JP2546372B2 - Serial printer - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a serial printer, and more particularly to a serial printer that can commonly use one type of circuit unit.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, there are various widths of such serial printers due to the sheets used. In this case, it is widely practiced to design by changing only the lateral width of the mechanism section and use a substantially common circuit section. However, if the circuit section does not have information about the lateral width of the mechanism section, the head collides with the right end when data is erroneously sent, and the head position shifts. Also, when more than one line of data is sent, functions such as automatic revision cannot be performed. Therefore,
Conventionally, a dip switch or the like is provided in this type of circuit unit, and the width of the mechanism unit in which the circuit unit is used is preset.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

The above-described conventional serial printer has a drawback that it is expensive due to the dip switch and the like, and a drawback that management cost is high because the circuit parts are not completely common.

An object of the present invention is to provide a serial printer in which the circuit section is commonly used for various lateral width mechanism sections to reduce the cost and facilitate management.

[Means for solving the problem]

The serial printer of the present invention is a serial printer in which the print head moves in the horizontal direction with respect to the paper for printing, and has sensors for detecting that the print head has reached its position at both ends in the horizontal direction. When the power is turned on, first, the print head is moved to the sensor side at one end, the sensor is stopped when the sensor is detected, and the movement is counted from that point in the opposite direction until the sensor at the other end is detected. The lateral width of the mechanism section is determined and stored based on the count amount.

〔Example〕

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a serial printer showing an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, a platen 3 is held between the left and right frames 1 and 2. The paper is wound around the platen 3 at the time of printing, and the platen 3 is rotated by a drive source (not shown) to determine the vertical position of the paper. Further, the platen 3 serves as a sheet receiving portion when printing is performed by the head portion 4. This head part 4 is composed of frames 1 and 2
It is suspended on guide shafts 5 and 6 fixed in between and slides in the left-right direction. A pulley 8 is fixed to the shaft of the head-feeding step motor 7, and a belt 9 is engaged with the pulley 8. Belt 9
Is partially fixed to a part of the head unit 4, so that the horizontal position of the head unit 4 can be determined by rotating the step motor 7. A thermal transfer print head 10, an ink ribbon 11, a ribbon motor (not shown), a print head pressing / releasing mechanism, a slide unit, and the like are formed on the head unit 4, and printing is performed by a known technique. Further, a micro switch 12 is fixed to the left frame 1, and when the head unit 4 reaches the left end, a part of the head unit 4 pushes the feeler of the micro switch 12 to turn on the switch 12. That is, it works as a position sensor. Similarly, the micro switch 13 is fixed to the right frame 2.

On the other hand, the circuit section 14 is placed behind the above-mentioned mechanism section, receives signals from the upper position, and receives the platen rotation motor, head feed motor, head drive, head pressing / releasing, ribbon motor, and micro motor. It controls the output etc. of the switch. Although the wiring is not shown, the circuit portion 14 and each motor are naturally connected.

 Next, the operation of the printer described above will be described.

First, the step motor 7 is driven so that the head unit 4 moves toward the switch 12. Switch this action
By repeating until the output of 12 is turned on, the head part 4 comes to the left end. However, if the output of the switch 12 is immediately turned on when the power is turned on, the head unit 4 is once moved slightly to the right, and then the above operation is performed.

Next, in order to move the head unit 4 to the right, the step motor 7 is operated, and the amount of operation is counted. If this is repeated until the micro switch 13 is turned on, the lateral width of the mechanical section can be known from the amount of this count. Since it is disadvantageous in terms of life to operate the micro switch 12 or 13 for each line during actual printing, the physical movement amount, that is, the movement amount between the switches 12 and 13 is determined by the number of digits of the printer. It is desirable to keep a little more than that and not to use both end portions in actual printing.

For example, if the count value is for 85 digits, it is determined that this mechanical unit is for 80 digits, and the value is stored.

Therefore, since the lateral width of the mechanism portion can be known by both the left and right sensors, the circuit portion 14 can be made of one type.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, the serial printer of the present invention has the sensor at the left end of the head operating range, and the right end impedes the operation of the head by a certain amount or more and the driving system for horizontal operation of the head has a certain amount or more. It has a sensor that makes the drive source and the head part misalign when force is applied, and when the power is turned on, it first moves to the left end and then to the right to move a certain amount, and then moves to the left again. Then, by counting the amount of movement at that time, the lateral width of the mechanical section can be known. Therefore, the mechanical sections having different lateral widths can be commonly used by one type of circuit section, which is low cost and easy to manage. There is an effect that can be.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a schematic mechanism of a serial printer showing an embodiment of the present invention. 1 ... Left frame, 2 ... Right frame, 3 ... Platen, 4 ... Head section, 5,6 ... Guide shaft, 7 ... Step motor, 8 ... Pulley, 9 ... Belt, 10 ... Printing Head, 11 ... Ink ribbon, 12 ... Micro switch, 13 ... Micro switch, 14 ... Circuit part.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A serial printer which prints by moving a print head in a horizontal direction with respect to a sheet, has sensors at both ends of the horizontal direction for detecting that the print head has reached its position, and has a power source. When turned on, first move the print head to the sensor side at one end, stop when the sensor is detected, move from that point in the opposite direction until the sensor at the other end is detected, and count the amount. A serial printer characterized in that the width of the mechanical section is determined and stored by the.