JP2009238307A - Drive control method of media processing device and media processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a media processing device which can perform label printing for printable media even when printable media and non-printable media are mixed in a stacker for supplying media. <P>SOLUTION: A CD/DVD publisher 1 has LEDs 11, 12, 13 for irradiating media 3 with red, blue, and yellow light, photodetectors 14, 15, 16 for detecting reflected light of each light from a label plane 3a, and a printing propriety discriminating means 22 for discriminating whether the media 3 are printable media being label printable or non-printable media of other than them based on light quantity of each reflected light detected by them. When the media 3 are taken from a stacker 4 for supplying media, each light is projected to the media 3 and it is discriminated whether they are printable media or non-printable media, and non-printable media are evaded to a stacker 7 for discharging media until printable media are taken. Consequently, printable media are supplied to a media drive 5 and a label printer 6. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a media processing apparatus such as a CD / DVD publisher for writing data on a medium such as a CD or DVD and printing a label. More specifically, even if the media supply stacker contains printable media that can be printed on the label and non-printable media that cannot be printed on the label, the media that can print the label on the printable media. The present invention relates to a drive control method for a processing apparatus.

Media processing devices called duplicators, CD / DVD publishers, etc., supply blank media from a media supply stacker to a media drive to write data, and supply the media on which the data has been written to a label printer. Printing is performed, and the issued media is discharged to a media discharge stacker or discharged from a media discharge port. The media supply stacker is disposed in the housing of the media processing apparatus, and the operator stores a plurality of blank media in the thickness supply direction in the media supply stacker and stores the media in the media processing apparatus. Issuance processing operation is performed continuously. Such a media processing apparatus is disclosed in Patent Document 1.
JP 2000-260172 A

  Blank media and other media on which data can be written are preprinted on the label surface and printable media with a solid label surface such as white so that the original label can be printed. However, there are some non-printable media that can deteriorate the print quality if they are further printed. The user uses a printable medium when label printing is necessary, and uses a non-printable medium when the label printing is not necessary, in accordance with the use of the medium to be issued.

  Here, from the outside of the media processing apparatus, it is not possible to confirm whether the media stored in the media supply stacker in the housing is printable media or non-printable media. For this reason, if an operator stores printable media and non-printable media in a media supply stacker, the media issuance processing is performed even though the media requires label printing. First, a non-printable medium is used, and label printing may be performed on the non-printable medium. In such a case, since the desired label cannot be obtained, the operator opens the housing of the media processing apparatus and confirms that the printable media is stored in the media supply stacker in the media processing device. Later, it is necessary to cause the media processing apparatus to perform the media issue processing operation again.

  In view of these points, the problem of the present invention is to drive a media processing apparatus capable of printing a label on a printable medium even when printable media and non-printable media are mixed in a media supply stacker. It is to propose a control method and a media processing device.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention is a medium for writing data to a medium taken out from a medium supply stacker by a media drive and / or printing a label by a printer and discharging the medium to a medium discharge stacker. A drive control method for a processing apparatus, comprising:
Irradiate predetermined light on the label surface of the media,
Based on the reflected light from the label surface of the medium, it is determined whether the medium is a printable medium before printing or a non-printable medium after printing,
If it is determined that the medium is non-printable, the non-printable medium is evacuated to a retreat location.

  According to the present invention, before printing such as when a medium is taken out from the medium supply stacker, it is determined whether the medium is a printable medium or a non-printable medium. In addition, the printable medium is taken out from the medium supply stacker, and when the picked-up medium is a non-printable medium, the printable medium is saved in the save location. As a result, only the printable medium is supplied to the media drive and the printer, so that the label is not accidentally printed on the label surface of the non-printable medium. Further, when the label surface of the medium is a solid color capable of label printing, predetermined light irradiated on the label surface is reflected by the label surface. For example, when the irradiated light is red light, blue light, and yellow light, and the label surface of the media is white, the red light, blue light, and yellow light irradiated on the label surface are all on the label surface. reflect. Since any light is absorbed when label surface printing is performed, the amount of any reflected light is reduced. Therefore, based on the amount of each reflected light, it is possible to easily determine whether the medium taken out from the medium supply stacker is a printable medium or a non-printable medium.

  In the present invention, when returning the non-printable medium evacuated to the evacuation place to the media supply stacker, the non-printable medium evacuated to the evacuation place when the printable medium is in the media drive or the printer. Is preferably conveyed to the media supply stacker. In this way, the non-printable medium can be moved while data is being written to the media drive or printing is being performed by the printer. The issue processing operation is not delayed.

  In the present invention, it is desirable that the evacuation place is a media evacuation stacker arranged separately from the media ejection stacker or the media ejection stacker. If a media discharge stacker is used as the save location, the non-printable media can be saved without increasing the number of stackers in the media processing apparatus. Further, if the media discharge stacker is arranged separately from the media discharge stacker, only the non-printable media can be saved in one stacker.

