrary, by increasing the value of the reference level, the detection sensitivity of the light receiving unit 142 can be substantially lowered. In this example, the detection sensitivity of the light receiving unit 142 can be substantially adjusted by setting an optimum reference level in each of the stacker use mode and the stacker non-use mode, and the determination processing in steps S2 and S4 is performed. It can be done more accurately.

  Next, in step S5, control according to whether or not it is determined in step S4 that the tag 10 is held in the discharge port 103 is performed. That is, when it is determined that the tag 10 is not held in the discharge port 103, control to return to step S1 is performed. Thereby, the process after step S1 is repeatedly performed. On the other hand, when it is determined that the tag 10 is held in the discharge port 103, the control proceeds to step S6.

  In step S <b> 6, the printing process by the printing unit 110 is stopped by the printing control unit 128 under the control of the CPU 121. Also, the cutting process by the cutter control unit 129 is stopped under the control of the CPU 121. The process shown in FIG. 10 is repeatedly executed at regular intervals. It should be noted that the print processing is resumed when there is no longer a condition to stop printing after the print stop instruction is issued.

  As described above, when the stacker 200 is not attached to the printer 500, the light emitting unit 141 and the light receiving unit 142 of the rotation sensor 440 face obliquely upward, and the tag 10 held in the discharge port 103 is detected. . When it is detected that the tag 10 is held in the discharge port 103, the printing process is stopped by the control of the CPU 121, and when the tag 10 is removed from the discharge port 103, the printing process is resumed.

  When the stacker 200 is attached to the printer 500, the light emitting unit 141 and the light receiving unit 142 of the rotation sensor 440 face each other in the horizontal direction, and the tag 10 is stacked on the stacker 200 up to the position of the light emitting unit 141. Can be detected. When it is detected that the tag 10 is stacked on the stacker 200 up to the position of the light emitting unit 141, the printing process is stopped under the control of the CPU 121. When the tag 10 is removed from the stacker 200, the printing process is resumed. As a result, it is possible to suppress the problem that the tag 10 is clogged near the discharge port.

  It should be noted that the configuration and operation of the above-described embodiment are examples, and it goes without saying that they can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  For example, in the second and third embodiments, the case where the tag 10 is held in the discharge port 103 has been described. However, the printer 400 and the printer 500 are configured to be able to perform printing processing on a label with a mount. Thus, it is possible to detect that the label peeled off from the mount is held at the discharge port 103 and stop the printing process.

  The present invention can be applied not only to a printer that prints on a tag, but also to a printer that prints on a label attached to a release paper.

1 is an external perspective view of a printer as a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows each structure and connection state of a printer and a stacker. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an electrical configuration of a control unit included in the printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is an external appearance perspective view of the printer as a 2nd embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows that direction of a rotation sensor is variable. It is an external appearance perspective view of the printer as the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the principal part structural example of the printer as the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a stacker is fixed to a printer. It is a block diagram which shows the electrical structural example of the control part which the printer as the 3rd Embodiment of this invention has. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of a printer according to a third embodiment of the invention.

Explanation of symbols

10 tag 100, 400, 500 printer 101 display unit 102 operation unit 103 discharge port 106, 107 insertion port 110 printing unit 111 cutter 120, 520 control unit 121 CPU
122 ROM
123 RAM
124, 125, 126 interface (I / F)
127 Sensor control unit 128 Print control unit 129 Cutter control unit 130 Switch control unit 140 Reflection sensor 141 Light emitting unit 142 Light receiving unit 150 Bus 160, 401, 501 Housing 200 Stacker 201 Stopper 202 Bottom plate 203, 204 Stacker fixing unit 205, 206 Side wall Plate 300 Host computer 440 Rotation sensor 508 Micro switch 508a Case 508b Actuator 545 Leg 546 Spring

Claims (3)

Printing means for printing predetermined print data on a single-leaf tag;
Stacker support means for detachably supporting a stacker for stacking the tags;
Detecting means for detecting that a predetermined number of the tags are stacked on the stacker;
And a control unit that stops printing by the printing unit based on a detection result by the detection unit. The detection means rotates when the stacker is detachably supported by the stacker support means, and receives the direction of the light emitted from the light emitting unit constituting the detection means and the reflected light of the light. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the orientation of the portion changes depending on whether or not the stacker is supported by the stacker support means. Direction detecting means for detecting the direction of the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit that change as the detecting unit rotates;
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an adjustment unit that adjusts detection sensitivity of the detection unit according to directions of the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit detected by the direction detection unit.

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