JP2016182707A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing label creating device which uses up the residual power of a battery by properly dealing with the consumption degree of the battery even when an operation environment changes.SOLUTION: A printing label creating device comprises: a thermal head control circuit 217 which causes power to pass through at least one of a plurality of heating elements of a thermal head 23 in accordance with printing data; a motor drive circuit 216 which controls driving of a tape feeding roller drive shaft; a battery storage part which stores a cylindrical battery BT for supplying power to the thermal head control circuit and the motor drive circuit; and an A/D input circuit 219 which can detect an output voltage value of the battery BT. The device determines the consumption degree of the battery BT by using the output voltage value detected in trial printing processing performed before execution of main printing processing, and determines whether or not the main printing processing can be normally completed on the basis of the consumption degree.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus driven by a battery.

  Conventionally, for example, a printing apparatus that operates using a battery has been proposed so that a user can easily use it. In such a printing apparatus, a plurality of types of batteries may be used as appropriate. In that case, since the power supply characteristics of power differ depending on the type and quality of the battery, it is necessary to perform operation settings according to the battery to be used for smooth operation of the printing apparatus. When the operator manually inputs the battery type each time, the operation burden is troublesome and there is a possibility of erroneous input. Therefore, it is preferable to automatically distinguish the power supply characteristics of the battery on the printing apparatus side.

  As a conventional technique focusing on the above points, there is a technique described in Patent Document 1, for example. In this prior art, the maximum battery voltage drop amount at the time of the current print process is predicted in advance based on the maximum battery voltage drop amount calculated at the time of the past print process, and whether or not the current print process is possible is determined. I was judging.

JP 2006-159824 A

  However, even with the same battery, the amount of voltage drop during printing may vary depending on the operating environment such as the environmental temperature. For this reason, in the above prior art, if the operating environment at the time of the current printing is significantly different from the past, there is a possibility that the determination as to whether or not the printing process is possible is erroneous. Therefore, if the battery voltage drop exceeds the predicted value, the remaining battery power will be insufficient and printing will be incomplete, or conversely, if the battery voltage drop is much less than expected, the printing process will be sufficient. However, there is room for improvement in that, for example, a warning is given that printing cannot be performed while a large amount of remaining battery power is left.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus capable of using up the remaining power of a battery in an appropriate manner corresponding to the degree of battery consumption even when the operating environment fluctuates.

  In order to achieve the above object, the first invention includes a conveying unit that conveys a printing material, and a printing unit that includes a plurality of heat generating elements that are energized to generate heat. A printing apparatus in which the printing unit performs printing corresponding to print data on a substrate to generate a printed material, and at least one of the plurality of heating elements of the printing unit is set according to the print data. Energizing means for energizing, driving means for controlling driving of the conveying means, a battery accommodating part for accommodating a battery for supplying power to the energizing means and the driving means, and a voltage capable of detecting an output voltage value of the battery A main printing unit that controls the driving unit and the energizing unit in a coordinated manner so as to execute a main printing process in which a detection unit and a main print data for the printed material are printed on the substrate along the transport direction. The drive means and the energization unit are configured to execute a control printing unit and a trial printing process in which trial printing data associated with the main printing data is printed on the substrate before the main printing process is performed. Trial print control means for controlling the means in cooperation, consumption determination means for determining the degree of battery consumption using the output voltage value detected by the voltage detection means during the trial print processing, and the wear determination means Completion determining means for determining whether or not the main print processing of the main print data by the main print control means can be normally completed based on the determined degree of consumption.

  The printing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention includes conveying means, printing means, energizing means for energizing at least one heat generating element of the printing means, driving means for controlling driving of the conveying means, and a battery housing. Desired printing corresponding to the print data is performed on the substrate by the heating element of the printing means. A cylindrical battery is accommodated in the battery accommodating portion, and power is supplied to the energizing means and the driving means by the battery. When a cylindrical battery is used in this way, a plurality of types of batteries may be used as appropriate. In that case, since the power supply characteristics of power differ depending on the type and quality of the battery, it is necessary to perform operation settings according to the battery to be used for smooth operation of the printing apparatus. When the operator manually inputs the battery type each time, the operation burden is troublesome and there is a possibility of erroneous input. Therefore, it is preferable to automatically identify the power supply characteristics on the printing apparatus side.