  In the present invention, when label printing is not necessary, in order to quickly perform the medium issuance processing operation by the media processing device, the data writing command for writing the data to the medium and the medium for the data writing command Among the label printing commands for performing label printing, a media issuing command including at least the data writing command is received from a host device, and before the media is taken out from the media supply stacker, the media issuing command includes the media issuing command. It is determined whether or not a label print command is included. If the label print command is not included, the media supply is performed without determining whether the medium is the printable medium or the non-printable medium. The media taken out from the stacker is transferred to the media drive. Supplied, the media in which the data is written, it is desirable to discharge the medium ejection stacker without supplying to the printer.

  If the label printing command is not included, it is desirable not to irradiate the predetermined light on the label surface of the media.

Next, the present invention provides a media supply stacker for storing media, a media drive for writing data on the media, a printer for printing a label on the media, a media ejection stacker for ejecting the media, and the media A media processing device having media transport means for transporting
A light detector for irradiating predetermined light on the label surface of the media and detecting reflected light from the label surface of the media;
Based on the reflected light detected by the light detector, having printability determination means for determining whether the medium is a printable medium before printing or a non-printable medium after printing;
The media transporting means retracts the non-printable medium to a retreat location.

  According to the present invention, the printability determination unit determines whether the medium is a printable medium or a nonprintable medium. In addition, the media transport means retracts the non-printable media taken out from the media supply stacker to a retreat location. As a result, since only the printable medium is supplied to the printer, the label is not accidentally printed on the label surface of the non-printable medium. Further, when the label surface of the medium is a solid color capable of label printing, predetermined light irradiated on the label surface is reflected by the label surface. For example, when the irradiated light is red light, blue light, and yellow light, and the label surface is white, red light, blue light emitted from the red LED, blue LED, and yellow LED toward the label surface of the media, blue Light and yellow light are totally reflected on the label surface. Since any light is absorbed when label surface printing is performed, the amount of any reflected light is reduced. Therefore, the printability determination unit can easily determine whether the medium taken out from the medium supply stacker is a printable medium or a non-printable medium based on the amount of each reflected light detected by the photodetector.

  In the present invention, when returning the non-printable media that has been evacuated to the evacuation location to the media supply stacker, the media transport means evacuates to the evacuation location when the printable media is in the media drive or the printer. It is desirable to transport the printed non-printable media from the retreat location to the media supply stacker. In this way, the non-printable medium can be moved while data is being written to the media drive or printing is being performed by the printer. There is no delay in operation.

  In the present invention, it is desirable that the evacuation place is a media evacuation stacker arranged separately from the media ejection stacker or the media ejection stacker. If a media discharge stacker is used as the save location, the non-printable media can be saved without increasing the number of stackers in the media processing apparatus. Further, if the media discharge stacker is arranged separately from the media discharge stacker, only the non-printable media can be saved in one stacker.

  In the present invention, the media transport means includes a media carrier that grips the media in a state of covering a part of the label surface of the media when the media is taken out from the media supply stacker, and the light detection The device is preferably attached to the media carrier. If a photodetector is attached to such a media carrier, it is possible to easily irradiate the label surface with predetermined light when taking out the media from the media supply stacker. In addition, since the amount of reflected light from the label surface can be detected with high accuracy, it can be determined without error whether the medium to be taken out is a printable medium or a non-printable medium.

  Further, in the present invention, in order to quickly perform the medium issuance processing operation by the media processing apparatus when label printing is not required, a data write command for writing the data to the medium and the medium Among the label printing commands for printing the label, a control command receiving means for receiving a media issuing command including at least the data writing command from a host device, and before taking out the media from the media supply stacker. And a printing presence / absence determining unit that determines whether or not the label printing command is included in the media issuing command, and when the label printing command is not included, Without determining whether the media is the printable media or the non-printable media, When the label printing command is not included, the media transport means supplies the media taken out from the media supply stacker to the media drive, and then supplies the media discharge stacker without supplying it to the printer. It is desirable to discharge.

  Further, when the label printing command is not included, it is desirable not to irradiate the predetermined light.

  According to the present invention, when a medium is taken out from the medium supply stacker, it is determined whether the medium is a printable medium or a non-printable medium. Further, until the printable medium is removed from the medium supply stacker, the removed non-printable medium is retracted to the retreat location. As a result, only the printable medium is supplied to the media drive and the printer, so that the label is not accidentally printed on the label surface of the non-printable medium. When the label surface of the medium is white that can be printed, the red light, the blue light, and the yellow light irradiated on the label surface are totally reflected on the label surface. Therefore, based on the amount of each reflected light, it is possible to easily determine whether the medium taken out from the medium supply stacker is a printable medium or a non-printable medium.

