JP2013065128A - Bankbook printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that in print density check by a reflection type sensor, an erroneous determination that the density is low may be made even when an ink ribbon has not become thin because a density determination print portion does not enter a sensor reading range when a conveyance amount of a medium is insufficient due to, for example, aging of a structure (gear) to convey the medium, in conveying the medium into the sensor reading range after performing a print of density determination characters.SOLUTION: A density is detected by moving a print medium. When determining that the density is low, the medium is re-conveyed by a conveyance amount corresponding to the density and re-reading is performed so as to prevent erroneous detection in density determination. Further, by previously adding the amount of the re-conveyance to a medium conveyance for the next measurement, no retry of density determination occurs, which prevents processing time from being longer.

Description

  The present invention relates to a passbook printer having a print density determination function.

  As a printing method for a passbook printer, a dot impact method is generally used. Dot impact printing is a print head with a thin pin structure corresponding to dots, and the ink ribbon is struck (impacted) with the print head pin from above the strip-shaped ink ribbon that has absorbed ink. This is a method in which symbols and symbols are printed on a medium such as paper.

  Since the ink is transferred to the medium on the ink ribbon, the print density gradually decreases according to the amount of use. For this reason, the current apparatus is equipped with a line scanner, collects two-dimensional image data by transporting the medium in the direction perpendicular to the line direction of the line scanner, and determines the density of the print density (the density determination is based on the data). The ink ribbon replacement time was determined).

  In addition, there is a technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-160857 (Patent Document 1) for determining the print density in a dot impact passbook printer.

JP 2004-160857 A

  Since the line scanner is expensive, the density of the print density is determined by operating it on a print line such as a passbook which is relatively inexpensive. The reflective sensor uses a bar code reader (hereinafter referred to as BCR) already mounted on the print head bracket in order to read the bar code of the passbook with the current apparatus.

  At that time, if the BCR is mounted on the print line, the BCR reading can be performed after the printing is completed, so that it is possible to determine the density of the print density without transporting the medium. Since it is a printing method, the ink ribbon is on the print line due to its structure, so it is impossible to mount a BCR on the print line and determine the density of the print density.

  Therefore, when the BCR is mounted at a position shifted from the print range (ink ribbon location) and the density of the print density is determined, the medium is transported to the position where the print character is applied to the BCR reading range after the density determination character is printed. Then, after the density determination character is shifted from the ink ribbon, it is necessary to detect the density by operating the BCR over the reading range.

  When the medium is transported to the BCR reading range after the density determination character is printed, the density is determined in the BCR reading range if the amount of feeding of the medium is insufficient due to, for example, aging due to the mechanism (gear) that transports the medium Since the printed part does not take up enough, the ink ribbon may be erroneously determined to be light even if it is not thin.

  As described above, when the medium feed amount is insufficient and the density determination print location does not enter the BCR reading range, the medium is conveyed again in the transport direction to perform print density determination, and the density determination print location is sufficiently within the BCR range. Prevents mismeasurements that are determined to be light and not hung. Also, if it is determined that the density is higher than the reference density after re-conveying, the feed amount at that time is stored, and when the next density detection is performed, the media is conveyed by adding the feed amount, and the density judgment is performed. To do.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to determine the print density of a passbook printer using an inexpensive reflective sensor. At this time, when it is determined that the print density is light, retry is performed with an appropriate conveyance amount, thereby preventing an erroneous determination due to insufficient conveyance based on a sag of the conveyance mechanism of the apparatus. In addition, by learning the shift amount and reflecting it at the next measurement, it is possible to prevent the density detection from being retried and to prevent the processing time from being mischievous.