  Here, in the printing apparatus that operates using a cylindrical battery as a drive source as described above, the output voltage value of the battery changes during the operation of generating one printed matter. That is, when a plurality of heating elements of the printing unit are energized while being conveyed by the conveying unit and printing is performed on the printing material, the load is relatively large at the timing when the number of heating elements energized corresponding to the print data is large. Therefore, when the power is supplied, the output voltage value of the battery temporarily drops greatly (a large amount of voltage drop). Conversely, since the load decreases at a timing when the number of heating elements to be energized is small, the output voltage value of the battery temporarily decreases slightly when the current is energized (small amount of voltage drop). In addition, after the power is turned on, in a standby state in which neither the conveyance unit nor the printing unit is operating, the load is further reduced, so that the output voltage value of the battery is further increased. The change width of the output voltage value varies depending on various factors such as the type and quality of the battery, the operating environment such as the environmental temperature, and the individual difference in the resistance value of each heating element in the printing unit. Then, by repeating the printing process, the degree of battery consumption is advanced, and the output voltage value of the battery at the standby time gradually decreases. Therefore, when printing the desired print data, the degree of battery consumption, including the amount of voltage drop during energization during the execution of the print process, is accurately grasped in advance, and the print process is normally performed based on that. You must determine whether you can complete it.

  Therefore, in the first invention of the present application, the present print control means, trial print control means, consumption determination means, and completion determination means are provided. Specifically, the main print control means executes a main print process for forming a print on the printing material using the desired print data as the main print data. The trial print control means executes trial print processing for printing the trial print data associated with the real print data on the substrate before the real print processing is executed. The consumption determining means determines the degree of battery consumption using the output voltage value detected during the trial printing process. The completion determination unit determines whether or not the main printing process can be normally completed based on the battery consumption level determined by the consumption determination unit.

  As described above, in the printing apparatus of the first invention of the present application, the trial printing process is executed before the main printing process, and the battery consumption level is determined using the output voltage value detected during the trial printing process. The battery consumption level can be accurately determined under the same conditions as before the execution of the printing process. Then, based on the determined degree of consumption, it is possible to determine with high accuracy whether or not the normal print processing scheduled to be executed thereafter can be completed. By performing such a feasibility determination in advance, it is possible to execute only the main printing process that can be normally completed according to the current operating environment and the remaining battery power. As a result, in the first invention of the present application, even when the operating environment fluctuates, the remaining power of the battery can be used up appropriately corresponding to the degree of battery consumption.

  According to the present invention, even when the operating environment fluctuates, the remaining power of the battery can be used up appropriately corresponding to the degree of battery consumption.

It is a perspective view showing the external appearance which looked at the printed label production apparatus from diagonally upward. It is the perspective view showing the external appearance which looked at the printed label production apparatus of the state which open | released the lower cover from diagonally downward direction. 3 is an enlarged plan view schematically showing the internal structure of the cartridge. It is a functional block diagram showing the control system of a printed label production apparatus. It is a conceptual diagram explaining the fluctuation | variation behavior of a battery voltage when producing one printing label. It is a conceptual diagram explaining the fluctuation | variation behavior of a battery voltage when producing a print label also including a trial printing process. It is a flowchart showing the control procedure performed by CPU. It is a flowchart showing the control procedure of trial printing processing. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure of the printing process.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  In the present embodiment, the present invention is applied to a print label producing apparatus 1 as a printing apparatus. The printed label producing apparatus 1 produces a printed label L as a printed matter by cutting a printed label tape on which a desired printing has been performed into a predetermined length.

  First, a schematic configuration of the print label producing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, the front / rear / left / right / up / down directions of the print label producing apparatus 1 refer to the directions shown in FIGS.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the casing 2 of the print label producing apparatus 1 includes a lower cover 15 that forms the lower surface of the apparatus, a lateral cover 16 that forms the side surface of the apparatus, and an upper cover 17 that forms the upper surface of the apparatus. It is comprised by. The upper cover 17 has function keys for executing various functions of the print label producing apparatus 1 such as a keyboard 3 for performing various operations such as character input from the front direction to the rear direction, and a power switch and a print key. A group 4 and a liquid crystal display 5 for displaying input characters and symbols are provided. Further, a cutter lever 7 for cutting the printed label tape 109 (see FIG. 3) printed on the right side of the horizontal cover 16 is provided.

  A cartridge holder 9 to which the cartridge 8 can be attached and detached is provided at the lower rear side of the print label producing apparatus 1. The cartridge holder 9 is covered when the lower cover 15 configured to be openable and closable with the front end portion of the print label producing apparatus 1 as a rotation shaft is closed, and is exposed when the lower cover 15 is opened.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the cartridge 8 includes a casing 8A and a first roll 102 (in fact, a spiral shape, which is disposed in the casing 8A and wound with a band-shaped base tape 101). And a second roll wound with a transparent cover film 103 (printed tape for label) that is substantially the same width as the base tape 101 and that constitutes the printed material of the present embodiment. 104 (actually spiral, but shown simply in a concentric shape in the figure), a ribbon supply side roll 111 for feeding out an ink ribbon 105 (thermal transfer ribbon, but not required when the print-receiving tape is a thermal tape), and printing A ribbon take-up roller 106 for taking up the subsequent ribbon 105 and a tape feed roller 27 rotatably supported in the vicinity of the tape discharge portion of the cartridge 7 are provided.