  Embodiments of a media processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(overall structure)
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a CD / DVD publisher to which the present invention is applied. The CD / DVD publisher 1 in this example includes a medium supply stacker 4 for storing a writable medium 3 such as a blank medium in the housing 2, data writing to the medium 3, and data from the medium 3. A media drive 5 that reads data, a label printer 6 that prints a label including a title indicating the content of the write data on the label surface 3a of the media 3 on which the data has been written, data writing, label printing, etc. The medium discharge stacker 7 for discharging the medium 3 subjected to the above, the medium transfer means 8 for transferring the medium 3, and the red LED 11, the blue LED 12, the yellow LED 13 and 3 attached to the medium transfer means 8. The two photodetectors 14, 15, 16 and the drive control of each part And a control unit 20.

  The media supply stacker 4 stores the media 3 stacked in the thickness direction with the label surface 3a facing up.

  The medium conveying means 8 conveys the medium 3 to each part in the housing 2, and covers the center of the medium 3 in a state where a part of the label surface 3 a of the medium 3 is covered with a belt extending from the outer peripheral side to the center. A media carrier 30 for gripping the part is provided. The media carrier 30 can sequentially take out the media 3 from the uppermost position in the media supply stacker 4.

  In order to detect the white color of the label surface 3a, the red LED 11, the blue LED 12 and the yellow LED 13 can irradiate the label surface 3a of the media 3 held by the media carrier 30 with red light, blue light and yellow light. It is attached to the lower end surface portion 31 of the media carrier 30. The LEDs 11, 12, and 13 are caused to emit light by the control unit 20 when the medium 3 is taken out from the medium supply stacker 4. Further, the three photodetectors 14, 15 and 16 can detect the respective light amounts of the reflected light of the red light, the reflected light of the blue light and the reflected light of the yellow light reflected from the label surface 3a. It is attached to the lower end surface portion 31 of the media carrier 30. Each of the photodetectors 14, 15, and 16 may include a red LED 11, a blue LED 12, and a yellow LED 13, respectively, and may further switch irradiation light with one photodetector.

  An input side of the control unit 20 is connected to a host device 17 such as a personal computer via a communication cable or a network. Further, light quantity detection signals from the three photodetectors 14, 15, 16 are input. A media drive 5, a label printer 6, and a media transport unit 8 are connected to the output side of the control unit 20.

  The control unit 20 includes control command receiving means 21 for receiving a media issue command for driving the CD / DVD publisher 1 to issue the media 3 from the host device 17. Here, the media issue command received from the host device 17 by the control command receiving means 21 includes a data write command for driving the media drive 5 to write data, and a label printer 6 for driving control of the label. Among the label printing commands for performing printing, at least a data writing command is included. Further, data for writing, print data for printing a label, and the like are supplied from the host device 17 side as necessary. In addition, the control unit 20 includes a print availability determination unit 22 and a print presence / absence determination unit 23.

  When the medium 3 is taken out from the medium supply stacker 4, the print propriety determination unit 22 is taken out from the medium supply stacker 4 based on the amount of reflected light detected by the three photodetectors 14, 15, and 16. The medium 3 is a printable medium that is not printed on the label surface 3a and can be printed on the label surface, or a non-printable medium that cannot be printed on the label surface 3a after printing including pre-printing on the label surface 3a. Is determined.

  That is, when the media 3 is taken out from the media supply stacker 4, the control unit 20 causes the red LED 11, the blue LED 12, and the yellow LED 13 to emit light, and the label surface 3a is irradiated with red light, blue light, and yellow light. When the label surface 3a is white capable of label printing, red light, blue light and yellow light are totally reflected by the label surface 3a. Accordingly, the printability determining means 22 determines that the respective amounts of the reflected light of the red light, the reflected light of the blue light, and the reflected light of the yellow light detected by the light detectors 14, 15, 16 are all set to a predetermined maximum value. If so, it can be determined that the medium 3 is a printable medium. On the other hand, any one of the reflected light of the red light, the reflected light of the blue light, and the reflected light of the yellow light detected by each of the photodetectors 14, 15, 16 is smaller than a predetermined maximum value. Then, since the label surface 3a is printed in some way and is not white, it can be determined that the medium 3 is a non-printable medium.

  When the medium 3 is determined to be printable by the printability determination unit 22, the control unit 20 controls the drive of the medium transport unit 8 to remove the medium 3 taken out from the medium supply stacker 4. Supply to the media drive 5 (step ST1). Thereafter, the medium 3 on which data is written in the media drive 5 is supplied to the label printer 6 (step ST2). Further, the medium 3 on which the label printing is performed in the label printer 6 is discharged to the medium discharge stacker 7 (step ST3).

