JP2010228259A - Label printer, and method and program for controlling printing speed of label printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce an instantaneous high current load without reducing the visibility of output results. <P>SOLUTION: A label printer includes: a detection means for detecting the ratio of a printing area per line in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance of a recording medium from print data; a storage means for storing a conveyance speed table in which printing density, the ratio of the printing area, and conveyance speed are associated with one another; a conveyance means which determines the conveyance speed by referring to the conveyance speed table based on the value of the ratio of the printing area detected by the detection means and conveys the recording medium; a power supply means which supplies the power accumulated; and a printing means which receives the power supplied from the power supply means and prints per line on the recording medium in the direction perpendicular to the conveyance. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a label printer in which a print head has the same length as a recording member and can simultaneously print one line, a printing speed control method for the label printer, and a program.

  In a label printer that operates with power supplied from a built-in or external battery, the battery driving time is lengthened by controlling the printing speed and the dot density of print data.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for adjusting a print head strobe time in response to a plurality of measured operation variables and comparing the print head strobe time with the length of a stepping motor drive signal to adjust the speed. Yes.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a technology that includes a sub-battery having higher power supply capability than the main battery and uses the sub-battery during high-speed printing to prevent overcurrent.

  Patent Document 3 discloses a technique for extending the battery life by slowing the printing speed when the remaining battery power is low.

  Patent Document 4 discloses a technique for extending the battery life by thinning out printed dots.

  In Patent Document 5, the temperature and voltage of the battery are monitored, and when the temperature is low or the voltage is low, the maximum number of heating elements that generate heat at one time in the thermal head is controlled to perform division printing. A technique for extending the life of a battery by performing is disclosed.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 07-164678 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 05-080897 JP 2000-71580 A JP 2003-316558 A JP 2008-80696 A

  By the way, when performing horizontal ruled line printing or solid black printing, the label printer supplies power to a plurality of heating elements of the thermal head to perform recording on a recording member. At this time, the print head instantaneously requires a high current load, and the output overcurrent protection function of the battery works to stop printing.

  For example, in the techniques described in Patent Documents 3 to 5, the print mode is changed according to the remaining power of the battery to extend the battery life and reduce the current load. When there is an amount, printing cannot be performed without avoiding an instantaneous high current load as described above.

  In addition, thinning the print dots due to high current load (Fig. 9) or shifting the print line so that it appears as a single line at a distance (Fig. 10) reduces the visibility of the print result. This is not preferable.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to reduce an instantaneous high current load without impairing the visibility of an output result.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a label printer according to the present invention includes a detection unit that detects a ratio of a print area for each line in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance of a recording medium from print data, a print density, a ratio of a print area, and a conveyance A storage unit that stores a conveyance speed table in which speeds are associated with each other, and a conveyance speed that is determined by referring to the conveyance speed table from the value of the ratio of the print area detected by the detection unit, and conveys the recording medium And a power supply means for supplying the accumulated power, and a printing means for receiving the power supplied from the power supply means and printing the recording medium line by line in the conveyance orthogonal direction. And

  Also, the printing speed control method of the label printer according to the present invention includes a detection step for detecting a print area ratio for each line in the recording medium conveyance orthogonal direction from print data, and a print area ratio detected by the detection step. From the values, the conveyance speed is determined by referring to the conveyance speed table in which the print density, the ratio of the print area, and the conveyance speed are associated, and the conveyance step for conveying the recording medium and the accumulated power are supplied. A power supply step; and a printing step of receiving the power supplied in the power supply step and printing the recording medium line by line in the conveyance orthogonal direction.

  In addition, the program according to the present invention includes a detection process for detecting the ratio of the print area for each line in the conveyance orthogonal direction of the recording medium from the print data, and the print density and , A conveyance speed is determined with reference to a conveyance speed table in which a ratio of a print area and a conveyance speed are associated, a conveyance process for conveying the recording medium, and a power supply process for supplying accumulated power; It receives the power supplied by the power supply process, and causes the computer to execute a print process for printing the recording medium line by line in the conveyance orthogonal direction.

