JP2608438B2 - Pen recording device having recording pen detection device - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a pen recording device having a recording pen detecting device, and more particularly to a recording device having a recording pen detecting device and automatically exchanging recording pens.

(Prior art) Conventionally, in the field of automatic drafting and measurement such as CAD, in order to change the writing line width and multicolor, the recording pen which is one of the recording means is automatically exchanged according to the instruction of the host machine. A recording device that performs this operation has been put to practical use.

Generally, this type of recording apparatus is provided with a pen storage unit that stores a plurality of recording pens at predetermined positions, and a pen holding unit configured to freely scan on a recording medium selects and takes out a desired recording pen. It is like.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) An operator who handles the recording device manually attaches the recording pen to the pen storage section prior to use of the recording device, but sometimes attaches the recording pen to a device in which the attachment method is uncertain. Operation may be started. In such a case, the recording pen automatic exchange function of the recording device may be impaired. Also, in some cases, when the recording apparatus was used last time, the power of the apparatus may be shut off in the middle of the recording pen replacement operation by the pen holding unit, and in this case, the power of the apparatus is newly turned on thereafter. However, the remaining replacement work cannot be continued, which causes inconvenience in the replacement management of the recording pen thereafter.

In order to solve such a problem, the function of recognizing whether or not the pen holding unit holds the recording pen when the recording apparatus is turned on and in the step of exchanging the recording pen operation is performed inexpensively and reliably. It is necessary to have.

Generally, this kind of recording apparatus has a plurality of recording pens 2 stored in a pen stocker 1 as shown in FIG.
Is connected to a motor (not shown) and is configured to be rotatable, and is capable of rotating and moving the recording pen 2 to be replaced to a replacement position.

On the other hand, the pen carriage 4 provided with the pen holder 3 is moved on the guide shaft 5 (Y axis) by a dedicated drive motor (not shown) via transmission means (not shown) such as a steel wire or a timing belt. Further, the recording medium 8 sandwiched between the pair of left and right pinch rollers 6 and the drive roller 7 moves in a predetermined range in the X-axis direction by rotation of a dedicated drive motor (not shown) connected to the drive roller 7.

Further, the pen carriage 4 includes drive control means (not shown) for raising and lowering the held recording pen 2 in a direction (Z axis) substantially perpendicular to the XY plane. By appropriately combining the movements of the axis and the Z axis, a visual image can be formed on the recording medium 8 by the recording pen 2. The method of moving the recording medium 8 has been described above as a method of forming the X axis. However, the recording medium 8 is fixed, and the guide shaft 5 is moved in both directions perpendicular to the Y axis to form the X axis. The same function can be obtained even if this is done.
Further, the configuration of the pen stocker 1 is not limited to the rotary type, and
Depending on the configuration of the shaft, a stall type in which the recording pens 2 are arranged in a line may be used.

In a conventional recording apparatus, as shown in FIG. 6, a pen carriage 4 moving on a guide shaft 5 takes out a desired recording pen 2 from a pen stocker 1, and is constituted by a light emitting element 10 and a light receiving element 11 at a predetermined position. The recording pen presence / absence detecting means checks whether or not the pen holder 3 is currently holding the recording pen. That is, for example, the pen holder 3
Holds the recording pen 2, the light beam 12 generated from the light emitting element 10 is blocked by the recording pen 2, and when the light receiving element 11 is in the inactive state and the pen holder 3 does not hold the recording pen 2, The light beam 12 passes through the recording pen 2 without being interrupted, and the light receiving element 11 is activated. Therefore, the light receiving element
If the output of 11 is appropriately binarized, it can be recognized whether or not the pen holder 3 holds the recording pen 2.

However, such an optical detection means is expensive because the light emitting element 10 is required to have high directivity, and erroneous recognition occurs on the light receiving element 11 side due to disturbances such as sun rays or light rays caused by indoor lighting. Furthermore, in order to eliminate the influence of disturbance, the control circuit of the light emitting element 10 and the signal processing circuit of the light receiving element 11 become complicated, resulting in an expensive device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a multi-pen type recording apparatus which has an inexpensive and highly reliable recording pen holding state recognizing function by improving the drawbacks of the prior art.

(Means for Solving the Problems) A pen recording device having a recording pen detection device according to the present invention comprises:
A pen stocker equipped with a plurality of recording pens having a step formed at a lower portion by different diameter portions, a pen holder movable in a predetermined range and taking out and holding a recording pen selected from the pen stocker by an external command, and raising and lowering the pen holder A mechanism, a detecting means for detecting an elevation position of the pen holder, and a pen-down restraining element provided at an arbitrary parking point and abutting against the lower surface of the step of the recording pen to prevent the recording pen from descending. The lowering position of the pen holder when the pen holder is lowered is detected by the detecting means, and the pen holding state of the pen holder can be detected based on the lowering position.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In general, the recording pen 2 has a different writing pressure depending on the type of pen, for example, a fiber, a ball point, and the like. In addition, the writing pen 2 is used for the purpose of reducing the noise generated when the pen tip comes into contact with the recording medium on the recording surface and extending the life of the pen tip. In order to realize pressure control and soft landing of the pen tip, as shown in FIG. 1, an elevating mechanism 13 of the pen holder 3 of the recording apparatus includes a voice coil motor 14 integrated with the pen holder 3 and a position detector 15.
And a voice coil motor 14
Are driven by position control and speed control.