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the medium 3 is a non-printable medium, the control unit 20 drives and controls the medium conveying unit 8 until the printable medium is taken out from the medium supply stacker 4, and the medium supply stacker 4. The medium 3 taken out from the medium is retracted to the medium discharge stacker 7 (step ST4).

  After step ST4 is performed, when it is determined that the medium 3 taken out from the medium supply stacker 4 is a printable medium, and this medium 3 is supplied to the media drive 5 (step ST1), control is performed. The unit 20 drives and controls the media transport means 8 and repeats the operation of returning the non-printable media from the media discharge stacker 7 to the media supply stacker 4 until there is no print-disabled medium evacuated to the media discharge stacker 7 ( Step ST5).

  Specifically, the controller 20 counts the number of retracted non-printable media when the non-printable medium is evacuated to the media discharge stacker 7, and the media supply stacker 7 counts the number of unprintable media. When returning the non-printable media, the operation of returning the non-printable media by the number of copies is repeated. If there is no unprintable medium saved in the media discharge stacker 7, that is, if step ST4 is not performed, step ST5 is not performed after step ST1.

  When the control command receiving unit 21 receives the media issuing command, the printing presence / absence determining unit 23 determines whether the label issuing command is included in the media issuing command before taking out the media 3 from the media supply stacker 4. . That is, when the operator does not want to print the label, the media issue command includes only the data write command, and does not include the label print command.

  Here, if the printing presence / absence determining unit 23 determines that the label printing command is not included in the media issuing command, the control unit 20 does not cause the LEDs 11, 12, and 13 to emit light. Further, the printability determination unit 22 does not determine whether the medium 3 is a printable medium or a non-printable medium. Further, the control unit 20 drives and controls the media transport unit 8 to supply the media 3 taken out from the media supply stacker 4 to the media drive 5 (step ST1). The paper is discharged to the media discharge stacker 7 without being supplied to the label printer 6 (step ST6).

(Media issue processing operation)
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of issuing the medium 3 by the CD / DVD publisher 1. The operation for issuing the medium 3 will be described with reference to this flowchart.

  When the control command receiving unit 21 receives a media issue command from the host device 17 (step ST10), the printing presence / absence determining unit 23 determines whether or not a label print command is included in the media issue command (step ST11).

  In step ST11, when a label printing command is included, the control unit 20 controls the driving of the media transport unit 8 to take out the media 3 from the media supply stacker 4 by the media carrier 30, and the red LED 11, The blue LED 12 and the yellow LED 13 are caused to emit light to irradiate the label surface 3a of the media 3 held by the media carrier 30 with red light, blue light, and yellow light (step ST12).

  Then, the printability determination unit 22 is based on the respective light amounts of the reflected light of the red light, the reflected light of the blue light, and the reflected light of the yellow light from the label surface 3a detected by the three photodetectors 14, 15, and 16. Then, it is determined whether the medium 3 held by the media carrier 30 is a printable medium or a non-printable medium (step ST13).

  In step ST13, when it is determined that the medium 3 taken out from the medium supply stacker 4 is a printable medium, the control unit 20 drives and controls the media transport unit 8 and is held by the media carrier 30. The medium 3 is supplied to the media drive 5. Further, the media drive 5 is made to write data (step ST14). When the data writing is performed, the control unit 20 drives and controls the media transport unit 8 and supplies the media 3 on which the data has been written to the label printer 6. Further, the label printer 6 is caused to print the label (step ST15). Thereafter, the control unit 20 drives and controls the media transport unit 8 to discharge the media 3 on which the label is printed to the media discharge stacker 7. (Step ST16).

  In step ST13, when it is determined that the medium 3 taken out from the medium supply stacker 4 is a non-printable medium, the control unit 20 keeps the medium conveying means 8 until the printable medium is taken out from the medium supply stacker 4. The drive control is repeated, and the operation of retracting the non-printable media taken out from the media supply stacker 4 to the media discharge stacker 7 is repeated (step ST17).

  That is, each time the media transport unit 8 takes out the media 3 from the media supply stacker 4 by the media carrier 30, the control unit 20 causes the red LED 11, the blue LED 12, and the yellow LED 13 to emit light. Further, the reflected light of the red light, the blue light and the yellow light irradiated on the label surface 3a of the medium 3 is detected by the three photodetectors 14, 15 and 16, and the reflected light of the red light and the reflected light of the blue light are detected. Whether the medium 3 held by the media carrier 30 is a printable medium or a non-printable medium is determined based on each light amount of the reflected light of yellow light. If it is determined that the medium cannot be printed, the non-printable medium taken out from the medium supply stacker 4 is saved in the medium discharge stacker 7 (steps ST12, ST13, ST17).