Passbook printer overview diagram Schematic position diagram of the print head part including the BCR BCR electrical connection diagram Schematic diagram of medium for determining print density Schematic of print head and BCR part Schematic diagram of BCR sampling waveform (when printing for print density determination is completely applied to the BCR reading range) Schematic diagram of BCR sampling waveform (when printing density judgment is partially applied to the BCR reading range) Explanatory drawing of media re-transport Concentration judgment processing flow diagram Concentration judgment processing flow image (with alarm counter) Concentration judgment processing flow diagram (when there is a comparison with the previous measurement result)

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present embodiment relates to a dot impact type printer.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram (side view of the apparatus) of the passbook printer according to the present embodiment. When printing on a print medium 11 such as a passbook, the print medium 11 is conveyed by a conveyance roller 13 through a conveyance path 12 to a printing position below the print head. The transport roller 13 rotates the power from the motor through a mechanism such as a gear. The printing medium conveyed to the printing position impacts from the top of the ink ribbon 15 with the pins of the printing head 14, thereby transferring the ink to the printing medium and performing printing. The BCR 16 is mounted on the same bracket as the print head. Therefore, it operates integrally in the same direction as the print head.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic position diagram of the print head portion including the BCR (schematic view of the apparatus). A print head 14 and a BCR 16 are mounted on the print head bracket 21. Here, in the description of the printing operation, the illustration of the ink ribbon is omitted for simplification. During the printing operation, the print head bracket 21 is moved in the positive and negative directions in the drawing print head, BCR operation direction, and the print head pin on / off control is performed in synchronization with the movement of the print head bracket. The ink ribbon is impacted from above, transferred to a medium, and printed at a predetermined printing position. For this reason, the width of the print head pin 24 in the drawing medium direction is the print width D, and the range of the dashed square is the print range 25.

  Similarly, the operation at the time of BCR reading will be described. The BCR 16 is also mounted on the print head bracket 21. Like the print head, the BCR 16 is read by moving the print head in the BCR operation direction. Since the BCR reading unit has a spot diameter, the width d corresponding to the sensor spot diameter is the BCR reading width, and the range of the alternate long and short dash line is the BCR reading range 26.

  At this time, the ink ribbon actually exists on the printing range 25 because of the dot impact printing method. For this reason, when the BCR 23 is mounted on the print range 25 in an overlapping manner, there is an ink ribbon, so that it is impossible to determine the density of the print density due to structural reasons.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of electrical connection of the BCR. The BCR 31 includes a light emitting unit 32 that emits light and a light receiving unit 33 that receives light. The light 34 emitted from the BCR 31 is irradiated onto the medium 35 or the like, and the reflected light 36 is received by the light receiving unit. The received light signal proportional to the light intensity of the received light is amplified by the amplification amplifier 37 in the control board, and then data processing is performed by the AD converter function of the CPU 38. The data is stored in the memory 39 as a BCR read value. At this time, when light is applied to the medium, white having a high reflectance is sampled with a high BCR reading value, and conversely, black having a low reflectance is sampled with a low BCR reading value.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a medium for determining density of printing density. The medium 41 for determining the print density is a white tone medium. As the medium, a medium that has been pre-printed 42 in a line shape at the reference density of the print determination limit is used. By pre-printing in a line shape, the print density determination print density and the print determination limit can be set without moving the medium in the transport direction when comparing the BCR read value with the print density determination print described later. The reference density can be read by BCR, and the measurement error of the BCR reading value of the medium state change factor due to the medium conveyance can be reduced.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the print head and the BCR portion. A method for determining the density of the print density will be described with reference to FIG. 6 and FIG. When determining the density of the print density, it is performed on the medium 51 on which the reference density of the print determination described above is pre-printed. First, the medium 51 on which the reference density for print determination is pre-printed is conveyed to the printing position. After the conveyance is finished, the dot impact is performed while moving the print head within the printing range 52 to transfer the ribbon, and printing 53 for printing density determination is performed at a predetermined position.

