JP2655625B2 - Thermal printer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An engine such as a paper feed mechanism including a feed motor and a feed roller, a thermal head and a paper cut mechanism arranged in a line in a direction perpendicular to the paper transport direction, and the like. A so-called thermal printer that prints on a paper with a thermal head is widely used.
For example, ECR as a terminal device of POS system
When the printer is adopted as a printing device, the print data is transmitted from a host computer as a host device, and the thermal printer temporarily stores the transmitted data and controls the drive in a timely manner by linking the above mechanisms with the thermal head. To print. The print target generally has a receipt to be handed to the customer and a journal as a copy of the store.

One of the features of such a thermal printer is that
The printing speed is high because the printing is performed in the width direction of the paper, that is, all digits are collectively printed. However, in the line direction, one character is often printed in two stages, for example, upper side and lower side. By the way, in the conventional thermal printer, if there is an error such as a receipt paper end, a journal paper jam, a home position error of the cutter, etc., the printing is stopped, and the recovery processing method is uniquely determined regardless of the error cause. I have. For example, as a conventional recovery processing method, a method of continuing a printing state at the time of stopping a printer after an error recovery and continuing the next printing operation is typical.

That is, as shown in FIG. 8A, in the case where "ABC... HIJ" is printed on the receipt paper P in the two-stage method as shown in FIG. In this case, the printing is continued from below after the error recovery. As described above, if the recovery processing method is the only one, in the case of the printing continuation method after the above error recovery, the feed motor including the inertia of the paper feed mechanism is required until the paper completely stops in response to the printer stop command. Considerable coasting occurs due to braking characteristics and the like. Therefore, when the printer is stopped at the position (line spacing) X3 in FIG. 9, there is not much problem, but the position X in FIG.
If it stops at 1, a space is created between the upper side and the lower side of one character, resulting in poor print quality. In the case of creating a receipt like a receipt, it has no practical value.

In order to solve such a problem, a thermal printer having a receipt reissuing function has been proposed. According to this, according to the receipt re-issuing function, a receipt for normal printing shown in FIG.

[0006]

However, at present, where not only printing quality but also printer downsizing, high-speed operation, and resource saving are more strongly required, it is difficult to allow the above-mentioned receipt reissue function to be easily developed. ing. That is, when the printer is stopped at the position X1 in FIG. 8B, there is a considerable distance between the thermal head and the cutter due to the mechanical configuration of the printer. In this case, the sheet P must be fed, and thus the sheet P is wasted, in addition to deteriorating the operation speed.

[0007] Further, as shown in FIG.
If the printer is stopped at 29 lines (position X1) in the receipt for printing 0 lines, in addition to the above-mentioned problem, 1 again
Reprinting must be performed from the line (position X4), resulting in a significant reduction in work speed. In particular, in the case of a thermal printer having a receipt delivery function, it is necessary to store print data transmitted from the host computer for a predetermined period in order to realize the reissue function, which results in an increase in storage capacity and cost. Invite.

On the other hand, when considering a journal, unlike a receipt, it is not issued to a customer. Therefore, the print characters on the journal are usually small and the line pitch is narrow, so that resources are saved and the printer is downsized. FIG.
In the case of (C), if there is a print corresponding to reissue, it is left as a record as it is, so that the complexity is increased in the use stage and it is difficult to make an accurate evaluation.

[0009] Regarding this problem, no matter what recovery processing method is adopted, another unique problem arises as long as it is the only method.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a thermal printer capable of automatically performing an optimum recovery process according to the cause of an error and its operation state.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a thermal printer having a thermal head arranged in a line in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction. State detecting means for detecting an operation state at the time, storage means for storing a plurality of recovery processing methods corresponding to an error cause and an operation state, and correspondence based on detection signals from the error detection means and the state detection means. The thermal printer includes a recovery processing method selection unit that reads a recovery processing method, and a recovery control unit that controls driving of an engine necessary to execute the selected recovery processing method.

[0012]

According to the present invention, when a certain error occurs, the error detecting means automatically detects the cause of the error, and at the same time, the state detecting means operates at the time of the error occurrence (for example, during printing, paper feeding, paper cutting). Is automatically detected.
Then, the recovery processing method selection means reads and selects the recovery processing method corresponding to the automatically detected error cause and state from the storage means. Here, the recovery control means drives and controls an engine necessary to execute the selected recovery processing method. Therefore, by preliminarily storing in the storage means the recovery processing method that is optimal for the cause of the error and the operating state at the time of the occurrence of the error, it is possible to satisfy both the work speedup and the resource saving.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. This thermal printer is configured as shown in FIG. 1 and includes an error detection unit, a state detection unit, a storage unit, a recovery processing method selection unit, and a recovery control unit in addition to the normal print processing function. It is configured to automatically select and execute a recovery process optimal for the operating state at the time. The POS including the host computer 1 is a thermal printer in this embodiment.
Used for ECR (Electronic Cash Register) as a terminal device of the system.