  Thereafter, when it is determined in step ST12 that the medium 3 taken out from the medium supply stacker 4 is a printable medium in step ST13, the medium 3 is supplied to the media drive 5, and data writing and label printing are performed. This is performed and discharged to the media discharge stacker 7 (steps ST14 to ST16).

  When the medium 3 taken out from the medium supply stacker 4 after step ST17 is supplied to the media drive 5, the control is performed during step ST14 in which data is written to the medium 3. The unit 20 drives and controls the media transport means 8 and repeats the operation of returning the non-printable media from the media discharge stacker 7 to the media supply stacker 4 until there is no print-disabled medium evacuated to the media discharge stacker 7 ( Step ST18).

  Next, in step ST11, when the label printing command is not included in the media issuing command, there is no need to determine whether the media 3 taken out from the media supply stacker 4 is a printable media or a non-printable media. The control unit 20 does not cause the LEDs 11, 12, 13 to emit light. Further, the printability determination unit 22 does not determine whether the medium 3 is a printable medium or a non-printable medium.

  Accordingly, the control unit 20 controls the drive of the media transport unit 8 to supply the media 3 taken out from the media supply stacker 4 to the media drive 5 and write data to the media drive 3 (steps ST19 and ST20). ). Further, the medium 3 on which the data is written is discharged to the medium discharge stacker 7 without being supplied to the label printer 6 (step ST16).

(Function and effect)
According to this example, when a label printing command is included in the media issue command from the higher-level device 17, when the media transport unit 8 takes out the media 3 from the media supply stacker 4, the print propriety determination unit 22. Determines whether the medium 3 is a printable medium or a non-printable medium. Further, until the printable medium is taken out from the medium supply stacker 4, the medium transport unit 8 retracts the non-printable medium taken out from the medium supply stacker 4 to the medium discharge stacker 7. As a result, only the printable medium is supplied to the media drive 5 and the label printer 6, so that the label is not accidentally printed on the label surface 3a of the non-printable medium.

  Further, the red light, the blue light and the yellow light emitted from the red LED 11, blue LED 12 and yellow LED 13 on the label surface 3a of the medium 3 are respectively displayed on the label surface 3a when the label surface 3a is white capable of label printing. Totally reflected. Accordingly, the printability determination unit 22 determines whether the medium 3 taken out from the medium supply stacker 4 is a printable medium based on the amount of reflected light of each light detected by each of the light detectors 14, 15, 16. It is possible to easily determine whether the medium is unusable.

  Further, in this example, since the media discharge stacker 7 is used as a place for evacuating the non-printable media, the non-printable media is evacuated without increasing the number of stackers in the housing 2 of the CD / DVD publisher 1. be able to.

  Further, when the media transport means 8 supplies the printable media taken out from the media supply stacker 4 to the media drive 5, the media transporting unit 8 removes the non-printable media saved in the media discharge stacker 7 from the media discharge stacker 7. The operation of returning the non-printable medium to the supply stacker 4 is repeated. Therefore, the medium 3 discharged to the medium discharge stacker 7 after data writing or label printing is performed and the non-printable medium that has not been written are mixed in the medium discharge stacker 7. It will never be left. Further, since the non-printable medium is moved while data is being written in the media drive 5, the operation of issuing the medium 3 is performed by the operation of the medium transport unit 8 returning the non-printable medium to the medium supply stacker 4. There is no delay.

  The red LED 11, the blue LED 12, the yellow LED 13, and the three photodetectors 14, 15, and 16 are lower end surface portions 31 of the media carrier 30 that holds the media 3 in a state of covering a part of the label surface 3 a of the media 3. Is attached. Therefore, when taking out the medium 3 from the medium supply stacker 4, it is easy to irradiate the label surface 3a with red light, blue light, and yellow light from the red LED 11, blue LED 12, and yellow LED 13. Further, since the amount of reflected light of each light from the label surface 3a can be accurately detected by the respective photodetectors 14, 15, 16, whether the media 3 taken out from the media supply stacker 4 is a printable media. It can be determined without error whether the medium is unprintable.

  When the printing presence / absence determining means 23 determines that label printing is not performed on the medium 3, the control unit 20 does not cause the LEDs 11, 12, and 13 to emit light. Does not determine whether printable or non-printable media. Further, the control unit 20 drives and controls the media transport means 8 to supply the media 3 from the media supply stacker 4 to the media drive 5, and the media 3 on which the data has been written is supplied to the label printer 6 without being supplied. The product is discharged to the discharge stacker 7. Therefore, it is possible to quickly perform the issue processing operation of the medium 3 that does not perform label printing.