  After the print density determination print 53 is completed, the print density determination print 53 is BCR-read, so that the medium 51 is transported to a position where the print density determination print 53 crosses the BCR reading range 54. After the conveyance of the medium is completed, the BCR performs BCR reading by operating the reading operation range.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a BCR read waveform. If the BCR read value (BCR read value for the white portion) of the reference density printing portion 61 for print determination is Sk, and the BCR read value (BCR read value for the white portion) of the portion 62 printed for print density determination is Si,
When Si ≧ Sk: it is determined that the print density determination print is darker than the reference density of the print determination limit;
When Si <Sk: It is determined that the print density determination print is thinner than the reference density of the print determination limit.

  In the case of FIG. 6, it is determined that the print density determination print is darker than the reference density of the print determination limit when Si ≧ Sk. Here, it is considered that the BCR reading range 63 has a BCR spot diameter (reading width).

  When the medium is transported to the BCR reading range as shown in FIG. 7, if the medium transport is insufficient and the print location 72 for determining the print density does not sufficiently cover the BCR reading range 73, the actual print density for determining the print density. Even if the density is higher than the reference density of the print determination limit, the BCR read value becomes Si <Sk, and it is determined that the print density determination print is lighter than the print determination limit reference density, resulting in an erroneous determination. If Si <Sk, considering that the BCR reading range is not sufficiently applied as shown in FIG. 7, the medium is conveyed again in the conveying direction and BCR reading is performed again.

The re-carrying amount will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, regarding the medium conveyance, a case is considered in which the apparatus conveyance mechanism is deficient in comparison with a predetermined amount of conveyance. (It is assumed that the amount of transported medium will not exceed the specified amount and will not be sent too much.)
It is assumed that the BCR reading width is d and the printing density determination printing width (= printing head width) is D. In order to measure the concentration, as a precondition, D is sufficiently larger than d, and at least satisfies the relationship D> 2d. When the BCR reading range is not fully applied (= there is a portion that is applied), the minimum position “before movement of FIG. 8 (a)” and the maximum position “before movement of FIG. 8 (b)” and the BCR reading range are applied. Let us consider the minimum position “before movement in FIG.

  If the dmm is moved from the minimum position "before moving in Fig. 8 (a)" when it is not fully applied (= there is a part to be applied), the print for density determination can cross the BCR reading width dmm “After the movement in FIG. 8 (a)”. Similarly, if dmm is moved from the maximum position “before moving in FIG. 8 (b)” when not fully applied (= there is a part that is applied), printing for print density determination will cross the BCR reading width dmm "After the move in Fig. 8 (b)".

  On the other hand, with respect to the minimum position “before moving in FIG. 8C” when not in the BCR reading range, if the Dmm is moved, the print for determining the print density can extend over the BCR reading width dmm. After the movement of FIG. 8 (c) ". If it still does not straddle, by repeating the movement for Dmm, the BCR read width dmm is multiplied by the print width Dmm for determining the print density. That is, the print for determining the print density does not exceed the BCR reading width due to the movement.

  The operation of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. During the density determination process, a counter for counting retries is initialized (retry counter = 0), and BCR reading is performed. As a result of BCR reading, if Si ≧ Sk, it is determined whether the BCR reading has been retried. As a result of the determination, if no retry is performed (retry counter = 0), it is determined that the density is higher than the reference density, and the process ends normally.

  If there is a history of retries (retry counter> 0), the feed amount for the retry is learned so that the feed amount is not insufficient when the next BCR reading is performed. BCR reading is performed with a medium feed amount obtained by adding a retry feed amount to a normal medium feed amount. By learning the feed amount for retry, the retry process is not performed at the next BCR reading. (Prevents taking time for density determination processing due to retry).

  When the result of BCR reading is Si <Sk, a retry setting number (number of times of alarm) is set in advance, and it is determined whether the set number matches the number of retry counters. As a result of the determination, if the set number of times matches the number of retry counters, it is determined that the density is lower than the reference density, and the density determination process is terminated as an ink ribbon replacement alarm. If the set number of times does not match the number of retry counters, the medium is transported again.