The lifting mechanism 13 of the pen holder 3 generates a thrust according to Fleming's left-hand rule according to the current value and the direction of current flowing through the coil 17 wound on the coil bobbin 16.
The recording pen 2 held in the pen holder 3 is lowered via the pen up-and-down arm 9 by applying a current in a predetermined direction to the recording pen 2.

 18 is a permanent magnet and 19 is a pen-up spring.

At this time, a light emitting element 20 and a light receiving element 21 as shown in FIG.
When the position detector 15 is formed using an optical encoder composed of an index plate 22 inserted in these optical paths and a slit plate 23 fixed to the pen vertical arm 9, the position detector 15 is located at the lower position of the coil bobbin 16. As shown in FIG. 2, the lowering position of the coil bobbin 16 can be known by managing this position pulse by the microprocessor 24 mounted on the control circuit as shown in FIG.
As a result, the descending position of the recording pen 2 held by the pen holder 3 integrated with the coil bobbin 16 can be known.

On the other hand, the recording pen 2 held by the pen holder 3 generally has a shaft 27 having a smaller diameter than the pen body 26 as shown in FIG. 3 so that a pen cap can be attached to prevent the ink of the pen tip 25 from drying.

In the present invention, a predetermined parking point is set as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, and the pen holder 3 is moved by the pen carriage 4 to the parking point so that the pen lowering operation can be performed. A pen down restraint block 28 having a predetermined height, for example, height H, is fixed to a point, and the upper end of the pen down restraint block 28 is positioned on the lower surface of the pen body 26 between the pen body 26 and its small-diameter shaft 27 when the pen is lowered. , The pen lowering operation is stopped halfway, and this stop is detected by the position detector 15 so that it is detected that the recording pen 2 is held by the pen holder 3.

Since the apparatus of the present invention is configured as described above, if the recording pen 2 is not held by the pen holder 3, the pen holder 3 is not restrained by the pen down restraint block 28 and reaches a lower limit determined by the configuration of the pen lifting mechanism 13. Pen holder 3
The lower limit is a known value and the position detector
With the position pulse generated from 15, the state without the recording pen can be recognized.

After the recording pen holding state is inspected at the parking point, when the desired recording pen holding is confirmed, the pen carriage 4 is moved into the drawing area to start drawing. If it is confirmed that the recording pen is not held, a predetermined error process is performed. After the above-described inspection is performed when the power of the apparatus is turned on, if the holding of the recording pen is confirmed, the empty state of the pen stocker 1 is checked by the pen stocker empty state detecting means (not shown), and the pen stocker 1 is stored. If there is no free space in 1, a predetermined error process is performed. If it is confirmed that the recording pen is not held when the power is turned on, the drawing command can be received.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, a simple pen-down restraining block is provided at a parking point without providing a pen detecting mechanism, and the pen holder is lowered at the parking point. Since the detection is performed by the pen-down position detector provided, it is possible to realize a low-cost and highly reliable recording apparatus having a function of recognizing the recording pen holding state of the pen holder.

The pen-down restraining block can obtain the same function even when a part of the recording surface component is integrally formed by press working or the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 is an explanatory view of a pen lifting mechanism, FIG. 2 is a control block diagram thereof, FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of a pen down restraint state in the present invention, FIG. 4 is a plan view of the apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of the pen detecting device. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Pen stocker, 2 ... Recording pen, 3 ... Pen holder, 4 ... Pen carriage, 5 ... Guide shaft, 6 ...
... pinch roller, 7 ... drive roller, 8 ... recording medium,
9 Pen vertical arm, 20, 20 Light emitting device, 11, 21
Light-emitting element, 12 ... Light beam, 13 ... Elevating mechanism, 14 ... Voice coil motor, 15 ... Position detector, 16 ... Coil bobbin, 17 ... Coil, 18 ... Permanent magnet, 19 ... Pen-up spring , 22 ... Index plate, 23 ... Slit plate, 24 ... Microprocessor, 25 ... Pen chip, 26
…… Pen body, 27 …… Small diameter shaft, 28 …… Pen down restraint block.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A pen stocker equipped with a plurality of recording pens each having a step formed underneath by a different diameter portion,
A pen holder which is movable in a predetermined range and takes out and holds a selected recording pen from the pen stocker by an external command, an elevating mechanism of the pen holder, a detecting means for detecting an elevating position of the pen holder, and an arbitrary parking point. A pen-down restraining element that abuts on the stepped lower surface of the recording pen to prevent the recording pen from descending, and the detecting unit detects the lowered position of the pen holder when the pen holder is lowered at the parking point. A pen recording device having a recording pen detecting device, wherein a pen holding state of the pen holder can be detected based on a lowered position.