(Other embodiments)
In the above example, in step ST17, when the printable medium is in the media drive 5, the media transport unit 8 returns the non-printable media saved in the media discharge stacker 7 to the media supply stacker 4. The non-printable media can be returned to the media supply stacker 4 when the possible media is in the label printer 6. Even in this case, since the non-printable medium can be moved while the label printer 6 is printing the label, the medium issue processing operation is performed by the operation of the medium transport unit 8 moving the non-printable medium. There is no delay.

  In the above example, the non-printable media is evacuated to the media ejection stacker 7. However, a stacker different from the media ejection stacker 7 is arranged as a media evacuation stacker and printed on the media evacuation stacker. It is also possible to evacuate impossible media. In this way, the non-printable medium can be saved in the dedicated stacker, so that it is not necessary to return the non-printable medium saved in the medium saving stacker to the original medium supply stacker 4.

  In addition, when the media evacuation stacker is arranged in the casing 2 and the non-printable media evacuated there is not returned to the original media supply stacker 4, the medium issuance operation is performed. The non-printable media and the non-printable media mixed in the media supply stacker 4 can be separated. Further, when the label printing command is not included in the media issuing command from the host device 17, the non-printable media can be taken out from the media evacuation stacker where the non-printable media is evacuated and supplied to the media drive 5. Therefore, when printing on the label is not necessary, a non-printable medium can be used.

  Further, in the above example, the red LED 11, the blue LED 12, the yellow LED 13 and the three photodetectors 14, 15, 16 are attached to the media carrier 30, but the media carrier 30 removes the media 3 from the media supply stacker 4. These can also be placed above the area through which the media 3 held by the media carrier 30 passes when removed.

  Further, when the media 3 held by the media carrier 30 determines whether the media 3 can be printed or not based on the outputs of the photodetectors 14, 15, 16, the media 3 can be rotated by the media carrier 30. Since it is possible to detect whether or not the entire label surface 3a of the medium 3 is white capable of label printing, it is possible to reliably discriminate between printable media and non-printable media. Note that when the medium 3 is a printable medium or a non-printable medium based on the output of the photodetectors 14, 15, and 16, the medium is gripped immediately before gripping the medium by the media carrier and during the gripping operation of the medium. In this state, any of the operations may be performed during the operation of taking out the media from the media supply stacker 4.

(Specific configuration example of CD / DVD publisher)
A specific configuration example of the CD / DVD publisher 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is an external perspective view showing the CD / DVD publisher 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which a part of the upper plate of the housing 2 is removed and the left and right doors are opened so that the internal structure of the CD / DVD publisher 1 can be understood.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the CD / DVD publisher 1 includes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing 2, and open / close doors 25 and 26 that can be opened and closed to the left and right are attached to the front surface of the housing 2. An operation panel 27 in which display lamps, operation buttons, and the like are arranged is formed below the left open / close door 25. A media discharge port 28 is formed on the side of the operation panel 27.

  When the left and right open / close doors 25 and 26 are opened, as shown in FIG. 4, a writable medium 3 such as a blank medium is stored in the right part of the housing 2 of the CD / DVD publisher 1. A medium supply stacker 4 and a medium discharge stacker 7 for discharging the medium 3 on which data writing or label printing has been completed are arranged vertically in a coaxial state. Media transport means 8 for transporting the media 3 in the housing 2 is disposed at the rear side of the media supply stacker 4 and the media discharge stacker 7.

  A media drive 5 is disposed on the upper side and a label printer 6 is disposed on the lower side of the media supply stacker 4, the media discharge stacker 7, and the media transport means 8. In FIG. 4, the media trays 5 a and 6 a of the media drive 5 and the label printer 6 are in the media delivery position pulled out to the front. A cartridge mounting portion 29 for mounting an ink cartridge for supplying ink to the label printer 6 is provided on a side portion of the media drive 5 and the label printer 6.

  The media supply stacker 4 includes a slide plate 4a that can be pulled out horizontally forward and a pair of left and right arc-shaped frame plates 4b and 4c arranged vertically on the slide plate 4a. When a writable medium 3 such as a blank medium is stored or replenished in the medium supply stacker 4, the right opening door 26 is opened and the slide plate 4a is pulled out. When the media 3 is inserted between the arcuate frame plates 4b and 4c from above, the media 3 is stored in the media supply stacker 4 in a state of being stacked in a coaxial state.

  Similarly to the media supply stacker 4, the lower media discharge stacker 7 also includes a slide plate 7a that can be pulled out horizontally forward, and a pair of left and right arc-shaped frame plates 7b that are arranged vertically on the upper surface. 7c. The medium 3 on which the data has been written and the medium 3 on which the label has been printed are inserted from above between the arc-shaped frame plates 7b and 7c by the media transport means 8, and are stacked on the media discharge stacker 7 in a state of being stacked in a coaxial state. Stored. By opening the right opening / closing door 26 and pulling out the slide plate 7a, the media 3 stored in the media discharge stacker 7 can be taken out collectively.