  The tape feed roller 27 presses and adheres the base tape 101 and the cover film 103 to form the printed label tape 109, and feeds the tape in the direction indicated by the arrow A in FIG. Function).

  The first roll 102 has the base tape 101 wound around a reel member 102a. The base tape 101 has a four-layer structure in this example, and detailed illustration is omitted, but the adhesive layer for bonding made of an appropriate adhesive from the side wound inside to the opposite side, PET A colored base film made of (polyethylene terephthalate) or the like, a sticking adhesive layer made of an appropriate pressure-sensitive adhesive, and release paper are laminated in this order.

  The second roll 104 has the cover film 103 wound around a reel member 104a. The ink ribbon 105 is pressed against and brought into contact with the back surface of the cover film 103 fed out from the second roll 104 by the thermal head 23 (printing means).

  At this time, corresponding to the configuration of the cartridge 8, the cartridge holder 9 has a ribbon take-up shaft 107 for taking up the used ink ribbon 105 and a label tape 109 for printing. A tape feed roller drive shaft 108 (conveying means) for driving the tape feed roller 27 (see FIG. 3 described later) is provided. The cartridge holder 9 is provided with a thermal head 23 for performing desired printing on the cover film 103 so as to be positioned in the opening 14 when the cartridge 8 is mounted.

  The ribbon take-up roller 106 and the tape feed roller 27 are each driven by the ribbon take-up roller drive shaft via a gear mechanism (not shown) driven by a drive motor (see FIG. 4 to be described later), for example, a pulse motor provided outside the cartridge 7. By being transmitted to 107 and the tape feed roller drive shaft 108, they are driven to rotate in conjunction with each other.

  In the above configuration, when the cartridge 7 is mounted on the cartridge holder 6 and the roll holder is moved from the release position to the print position, the cover film 103 and the ink ribbon 105 are attached to the thermal head 23 and the thermal head 23. It is sandwiched between the platen roller 26 provided oppositely. At the same time, the base tape 101 and the cover film 103 are sandwiched between the tape feed roller 27 and the pressure roller 28 provided to face the tape feed roller 27. Then, the ribbon take-up roller 106 and the tape feed roller 27 are rotationally driven in synchronization with directions indicated by arrows B and C in FIG. At this time, the tape feed roller drive shaft 108, the pressure roller 28 and the platen roller 26 are connected by a gear mechanism (not shown), and the tape feed roller 27, The pressure roller 28 and the platen roller 26 rotate, the base tape 101 is fed out from the first roll 102, and is supplied to the tape feed roller 27 as described above. On the other hand, the cover film 103 is fed out from the second roll 104, and a plurality of heating elements provided in the thermal head 23 are energized by a thermal head control circuit (see FIG. 4 described later) to generate heat. At this time, the ink ribbon 105 driven by the ribbon take-up roller 106 is pressed against and brought into contact with the back surface side of the cover film 103 (that is, the side to be bonded to the base tape). . As a result, the print corresponding to the print data of the desired print content is printed on the back surface of the cover film 103. Then, the base tape 101 and the cover film 103 on which the printing has been completed are bonded and integrated by the adhesive layer for bonding by pressing of the tape feeding roller 27 and the pressure roller 28, and the label tape 109 with print is formed. And discharged to the outside of the cartridge 8. The ink ribbon 105 that has finished printing on the cover film 103 is taken up by the ribbon take-up roller 106 by driving the ribbon take-up roller drive shaft 107. A cutting mechanism 42 having a fixed blade 40 and a movable blade 41 is provided on the downstream side of the transport path of the printed label tape 109 discharged out of the cartridge 8. When the cutter lever 7 is operated, the movable blade 41 operates to perform a full cut to cut the entire printed label tape 109, and a printed label L is generated.

  Further, in addition to the cutting mechanism 42, a half cutter 43 for partially cutting the printed label tape in the thickness direction is also provided. The half cutter 43 is operated by operating the cutter lever 7 different from the case of the movable blade 41, for example, the cover film 103, the adhesive layer for bonding, the base film, the adhesive layer for bonding, and the release paper 5 in the above example. Half-cutting is performed to cut all layers other than the release paper, that is, the cover film 103, the adhesive layer for bonding, the base film, and the adhesive layer for pasting, in the layered label tape 109 with print.

  As shown in FIG. 2, on the lower rear side of the print label producing apparatus 1, adjacent to the cartridge holder 9, various kinds of power supply characteristics, such as an alkaline battery or a nickel metal hydride battery, which have the same outer shape and differ. A battery storage section 70 is provided that can store a plurality of cylindrical batteries BT (see FIG. 4 described later). In FIG. 2, reference numeral 60 denotes a DC jack to which an output plug of an AC adapter 220 (see FIG. 4 described later) as an external power source is connected.

  Next, the control system of the print label producing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 4, the print label producing apparatus 1 includes a CPU 212 that constitutes a calculation unit that performs a predetermined calculation.