  According to the present invention, an instantaneous high current load can be reduced without impairing the visibility of the output result.

1 is a configuration diagram of a label printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a conveyance speed table. It is a schematic diagram which shows the difference of the average electric current in printing speed. It is a flowchart figure of the label printer which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart figure of the label printer which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of the label printer which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart figure of the label printer which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the difference of the average electric current in printing density. It is a schematic diagram which shows the printing dot when it prints by thinning. It is a schematic diagram which shows a printing dot when printing by shifting one line.

  Next, the best mode for carrying out the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a label printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The label printer 100 includes a printing unit 101, a paper transport unit 102, a DUTY calculation unit 103, a storage unit 104, and a power supply unit 105.

  The printing unit 101 is configured to have a length approximately equal to the width of the recording member in the conveyance orthogonal direction, and simultaneously prints one line in the conveyance orthogonal direction of the recording member. A plurality of heating elements are provided in the longitudinal direction of the printing unit 101, and power is supplied to each heating element by the power supply unit 105, so that the density is proportional to the power supplied to each heating element. The recording member is printed.

  The paper transport unit 102 determines the transport speed from the print DUTY calculated by the DUTY calculation unit 103 with reference to the transport speed table stored in the storage unit 104, and transports the recording member.

  The DUTY calculation unit 103 calculates a print DUTY (print area ratio) for each line in the conveyance orthogonal direction of print data sent from an information processing apparatus or the like.

  The storage unit 104 stores a transport speed table in which print density, print DUTY, and transport speed are associated with each other.

  The power supply unit 105 supplies power to each heating element provided in the printing unit 101 by connecting an internal battery or an external battery.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a conveyance speed table stored in the storage unit 104. The paper transport unit 102 determines the transport speed of the recording member from the print DUTY calculated by the DUTY calculation unit 103 and the print density at that time by referring to this transport speed table.

  For example, the transport speed when the calculated print DUTY per line is 30% and the print density is 5 is 4 inches / s.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the difference in average current at the printing speed. 3A shows the current load value detected when printing at the printing speed T, and FIG. 3B shows the current load value detected when printing at the printing speed 1 / 2T. Yes.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the printing speed is halved, the current load value Ip detected per unit time is reduced to ½. That is, the average current Iave per unit time is similarly reduced to ½, and the load current per unit time can be reduced.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the printing process of the label printer 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  A one-line print DUTY is calculated in the dot-image print data received from the information processing apparatus (step S11).

  With reference to the transport speed table, the transport speed of one line of the recording member is determined from the calculated print duty and print density (step S12).

  The printing of one line calculated in step S11 is performed, and the recording member is transported according to the determined transport speed (step S13).

  It is determined whether or not printing of all lines of the print data has been completed. If there are still lines to be printed, the processing from step S11 is repeated (step S14).

  The dot image in step S11 may be received directly from the information processing apparatus or the like, or the print data may be received from the information processing apparatus or the like by this label printer and analyzed to be converted into a dot image. .

  Also, here, the calculation and printing of the print DUTY is repeated for each line, but first the print DUTY is calculated for all the lines, and the conveyance speed in each line is determined in advance according to the calculation result, You may make it print.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the printing process of the label printer 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  The print DUTY in the dot imaged print data received from the information processing apparatus or the like is calculated for every line in the print area for each line (step S21).

  In the calculated print DUTY for each line, the maximum print DUTY value is detected (step S22).

  With reference to the conveyance speed table, the entire conveyance speed of the recording member is determined from the detected maximum printing DUTY and printing density (step S23).

  Printing is performed while transporting the recording member according to the determined transport speed (step S24).

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a label printer according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The label printer 200 further includes a temperature detection unit 106. In addition, about the function part similar to the label printer 100, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The temperature detection unit 106 includes a thermistor and the like, and measures the internal temperature of the label printer 200. Note that the attachment position of the thermistor is preferably near the heating element of the printing unit 101.