The outline of the host computer 1 and the ECR will now be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1, EC
The R control unit 10 includes a CPU 11, a ROM 12, a RAM 1,
The control unit 10 includes a thermal head 31 (data transfer circuit 30), a roll feed motor 33 (driver 32), a journal feed motor, and a CG (character generator) 14, a shared RAM 15, and an interface (INT) 16. 35 (Driver 3
4) etc. are connected. However, FIG. 1 does not show a keyboard, a drawer, a display unit, and the like.

On the other hand, the host computer 1 has a CPU
2, ECR control unit 10 including ROM3, RAM4, etc.
The product data and the like are transmitted to and the sales results are received. Here, in this embodiment, the error detection means, the state detection means, and the recovery control means are ECR
The (10) side, that is, the thermal printer side, and the storage means and the recovery processing method selecting means are provided on the host computer 1 side. Of course, all (error detection means, state detection means, storage means, recovery processing method selection means, control means) can be implemented as a configuration provided on the thermal printer side.

The error detecting means automatically detects various error causes such as the receipt paper end of the thermal printer shown in FIG. 1 and includes a limit switch 20 connected to the interface 16. Each error cause is temporarily stored in the RAM 13 as shown in FIG. On the other hand, the state detection means is means for automatically detecting the operation state of the thermal printer itself when an error occurs,
In this embodiment, the CPU 11 is used, and the detection operation state is also R.
Stored in AM13. The operation state is roughly classified into whether or not the printing operation is being performed as shown in ST11, ST13, ST16, ST18 in FIG. 4, and the details are shown in FIG. 2B.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the storage means is a means for storing recovery processing methods R1 to R7 (for example, "R1 processing" is continued after error recovery). Is stored in association with In this embodiment, R of the host computer 1
AM4. It may be formed from the ROM 3.

Note that the recovery processing R2, R3,
The long receipt of R6 and R7 means that the sheet is fed by a length considerably longer than the line spacing. Further, the CPU 2 and the ROM 3 of the host computer 1 constitute recovery processing method selecting means for reading a corresponding recovery processing method based on detection signals from the error detecting means (20) and the state detecting means (11). This detection signal is transmitted through the shared RAM 15 of the control unit 10. On the other hand, the selected recovery processing method is also configured to be transmitted to the control unit 10 via the shared RAM 15.

Next, the recovery control means controls the driving of the engines necessary for implementing the selected recovery processing method in a timely and mutually related manner. In this embodiment, the recovery control means is shown in FIGS. RO for storing programs
M12 and a CPU 11 that executes the M12.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described mainly with reference to FIGS.
This will be described with reference to FIG. When an error cause is detected by a limit switch 20 or the like as an error detecting means, the error cause is stored in the RAM 13 as shown in FIG. At the same time, the CPU 11 as the state detecting means detects the operation state at the time of occurrence of the error and stores it in the RAM 13 as shown in FIG.

That is, in FIG. 4, an error occurs (S
If T10 is YES), the operation status such as whether or not printing is being performed is determined in ST11, 16, and 18, and an error status [FIG. 2B] is set (ST12, 1).
7, 19). If printing is being performed, it is determined in step ST13 whether or not the line is between lines. If the line is between lines, the process proceeds to step ST15 via the line spacing set in step ST14. On the other hand, if the paper is being fed, the process proceeds to ST16 and ST17. If the paper is being cut, the process proceeds to ST20 via ST18 and ST19.

In ST20, error analysis is performed with reference to the error status set as described above, and an error status factor corresponding to the recovery processing (R1 to R7) in FIG. 3 is set (ST21). This error status factor, that is, the error detecting means (20) and the state detecting means (1)
The detection signal detected in 1) is transmitted to the host computer 1 (ST22). These series of operations are performed by the CPU
11, ROM 12, RAM 13, shared RAM 15
It is executed in cooperation with

Thus, the recovery processing method selecting means (2, 3) on the host computer 1 side stores the storage means (1).
The recovery processing method corresponding to the detection signal received in cooperation with 4) is selected from those shown in FIG.
Send to 0.

Here, the CPU 11 of the control unit 10 and the ROM
If YES is determined in ST23 in FIG. 5 subsequent to ST22 in FIG. 4, the recovery control unit 12 controls the drive of the engine to execute the selected recovery processing method (ST24 to ST35 in FIG. 5, ST36, 3 in FIG.
7).