  The CPU 212 performs signal processing according to a program stored in advance in the ROM 214 while using the temporary storage function of the RAM 213, thereby controlling the entire print label producing apparatus 1.

  The CPU 212 is connected to the AC adapter 220 and performs a power on / off process of the print label producing apparatus 1 and a motor drive circuit 216 (drive) that controls the drive motor 211 that drives the platen roller 26. Means) and a thermal head control circuit 217 (energization means) for controlling energization of the heat generating elements of the thermal head 23.

  At this time, the CPU 212 is provided with an A / D input circuit 219 (voltage detection means) for measuring (detecting) the output voltage value of the battery BT. A battery BT is connected to the A / D input circuit 219.

  Further, the liquid crystal display 5, ROM 214, and RAM 213 are connected to the CPU 212. Further, the ROM 214 determines a control program for executing a procedure such as determination of the consumption status of the battery BT (each procedure shown in FIGS. 7, 8, 9 and the like described later) and a consumption status of the battery BT. For this purpose, a battery week threshold voltage and a consumption determination threshold value (details of which will be described later) are stored.

  In the above basic configuration, the feature of the present embodiment is that the degree of consumption of the battery BT is detected based on the behavior of the output voltage value of the battery BT, thereby determining whether or not normal printing processing can be completed. Hereinafter, the detection method of the present embodiment will be described in order.

<Details of wear determination method>
That is, there are cases where a plurality of types of batteries BT are appropriately exchanged and used in the battery storage unit 70 described above. In that case, since the power supply characteristics of the electric power differ depending on the type and quality of the battery BT, it is necessary to perform an operation setting according to the battery BT to be used for the smooth operation of the print label producing apparatus 1. When the operator manually inputs the type of the battery BT each time, the operation burden is troublesome and there is a possibility of erroneous input. Therefore, it is preferable to automatically distinguish the power feeding characteristics of the battery BT on the printed label producing apparatus 1 side.

  Here, in the print label producing apparatus 1 of this embodiment that operates using the battery BT as a drive source, the output voltage value of the battery BT changes during the operation of generating one print label L. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, in a state where no tape is conveyed by the tape feed roller drive shaft 108 and printing is not performed by the thermal head 23 (standby state), the output voltage of the battery BT is a relatively high standby voltage Vs. When the production of the print label L is started, the tape feed roller drive shaft 108 is first driven to carry the tape such as the cover film 103 (feed state). Due to the transport load, the output voltage of the battery BT slightly decreases to the feed voltage Vf (first output voltage value). In this state, among the print region S set as a region for forming a desired print R (in this example, “ABC”) when the print label L is created, a plurality of heating elements of the thermal head 23 are actually energized to perform printing. It continues during the timing (non-energization timing) at which the thermal head 23 faces the area before the start (front margin).

  When the conveyance further proceeds, the plurality of heating elements of the thermal head 23 are energized (energization timing), and printing of a desired image or character based on the print data is started. In this example, first, the alphabet letter “A” of the text is printed. Thus, the output voltage of the battery BT when the image or character is printed, that is, the printing voltage (second output voltage value) temporarily decreases from the feed voltage Vf corresponding to the character form to be printed. It fluctuates as follows. That is, since the load becomes relatively large at the timing when the number of energized heating elements among the plurality of heating elements arranged along the direction orthogonal to the transport direction (vertical direction in FIG. 5) is large, the printing voltage is It becomes relatively low (for example, see (a) in FIG. 5). On the contrary, since the load is reduced at the timing when the number of heating elements to be energized is small, the voltage at the time of printing becomes relatively high (for example, see (A) in FIG. 5).

  Note that even after starting printing in the printing area S as described above, if you look closely, the area (printing space between characters) after the printing of one text character is completed and the printing of the next adjacent text character is started. ) Is in a non-printing state in which the heat generating elements of the thermal head 23 are not energized. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the thermal head 23 is opposed to the inter-character space between the alphabet characters “A” and “B” and the inter-character space between the alphabet characters “B” and “C” (non- The energization timing) corresponds to this state. At this timing, the output voltage of the battery BT rises again and becomes the feed voltage Vf similar to the timing of the front margin. When the inter-character space is completed and the print timing of the next character by the thermal head 23 is reached, the output voltage of the battery BT again becomes a printing voltage lower than the feed voltage Vf.

  Then, after all the images and characters have been printed (after the printing of the alphabet letter “C” in the above example), the energization of the plurality of heating elements of the thermal head 23 is performed even within the printing region S. Is the region where the printing is not performed and the printing is not performed (rear margin), and during the timing when the thermal head 23 faces the region (non-energization timing), similarly to the above, the output voltage of the battery BT is again the feed voltage Vf. It becomes. This state is continued until the production of the print label L is completed and the tape transport of the cover film 103 and the like by the drive of the tape feed roller drive shaft 108 is completed.