  The storage unit 104 stores a plurality of conveyance speed tables depending on the temperature. For example, each conveyance speed table at high temperature, normal temperature, and low temperature is stored. In each conveyance speed table, a threshold for temperature is set, for example, 50 degrees or more at high temperature, 15 to 49 degrees at normal temperature, and less than 14 degrees at low temperature.

  Moreover, the conveyance speed table to be used at low temperatures has a lower conveyance speed than the conveyance speed table at normal temperature. This is because the resistance component of the heating element becomes small and current flows easily at low temperatures, so that the overcurrent protection function of the battery does not work when printing at the same printing speed as normal temperature.

  The paper transport unit 102 determines which transport speed table to use in accordance with the internal temperature of the label printer 200 detected by the temperature detection unit 106, determines the transport speed with reference to the determined transport speed table, and records it. The member is transported.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the printing process of the label printer 200 according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

  The internal temperature of the label printer 200 is measured (step S31), and a transport speed table to be used is determined based on the measured temperature (step S32).

  One-line print DUTY is calculated in the dot-image print data received from the information processing apparatus or the like (step S33).

  With reference to the transport speed table, the transport speed of one line of the recording member is determined from the calculated print DUTY and print density (step S34).

  The printing of one line calculated in step S33 is performed, and the recording member is transported according to the determined transport speed (step S35).

  It is determined whether or not printing of all the lines of the print data has been completed. If there are still lines to be printed, the processing from step S31 is repeated (step S36).

(Fourth embodiment)
The label printer in the present embodiment controls the conveyance speed according to the remaining amount of power in the power supply unit 105.

  In other words, the storage unit 104 stores a transport speed table that is used when the remaining power is low. The conveyance speed table used when the remaining amount of power is low sets the conveyance speed slower than the conveyance speed table used during normal operation. As a result, even when the remaining amount of power is low, it is possible to extend the life of the battery while preventing printing from being stopped by the battery overcurrent protection function.

  Further, when detecting that the remaining amount of power of the power supply unit 105 is less than the threshold, the sheet transport unit 102 determines the transport speed by referring to the transport speed table used when the remaining power is low. Then, the recording member is conveyed.

  In addition, it is also possible to use with the conveyance speed table depending on the temperature in the third embodiment.

(Fifth embodiment)
The label printer according to the present embodiment prevents printing from being stopped by the overcurrent protection function by keeping the conveyance speed constant and controlling the printing density.

  That is, the paper transport unit 102 transports the recording member according to a predetermined constant transport speed.

  In addition, the printing unit 101 determines a print density by referring to a conveyance speed table stored in the storage unit 104 using a predetermined conveyance speed and the print DUTY calculated by the DUTY calculation unit 103. Printing is performed by receiving power supply from the power supply unit 105 in proportion to the print density.

  Note that the print density stored in the transport speed table at this time is not limited to the uniquely determined density, and may be represented by a decrease rate from the density to be normally printed.

  FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a difference in average current in printing density. FIG. 8A shows a current load value detected when printing is performed at a printing density T at a printing speed T. FIG. 8B shows a case where printing is performed at a printing density 1 / 2X at the printing speed T. Indicates the current load value detected.

  As shown in FIG. 8, when the print density is halved, the detected current load value Ip is reduced to ½. That is, the average current Iave per unit time is similarly reduced to ½, and the load current per unit time can be reduced.

  According to the embodiment of the present invention, when the dot density of the print data is high and the output current has no margin, the print speed of the printer is reduced or the print data When the dot density is low and the output current has a margin, printing can be performed at a higher printing speed.

  Also, the ambient temperature is measured by a thermistor mounted inside the printer, and the printing speed is reduced when the ambient temperature is low. As a result, it is possible to prevent the overcurrent protection function from working at a low temperature and stop printing.