That is, in the case of the R1 process (ST24)
If YES, the printing is continued based on the previously stored print data (ST36) because the process is continued after the error recovery (see FIG. 3). The printing mode is as shown in FIG. 7A when the operation state is during printing. X1 is a printer stop position based on the occurrence of an error. The cause of the error in this case is selected when 08: cutter home position error in FIG. 2A and the operation state at the time of occurrence of the error is between the lines.

The mode shown in FIG. 7A is acceptable if the sheet P is a receipt, unless it is like a receipt. Of course, in the case of a journal, it is entirely allowed. In other words, this is effective when the operation is stopped between the lines shown in FIG. 9 and the like, so that the print quality is not impaired, the paper is not wasted, and the work can be speeded up.

If it is determined in step ST25 that the R2 process has been performed, the long receipt flag is turned on in step ST26, and printing is continued after the sheet is fed longer than the line spacing (ST3).
6). This is effective when the cause of the error is a receipt paper end or a receipt paper jam. In the case of the R3 process, the long receipt and the cut flag are turned on (S
T27, 28), and thereafter, the printing process (ST36).
If NO is determined in ST27, the following R4 to R7 processing results in having the host computer 1 transmit the print data anew, rather than searching the previously stored print data for the next print start position. The buffer (RAM 13) is cleared in ST29 because this is a convenient recovery processing method.

Further, in the case of R5 and R6 processing (ST3
In the case of (0, 32), the message print flag is turned on in ST31, and print processing is performed (ST36). In the case of the R5 processing, as shown in FIG. 7B, after the error message is printed, the contents (A to J) that were interrupted when the error occurred are printed again, and then the next contents (N to V) are printed. Print. Here, it is meaningful to clear the buffer once.

When it is determined that the process is the R7 process (NO in ST34), the cut flag is turned on (ST35), and a message (discarded) is printed as shown in FIG. -Cut with the Y line. Therefore, S
Error processing is performed in T36 and T37, and after this processing is completed, new printing processing is performed (ST10 and ST40).

According to this embodiment, the error detecting means (20), the state detecting means (11), the storage means (4), the recovery processing method selecting means (2, 3), and the recovery control means (11, 12) to automatically detect the cause of the error and the operating state when the error occurs, and to execute the optimal recovery process according to the situation, so that the printing work can be performed quickly while reducing the size and cost. , Resource saving, and improved printing quality can be achieved.

Further, since the storage means (4) is constituted by the RAM 4 of the host computer 1, it can be used in common for a large number of thermal printers (ECR) connected thereto, and the operation of the recovery processing method depends on the cause of the error. If rewriting is performed according to the state, the thermal printer will have a wide applicability that allows optimal operation. Of course, the storage means (4) may be constituted by a ROM or an EP-ROM, and may be implemented as fixed data.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, an error detecting means, a state detecting means, a storage means, a recovery processing method selecting means, and a recovery controlling means are provided, and an error cause and an operation state at the time of occurrence of an error are provided. The system is configured to automatically perform the optimal recovery process, eliminating the disadvantages of conventional uniform processing such as paper waste and multi-line duplication printing, and speeding up printing work, saving resources and improving printing quality. This can be achieved at the same time, and can greatly contribute to downsizing of the apparatus and improvement of sales services due to a decrease in the amount of journal paper stored.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a cause of an error.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an operation state when an error occurs.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart (1) for explaining the operation in the same manner.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart (2) for explaining the operation.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart (3) for explaining the operation.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a result of the recovery process.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a problem with a conventional thermal printer.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a recovery process when the printer is stopped between lines.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 host computer 2 CPU (recovery processing method selection means) 3 ROM (recovery processing method selection means) 4 RAM (storage means) 10 control unit 11 CPU (state detection means, recovery control means) 12 ROM (recovery control means) 13 RAM 14 CG 15 Shared RAM 16 Interface 20 Limit switches (error detecting means) 31 Thermal head 33 Roll feed motor 35 Journal feed motor

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] An error detecting means for detecting the cause of various errors and a state for detecting an operation state when an error occurs in a thermal printer having a thermal head arranged in a line in a direction orthogonal to a sheet conveying direction. Detection means, storage means for storing a plurality of recovery processing methods corresponding to error causes and operation states, and recovery processing methods for reading the corresponding recovery processing methods based on detection signals from the error detection means and the state detection means A thermal printer, comprising: a selection unit; and a recovery control unit that drives and controls an engine required to execute the selected recovery processing method.