  The change width of the output voltage value as described above (hereinafter referred to as voltage drop amount) is the type and quality of the battery BT, the operating environment such as the environmental temperature, the individual difference in the resistance value of each heating element in the thermal head 23, It varies depending on various factors such as. Among these factors, the environmental temperature factor may change at every opportunity to produce the print label L. In addition, by repeating the printing process, the battery BT is consumed and the standby voltage Vs (or the feed voltage Vf) gradually decreases. Therefore, even when the same print data is printed, the corresponding minimum printing voltage also decreases with time. I will do it.

  On the other hand, the minimum printing voltage required when the heating element is energized during the printing process is fixedly set as the battery weak threshold voltage Vbw (abbreviated as BW threshold voltage Vbw in the drawing). . If the printing voltage is lower than the battery week threshold voltage Vbw, printing abnormality such as fading will occur in the printing when the current is applied. Therefore, when printing the desired print data, the degree of battery BT consumption including the voltage drop during energization during the execution of the print process is accurately grasped in advance, and the print process is normally performed based on that. It is necessary to determine whether or not it can be completed.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, trial printing processing for determining the degree of consumption of the battery BT is performed before printing processing of desired print data. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, a process for forming a print R (in this example, “ABC”) corresponding to desired print data (hereinafter referred to as “main print data”) is referred to as a main print process. Then, a surplus portion Lf located on the front side in the transport direction of the label main body Lr having the printing area S of the main printing process (remains not used when the print label L generated in the previous main printing process is applied). Trial printing processing is performed in (region). The surplus portion Lf and the label main body Lr are connected by the half-cut line HC only through the release paper.

  In the trial printing process, trial printing data associated with the main printing data is printed on the remaining portion Lf. The trial print data in the illustrated example is one straight line BB continuous in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction (vertical direction in FIG. 6), and the length of the print data is that of the thermal head 23 with respect to the main print data in the main print processing. It corresponds to the maximum number of simultaneous energizations that simultaneously energize the heating elements the most. Further, the width of the straight line BB (conveying direction; width in the left-right direction in FIG. 6) is 3 to 5 dots (4 in the illustrated example) of the heating element of the thermal head 23 as shown in the enlarged view of the portion X in the figure. Dot). The voltage at the time of printing the trial print data in this trial printing process is detected as the maximum simultaneous energization voltage Vd, and the voltage difference between the maximum simultaneous energization voltage Vd and the feed voltage Vf is detected as the maximum voltage drop Vf−. Calculated as Vd. Generally, as the battery BT is consumed, the internal resistance of the battery BT increases. Since the increase in the internal resistance leads to an increase in the voltage drop amount, the maximum simultaneous energization voltage Vd and the maximum voltage drop amount Vf−Vd can be used as index values for determining the degree of consumption of the battery BT.

  Thus, the maximum simultaneous energization voltage Vd and the maximum voltage drop amount Vf−Vd detected and calculated during the trial printing process are the same under the same conditions in the printing process scheduled to be executed immediately thereafter (the above-described fluctuations). It can be expected that the values will be almost the same (excluding the influence of the factors). Therefore, the degree of consumption of the battery BT is determined based on the maximum simultaneous energization voltage Vd and the maximum voltage drop amount Vf−Vd detected and calculated in the trial printing process, and based on this, the main printing process executed immediately thereafter is normal. It is possible to accurately determine whether or not it can be completed.

  FIG. 7 shows a print processing procedure executed by the CPU 212 in order to realize the method described above.

  In FIG. 7, for example, the operator appropriately operates the function key group 4 to input print data such as characters and symbols to be printed on the print label L, and further operates the print key provided in the function key group 4. Then, by instructing the production of the print label L, this flow is started.

  First, in step S5, the CPU 212 resets the value of a flag F indicating whether or not the print process can be normally completed to 0.

  Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S10, where the CPU 212 analyzes the inputted main print data, and detects the maximum number D of simultaneous energizations that simultaneously energize the heat generating elements of the thermal head 23 most frequently in the printing process.

  Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S100, and the CPU 212 executes a trial printing process for determining the degree of consumption of the battery BT (see FIG. 8 described later).

  Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S15, and the CPU 212 determines whether or not the value of the flag F has been changed to 1 by the trial printing process. In other words, in the trial printing process, it is determined whether or not the degree of consumption of the battery BT is detected and it is considered that the main printing process cannot be normally completed (F = 1). If the value of the flag at that time is 1, the determination is satisfied (S15: YES), and the routine goes to Step S20. The procedure of step S15 functions as a completion determination procedure described in each claim.

  In step S20, the CPU 212 displays a warning display (described as battery weak display in the drawing) on the liquid crystal display 5 that the battery BT is depleted to some extent. Then, this flow ends.