  The media transport means 8 includes a chassis 32 that is vertically attached to the housing 2, a vertical guide shaft 33 that is vertically stretched between upper and lower horizontal support plate portions of the chassis 32, and the vertical guide shaft. And a media carrier 30 attached to 33. The media carrier 30 can move up and down along the vertical guide shaft 33, and can turn left and right about the vertical guide shaft 33.

  FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing only the media conveying means 8. The media transport means 8 is provided with a motor 34 as a drive source for the raising / lowering mechanism of the media carrier 30 in the chassis 32, and the rotation of the motor 34 is arranged near the upper end of the chassis 32 via a gear train 35. It is transmitted to the drive side pulley 36. A driven pulley 37 is disposed in the vicinity of the lower end of the chassis 32, and a timing belt 38 is bridged between the driving pulley 36 and the driven pulley 37. The rear end portion of the media carrier 30 is fixed to one of the left and right belt portions of the timing belt 38. Therefore, when the motor 34 is driven, the timing belt 38 moves in the vertical direction, and the media carrier 30 attached thereto moves up and down along the vertical guide shaft 33.

  The turning mechanism of the media carrier 30 includes a motor 39 as a driving source, and is transmitted from the output shaft of the motor 39 to the fan-shaped final stage gear 41 through the gear train 40. The fan-shaped final gear 41 can turn left and right about the vertical guide shaft 33. The final gear 41 is mounted with a chassis 32 in which components of the lifting mechanism of the media carrier 30 are assembled. When the motor 39 is driven, the fan-shaped final stage gear 41 turns left and right, so that the chassis 32 mounted here turns integrally around the vertical guide shaft 33. As a result, the media carrier 30 held by the elevating mechanism mounted on the chassis 32 turns left and right around the vertical guide shaft 33.

  The media carrier 30 has a gripping mechanism 42 mounted on the tip thereof. The gripping mechanism 42 includes, for example, three gripping claws, and one of the claws can move in the radial direction. The media 3 is gripped by inserting three gripping claws into the center hole of the media 3 and moving the one claw radially outward. Further, by moving one nail inward in the radial direction from the state where the medium 3 is held by the medium carrier 30, the medium 3 can be opened and dropped from the holding nail.

  The lower end surface portion 31 of the front end portion of the media carrier 30 is configured to be parallel to the label surface 3a of the media 3 held by the media carrier 30 with a predetermined gap therebetween. A red LED 11, a blue LED 12 and a yellow LED 13 for irradiating red light, blue light and yellow light to the label surface 3 a of the medium 3 held by the media carrier 30 are attached to the end surface portion 31. Further, three photodetectors 14, 15, and 16 for detecting the reflected light of the red light, the reflected light of the blue light, and the reflected light of the yellow light respectively reflected from the label surface 3a are attached. Each photodetector 14, 15, 16 includes a phototransistor 18, and includes, for example, the circuit shown in FIG.

  Here, when red light, blue light, and yellow light are emitted from the red LED 11, blue LED 12, and yellow LED 13 toward the label surface 3a of the media 3 held by the media carrier 30, the label surface 3a is label-printed. In the case of possible white, the respective amounts of reflected light of red light, reflected light of blue light, and reflected light of yellow light are maximum values. At this time, the photodetectors 14, 15, and 16 shown in FIG. The voltage values Vout output from the three photodetectors 14, 15, and 16 are set to 0 except for the dark current. Or you may make it compare with a specific threshold value with a comparator or an operational amplifier.

  On the other hand, when the label surface 3a of the media 3 held by the media carrier 30 is not white capable of label printing, the reflected light of the red light and the reflected light of the blue light detected by the photodetectors 14, 15, and 16 are reflected. One of the light quantities of light and reflected light of yellow light is smaller than the maximum value. As a result, in the photodetectors 14, 15, and 16 shown in FIG. 6, the voltage value Vout output from any one of the photodetectors 14, 15, and 16 becomes a value different from zero.

  Therefore, when the voltage values Vout output from the photodetectors 14, 15, and 16 are all 0, it can be determined that the medium 3 is a printable medium. On the other hand, when the voltage values Vout output from the photodetectors 14, 15, and 16 are not all 0, it can be determined that the medium is not printable.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a gap through which the media carrier 30 can move up and down is formed between the pair of left and right frame plates 4b and 4c and the frame plates 7b and 7c of the media supply stacker 4 and the media discharge stacker 7. Has been. Further, a space is formed between the upper and lower media supply stackers 4 and the media discharge stacker 7 so that the media carrier 30 can be rotated horizontally and positioned directly above them. Further, when the media carrier 30 is turned horizontally from above the media supply stacker 4, the media tray 5a of the media drive 5 at the media delivery position can be accessed. Further, when the media carrier 30 is lowered after the upper media tray 5a is pushed into the media drive 5, the media tray 6a of the label printer 6 at the media delivery position can be accessed. Further, when the media carrier 30 is lowered after the upper and lower media trays 5a and 6a are pushed into the media drive 5 and the label printer 6, the media discharge port 28 can be accessed. Therefore, it is possible to transport the media 3 to each part by a combined operation of raising and lowering the media carrier 30 and turning left and right.