  Although the embodiments have been described above, various modifications and changes can be made to these embodiments and specific examples without departing from the broad scope and scope of the present invention defined in the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Label printer 101 Printing part 102 Paper conveyance part 103 DUTY calculation part 104 Storage part 105 Power supply part 106 Temperature detection part

Claims (14)

Detecting means for detecting a ratio of a print area for each line in the conveyance orthogonal direction of the recording medium from the print data;
Storage means for storing a conveyance speed table in which the print density, the ratio of the print area, and the conveyance speed are associated with each other;
A conveyance unit that determines a conveyance speed with reference to the conveyance speed table from the value of the ratio of the print area detected by the detection unit, and conveys the recording medium;
Power supply means for supplying stored power;
A label printer comprising: a printing unit that receives power supplied from the power supply unit and prints the recording medium line by line in a conveyance orthogonal direction.   The transport means detects a maximum value from the value of the ratio of the print area for each line in all the lines of the recording medium, determines the transport speed from the maximum value with reference to the transport speed table, and the recording medium The label printer according to claim 1, wherein the label printer is conveyed. Having temperature detection means for detecting the internal temperature,
The storage means stores a plurality of conveyance speed tables for each temperature at which a threshold is provided,
The label printer according to claim 1, wherein the transport unit determines a transport speed with reference to a transport speed table corresponding to the temperature detected by the temperature detection unit. The storage means stores a plurality of transport speed tables for each remaining power with a threshold,
4. The label printer according to claim 1, wherein the transport unit determines a transport speed with reference to a transport speed table corresponding to a remaining amount of power by the power supply unit. The transport means transports the recording medium at a constant speed,
The printing unit determines a print density with reference to the conveyance speed table from the value of the ratio of the print area detected by the detection unit, and receives the amount of power corresponding to the determined print density from the power supply unit. The label printer according to claim 1, wherein the label printer performs printing.   The label printer according to claim 1, wherein the power supply unit supplies power from an external battery connected thereto.   The label printer according to claim 1, further comprising an image conversion unit that converts print data into a dot image. A detection step of detecting a ratio of the print area for each line in the conveyance orthogonal direction of the recording medium from the print data;
From the value of the print area ratio detected by the detection step, a transport speed is determined with reference to a transport speed table that associates the print density, the print area ratio, and the transport speed, and the recording medium is A transport step for transport;
A power supply step for supplying the stored power;
A printing speed control method for a label printer, comprising: a printing step of receiving the power supplied in the power supply step and printing the recording medium line by line in a conveyance orthogonal direction.   The conveyance step detects a maximum value from the value of the ratio of the print area for each line in all the lines of the recording medium, determines a conveyance speed from the maximum value with reference to the conveyance speed table, and the recording medium 9. A printing speed control method for a label printer according to claim 8, wherein A temperature detection step for detecting the internal temperature;
The transport step determines a transport speed with reference to a transport speed table corresponding to the temperature detected by the temperature detection step among a plurality of transport speed tables stored for each temperature having a threshold value. 10. A printing speed control method for a label printer according to claim 8 or 9.   The transporting step determines a transport speed with reference to a transport speed table corresponding to the remaining power of a power supply unit among a plurality of transport speed tables stored for each remaining power with a threshold. The printing speed control method for a label printer according to any one of claims 8 to 10. The transport step transports the recording medium at a constant speed,
The printing step determines a print density with reference to the transport speed table from the value of the ratio of the print area detected in the detection step, and receives an amount of power corresponding to the determined print density from the power supply unit. The printing speed control method for a label printer according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein printing is performed.   The label printer printing speed control method according to claim 8, further comprising an image conversion step of converting print data into a dot image. A detection process for detecting the ratio of the print area for each line in the conveyance orthogonal direction of the recording medium from the print data;
From the value of the print area ratio detected by the detection process, the transport speed is determined with reference to the transport speed table in which the print density, the ratio of the print area, and the transport speed are associated, and the recording medium is Transport processing to transport;
A power supply process for supplying the accumulated power;
A program that receives the power supplied by the power supply process and causes the computer to execute a print process for printing the recording medium line by line in the conveyance orthogonal direction.

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