  On the other hand, in the determination of step S15, if the value of the flag at that time remains 0, the determination is not satisfied (S15: NO), and the process proceeds to step S200.

  In step S200, the CPU 212 performs a main print process for forming the print label L by forming the print of the main print data in the print area S of the label main body Lr (see FIG. 9 described later). Then, this flow ends.

  Next, the detailed procedure of the trial printing process in step S100 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, in step S <b> 105, the CPU 212 outputs a control signal to the motor drive circuit 216 and starts driving the tape feed roller drive shaft 108 and the ribbon take-up roller drive shaft 107 by the drive motor 211. Thereby, the transport of the cover film 103, the base tape 101, and the printed label tape 109 (hereinafter simply referred to as the cover film 103 or the like as appropriate) is started. At this point, the thermal head 23 is positioned on the surplus portion Lf that is a trial printing area such as the cover film 103.

  Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S110, and the CPU 212 detects the output voltage value of the battery BT at this time by the A / D input circuit 219. As described above, at this time, the thermal head 23 is out of the printing area S, and the heating element is not energized and only the tape is transported. Therefore, the output voltage value detected at this time is the feed voltage Vf. Become.

  Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S115, and the CPU 212 determines whether or not the timing at this point is the energization timing of the heating element of the thermal head 23. That is, it is determined whether or not the transport direction position of the cover film 103 with respect to the thermal head 23 is at a position where trial print data is to be printed. If it is not the energization timing, the determination is not satisfied (S115: NO), and the process proceeds to step S145.

  On the other hand, if it is the energization timing, the determination is satisfied (S115: YES), and the routine goes to Step S120.

  In step S120, the CPU 212 outputs a control signal to the thermal head control circuit 217, and energizes the heating elements of the thermal head 23 arranged continuously at the maximum simultaneous energization number D detected in step S10. That is, trial print data of this example corresponding to the maximum simultaneous energization number D (one line BB having a length corresponding to the maximum simultaneous energization number D) is formed by printing.

  Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S125, where the CPU 212 detects the maximum simultaneous energization voltage Vd at this time (energization timing) by the A / D input circuit 219 and stores it in the RAM 213, for example.

  Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S130, and the CPU 212 determines whether or not the maximum simultaneous energization voltage Vd detected in step S125 is lower than the battery weak threshold voltage Vbw that is fixedly set in advance. That is, it is determined whether or not there is a high possibility that a problem such as fading has occurred in the printing of the trial print data in step S120. In other words, it is determined whether or not there is a high possibility that a problem such as fading will occur in printing when the heating element is energized at the maximum number of simultaneous energizations D in the main printing process scheduled to be executed thereafter. The battery week threshold voltage Vbw is stored in the ROM 214 in advance. If the maximum simultaneous energization voltage Vd is lower than the battery weak threshold voltage Vbw, the determination is satisfied (S130: YES), and the routine goes to Step S135.

  In step S135, the CPU 212 substitutes 1 for the value of the flag F. Then, the process proceeds to step S145.

  On the other hand, if the maximum simultaneous energization voltage Vd is equal to or higher than the battery weak threshold voltage Vbw in the determination in step S130, the determination is not satisfied (S130: NO), and the process proceeds to step S140.

  In step S140, the CPU 212 determines whether the maximum voltage drop amount Vf−Vd, which is the voltage difference between the maximum simultaneous energization voltage Vd and the feed voltage Vf, is equal to or greater than a predetermined wear determination threshold value Vth. Determine whether or not. That is, it is determined whether or not the power supply capability is sufficient as the consumption progresses. The wear determination threshold value Vth is stored in the ROM 214 in advance. If the maximum voltage drop amount Vf−Vd is equal to or greater than the wear determination threshold value Vth, the determination is satisfied (S140: YES; power supply capacity is insufficient), and the process proceeds to step S135 (1 is substituted for the value of the flag F). To do).

  On the other hand, if the maximum voltage drop amount Vf−Vd is less than the wear determination threshold value Vth, the determination is not satisfied (S140: NO), and the routine goes to Step S145. In addition, the procedure of the said step S130-step S140 functions as a consumption determination means as described in each claim.

  Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S145, and the CPU 212 determines whether or not the transported cover film 103 or the like has been transported to the end position of the surplus portion Lf that is the trial printing area (the transport direction position where the thermal head 23 faces the rear end of the surplus portion Lf). It is determined whether or not the cover film 103 or the like has been conveyed until. If the cover film 103 or the like is not conveyed to the end position of the trial printing area, the determination is not satisfied (S145: NO), and the process returns to step S115 and the same procedure is repeated.

  On the other hand, when the cover film 103 or the like is conveyed to the end position of the trial printing area, the determination is satisfied (S145: YES), and the process proceeds to step S150.