  As described above, the carry amount at the time of retry is divided into a case where the BCR reading range is not sufficiently applied (= there is a portion where it is applied) and a case where it is not applied to the BCR reading range. Whether or not it is applied to the BCR reading range is determined by the value of Si. This is because when the BCR reading range is applied, the black portion is reflected even in a small amount, and thus Si is larger than 0. When the BCR reading range is not applied, Si is 0. Therefore, when Si> 0 (when the BCR reading range is not sufficiently applied (= there is an applied portion)), the medium is conveyed again by dmm. When Si = 0 (when not in the BCR reading range), the medium is conveyed again by Dmm. After the re-conveyance is performed, the retry counter is incremented by 1 and the BCR reading is performed again.

  Here, at the time of density determination, the determination reference density Sk is BCR read together with a portion preprinted with the density of the determination value and printed for print density determination, and determined by comparison with Si. If the BCR reading value of density is already known, BCR reading is performed only at the portion printed for printing density determination, and the density determination is performed by determining the magnitude of the BCR reading value Si and the known determination density value. Also good.

  In addition, when the retry counter becomes the number of retry settings as shown in the flow of FIG. 10, the alarm determination counter stores the number of times that the alarm is determined as an alarm, and the alarm determination is continuously performed for the set number of times. If it is detected, it may be determined that the concentration is an alarm.

  In addition, when it is determined that Si <Sk as shown in FIG. 11, the previous density detection result Sib is compared with the current density detection result Si, and the density is retried only when it is determined that the density value has become extremely thin. A determination may be made. In this case, it is necessary to set in advance a density difference that cannot be normally used as a retry determination criterion for comparison with the difference between the previous density detection result Sib and the current density detection result.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Print medium 12 ... Conveyance path 13 ... Conveyance roller 14 ... Print head 15 ... Ink ribbon 16 ... BCR
21 ... Print head bracket 22 ... Print head 23 ... BCR
24 ... Print head pin 25 ... Print range 26 ... BCR reading range 31 ... BCR
32 ... BCR light emitting unit 33 ... BCR light receiving unit 34 ... light emitting 35 ... medium 36 ... reflected light 37 ... amplification amplifier 38 ... CPU
39 ... Memory 41 ... Density determination medium 42 ... Pre-print 51 with reference density of print determination limit ...... Density determination medium 52 ... Print range 53 ... Print density determination print 54 ... BCR reading range 61 ... Reference density print location 62 ... Print density determination print 63 ... BCR reading range 71 ... Reference density print location 72 ... Print density determination print 73 ... BCR read range

Claims (3)

In a dot impact type passbook printer that moves a print head in a direction perpendicular to the pass direction of the passbook and performs printing by striking an ink ribbon positioned above the print location of the passbook by the print head,
A reflection type sensor is mounted on a part of the print head, and a difference in print density between the determination print printed by the print head on the light / dark determination medium having a line-shaped pre print pattern and the pre print is recorded in the reflection type sensor. Has a control unit to measure at
The control unit, after performing the determination printing, transports the determination medium by a specified amount to measure the density difference, and when the print density difference is smaller than a reference value, the density level of the determination printing The passbook printer is characterized in that a predetermined amount of the medium for density determination is re-conveyed in response to the measurement and the difference in print density is measured again. The passbook printer according to claim 1,
A storage unit for storing a predetermined amount of the density determination medium re-transported;
The passbook printer, wherein the density difference is measured after adding the stored predetermined amount to the specified amount and transporting it at the next print density determination. The passbook printer according to claim 1 or 2,
The predetermined amount for re-conveying the density determination medium is an amount corresponding to the width of the print head in the medium conveyance direction when the density level of the determination print is less than zero, and when it is greater than zero, the reflection type sensor is used. A passbook printer having an amount corresponding to the reading width in the medium conveyance direction.

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