It is a schematic block diagram of the CD / DVD publisher to which the present invention is applied. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a media issue processing operation. It is a perspective view of a CD / DVD publisher. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a CD / DVD publisher with an open / close door opened so that the inside can be seen. It is the perspective view which took out and showed the media conveyance means. It is a circuit structural example of a photodetector.

Explanation of symbols

1. CD / DVD publisher, 2. housing, 3. media, 3a, label surface, 4. media supply stacker, 5. media drive, 6. label printer, 7. media ejection stacker, 8. media transport means. 11, 11, 13, LED, 14, 15, 16, photodetector, 17, host device, 18, phototransistor, 20, control unit, 21, control command receiving means, 22, printability determining means, 23, Printing presence / absence discriminating means, 30 / media carrier, 31 / lower end surface part, 42 / gripping mechanism

Claims (11)

A drive control method for a media processing apparatus that writes data by a media drive and / or prints a label by a printer on a media taken out from a media supply stacker, and ejects the media to a media ejection stacker.
Irradiate predetermined light on the label surface of the media,
Based on the reflected light from the label surface of the medium, it is determined whether the medium is a printable medium before printing or a non-printable medium after printing,
A drive control method for a media processing apparatus, characterized in that when it is determined that the medium is not printable, the nonprintable medium is evacuated to a evacuation place. The drive control method of the media processing device according to claim 1,
A drive control method for a media processing apparatus, wherein when the printable medium is in the media drive or the printer, the non-printable media saved in the save location is conveyed to the media supply stacker. In the drive control method of the media processing device according to claim 1 or 2,
The method for controlling drive of a media processing apparatus, wherein the evacuation location is the media ejection stacker or a media evacuation stacker arranged separately from the media ejection stacker. In the drive control method for the media processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Of the data write command for writing the data to the media and the label print command for printing the label on the media, a media issue command including at least the data write command is received from a host device. And
Before removing the media from the media supply stacker, determine whether the label printing command is included in the media issue command,
If the label printing command is not included, the media taken out from the media supply stacker is supplied to the media drive without determining whether the media is the printable media or the non-printable media,
A drive control method for a media processing apparatus, wherein the media on which the data is written is discharged to the media discharge stacker without being supplied to the printer. In the drive control method of the media processing device according to claim 4,
A drive control method for a media processing apparatus, wherein when the label printing command is not included, the predetermined light is not irradiated to the label surface of the media. A media supply stacker for storing media; a media drive for writing data on the media; a printer for printing a label on the media; a media ejection stacker for ejecting the media; and media transport means for transporting the media A media processing apparatus comprising:
A light detector for irradiating predetermined light on the label surface of the media and detecting reflected light from the label surface of the media;
Based on the amount of reflected light detected by the light detector, the printability determination means for determining whether the medium is a printable medium before printing or a non-printable medium after printing;
The media processing device, wherein the media transport means retracts the non-printable media to a retreat location. The media processing device according to claim 6, wherein
When the printable media is in the media drive or the printer, the media transporting unit transports the non-printable media retracted to the retracted location from the retracted location to the media supply stacker. Media processing device. The media processing device according to claim 6 or 7,
The media processing apparatus, wherein the evacuation location is the media ejection stacker or a media evacuation stacker arranged separately from the media ejection stacker. In the media processing device according to any one of claims 6 to 8,
The media conveying means includes a media carrier that grips the media in a state of covering a part of the label surface of the media when taking out the media from the media supply stacker,
The media processing apparatus, wherein the photodetector is attached to the media carrier. In the media processing device according to any one of claims 6 to 9,
Of the data write command for writing the data to the media and the label print command for printing the label on the media, a media issue command including at least the data write command is received from a host device. Control command receiving means for
Print presence / absence determining means for determining whether or not the label printing command is included in the media issuing command before taking out the media from the media supply stacker;
If the label printing command is not included, the printing propriety determining unit does not determine whether the medium is the printable medium or the non-printable medium,
When the label printing command is not included, the media transport means supplies the media taken out from the media supply stacker to the media drive and then supplies the media discharge stacker without supplying it to the printer. A media processing device characterized by being discharged. The media processing device according to claim 10, wherein
The media processing apparatus, wherein the predetermined light is not irradiated when the label printing command is not included.

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