  In step S150, the CPU 212 outputs a control signal to the motor drive circuit 216, and stops driving the tape feed roller drive shaft 108 and the ribbon take-up roller drive shaft 107 by the drive motor 211. Thereby, conveyance of the cover film 103, the base tape 101, and the printed label tape 109 is stopped.

  Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S155, and the CPU 212 displays on the liquid crystal display 5 so as to prompt the operator to operate the cutter lever 7 and operate the half cutter 43 to half-cut the printed label tape 109. Then, this flow ends.

  By executing the above trial printing process, the degree of consumption of the battery BT in the operating environment at that time is determined, and the value of the flag F indicates whether or not the printing process scheduled to be performed thereafter can be normally completed. (0 can be completed, 1 cannot be completed). For example, when the maximum simultaneous energization voltage Vd is lower than the battery weak threshold voltage Vbw, it is determined that the standby voltage Vs has decreased so that the present printing process cannot be normally completed. In addition, the maximum voltage drop amount Vf−Vd increases with the progress of the consumption level of the battery BT. Therefore, when the maximum voltage drop amount Vf−Vd is less than the wear determination threshold value Vth, the print processing is performed. It is determined that the battery BT is exhausted to the extent that it cannot be normally completed. The wear determination threshold value Vth is a value corresponding to the maximum number D of simultaneous energizations. In this way, the degree of consumption of the battery BT can be determined based on the maximum simultaneous energization voltage Vd and the maximum voltage drop amount Vf−Vd. The control procedure of step S100 described above functions as trial print control means described in each claim.

  Next, the detailed procedure of the main printing process in step S200 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, in step S205, the CPU 212 starts conveying the cover film 103 and the like under the same control as in step S105.

  Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S210, and the CPU 212 determines whether the timing at this point is the energization timing of the heating element of the thermal head 23, based on the print data. That is, it is determined whether or not the position in the transport direction of the cover film 103 with respect to the thermal head 23 is a position in the print area S where the print data is to be printed. If it is not the energization timing, the determination is not satisfied (S210: NO), and the process proceeds to step S220.

  On the other hand, if it is the energization timing, the determination is satisfied (S210: YES), and the process proceeds to step S215.

  In step S 215, the CPU 212 outputs a control signal to the thermal head control circuit 217, and energizes the heat generating elements with the number and arrangement of simultaneous energization of the print data corresponding to the position in the transport direction of the cover film 103 relative to the thermal head 23 at that time. To do. As a result, the ink of the ink ribbon 105 is transferred to the cover film 103 by the energized heating element, and a corresponding print is formed.

  Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S220, and the CPU 212 determines whether or not the transported cover film 103 or the like has been transported to the end position of the print area S (until the thermal head 23 is in the transport direction position facing the rear end of the print area S). Whether or not 103 or the like has been conveyed). If the cover film 103 or the like has not been conveyed to the end position of the printing area S, the determination is not satisfied (S220: NO), and the process returns to step S210 and the same procedure is repeated.

  On the other hand, when the cover film 103 or the like is conveyed to the end position of the printing area S, the determination is satisfied (S220: YES), and the process proceeds to step S225.

  In step S225, the CPU 212 stops the conveyance of the cover film 103, the base tape 101, and the printed label tape 109 by the same control as in step S150.

  Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S230, and the CPU 212 displays on the liquid crystal display 5 so as to prompt the operator to operate the cutter lever 7 to operate the cutting mechanism 42 and to fully cut the printed label tape 109. Then, this flow ends. The control procedure in step S200 described above functions as the main print control means described in each claim.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the trial printing process is executed before the main printing process, and the output voltage value detected during the trial printing process is used to determine the degree of consumption of the battery BT. The degree of consumption of the battery BT can be accurately determined under the same conditions as before the execution of the process. Then, based on the determined degree of consumption, it is possible to determine with high accuracy whether or not the normal print processing scheduled to be executed thereafter can be completed. By making such a feasibility determination in advance, it is possible to execute only the main print processing that can be normally completed according to the operating environment at that time and the remaining power of the battery BT. As a result, in the present embodiment, even when the operating environment fluctuates, it is possible to use up the remaining power of the battery BT appropriately corresponding to the degree of consumption of the battery BT.

  In the present embodiment, in particular, the degree of consumption of the battery BT is determined based on a voltage drop amount that is a voltage difference between the feed voltage Vf detected in the tape conveyance state during the trial printing process and the printing voltage. As a result, it is possible to determine the degree of consumption of the battery BT under the same conditions as those of the main print process scheduled to be executed thereafter.

  Particularly in the present embodiment, the trial print data has a content corresponding to the maximum simultaneous energization number D in which the thermal head control circuit 217 energizes the heat generating elements of the thermal head 23 at the same time with respect to the main print data in the main print processing. Print data. As a result, the maximum simultaneous energization voltage Vd can be detected during the trial printing process as well as the energization voltage at the timing when the load is the largest in the main printing process. It is possible to determine whether or not normal completion is possible.

  Particularly in the present embodiment, the trial print data is the arrangement in which the thermal head control circuit 217 continuously connects the plurality of heating elements in the thermal head 23 at the maximum simultaneous energization number D (an arrangement in which the thermal head control circuit 217 is connected without being divided in the middle). The single line BB is energized. Thereby, the maximum simultaneous energization voltage Vd can be simply detected without wastefully consuming the power of the battery BT. Note that the trial print data is not limited to the continuous single line BB, but may be a dotted line or a broken line that energizes the heating element by the same maximum simultaneous energization number D. In addition, when the power consumption of the battery BT can be allowed, a plurality of lines having the same length may be printed in the tape transport direction.

  Furthermore, although the case where the present invention is applied to the print label producing apparatus 1 as an example of the printing apparatus has been described above, other normal printing paper (printed material) such as A4, A3, B4, and B5 sizes is also available. The present invention may be applied to a printing apparatus that forms an image or prints characters. In this case, the same effect is obtained.

  In addition, in the above description, when there are descriptions such as “vertical”, “parallel”, and “plane”, the descriptions are not strict. That is, the terms “vertical”, “parallel”, and “plane” are acceptable in design and manufacturing tolerances and errors, and mean “substantially vertical”, “substantially parallel”, and “substantially plane”. .

In addition, in the above description, when there are descriptions such as “same”, “equal”, “different”, etc., in terms of external dimensions and sizes, the descriptions are not strict. That is, the terms “identical”, “equal”, and “different” mean that “tolerance and error in manufacturing are allowed in design and that they are“ substantially identical ”,“ substantially equal ”, and“ substantially different ”. .
However, if there is a description of a value that becomes a predetermined judgment criterion or a value that becomes a delimiter, such as a threshold value or a reference value, for example, “same”, “equal”, “different”, etc. It is different and has a precise meaning.

  In addition, in the above, the arrow shown in each figure of FIG. 4 etc. shows an example of the flow of a signal, and does not limit the flow direction of a signal.

  The flowcharts shown in FIG. 7, FIG. 8, FIG. 9 and the like do not limit the present invention to the procedure shown in the above flow, and the addition / deletion or order of the procedures within the scope of the gist and technical idea of the invention. May be changed.

  In addition to those already described above, the methods according to the above-described embodiments and modifications may be used in appropriate combination.

  In addition, although not illustrated one by one, the present invention is implemented with various modifications within a range not departing from the gist thereof.

1 Print label production device (printing device)
23 Thermal head (printing means)
70 Battery compartment 108 Tape feed roller drive shaft (conveying means)
216 Motor drive circuit (drive means)
217 Thermal head control circuit (energization means)
219 A / D input circuit (voltage detection means)
BT battery L Print label (printed matter)
BB 1 line (trial print data)

Claims (5)

A conveying means for conveying the substrate;
Printing means comprising a plurality of heating elements that generate heat when energized;
A printing apparatus for generating a printed matter by performing printing corresponding to print data on the substrate to be conveyed conveyed by the conveying unit.
Energization means for energizing at least one of the plurality of heating elements of the printing means according to the print data;
Driving means for controlling the driving of the conveying means;
A battery storage section for storing a battery for supplying power to the energization means and the drive means;
Voltage detection means capable of detecting an output voltage value of the battery;
A main print control means for controlling the drive means and the energization means in cooperation so as to execute a main print process for forming the main print data for the printed material along the transport direction on the printing material;
Before the main printing process is executed, the driving means and the energizing means are linked so as to execute a trial printing process for forming the trial print data associated with the main print data on the printed material. Trial printing control means for controlling
Consumption determination means for determining the degree of battery consumption using the output voltage value detected by the voltage detection means during the trial printing process;
A completion determination unit that determines whether or not the main print processing of the main print data by the main print control unit can be normally completed based on the consumption level determined by the consumption determination unit;
A printing apparatus comprising: The printing apparatus according to claim 1.
The consumption determining means includes
In the state where the transport by the transport unit is performed during the trial printing process,
A first output voltage value detected by the voltage detection means at a non-energization timing at which the heating element is not energized by the energization means;
A second output voltage value detected by the voltage detection means at an energization timing at which the heating element is energized by the energization means;
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the battery consumption level is determined based on a voltage difference between the second output voltage value and the first output voltage value. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein
The trial print data is
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the energization unit is print data having a content corresponding to a maximum number of simultaneous energizations that simultaneously energize the plurality of heating elements with respect to the main print data in the main print process. The printing apparatus according to claim 3.
The trial print data is
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the energization unit includes a single line that energizes the plurality of heating elements in the printing unit in a continuous arrangement at the maximum number of simultaneous energizations. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The conveying means is
Conveying the label printing tape as the substrate,
The printing means includes
A printing apparatus, wherein desired printing is performed on the label printing tape transported by the transporting means to create a print label as the printed matter.

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