JP2832121B2 - Printer device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

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

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional printer, for example, a paper transport mechanism for sequentially transporting paper along a paper transport path is formed by a feed roller, a guide plate, or the like, and the paper transported by such a paper transport mechanism is formed. The paper support mechanism that supports the printing position at the printing position is formed by a platen roller, a platen board, or the like, and the printing mechanism that performs printing of characters, figures, and the like on the paper supported at the printing position by such a paper supporting mechanism is used for various printing. It is formed by a mechanism having a head or the like.

[0003] In such a printer apparatus, the paper conveyed sequentially by the paper conveying mechanism is supported at the printing position by the paper supporting mechanism, and the paper supporting mechanism executes printing on the paper supported at the printing position by the printing mechanism. It has become.

[0004]

Various printing methods have been put into practical use as the printing mechanism of the above-described printer apparatus. However, printing mechanisms having a print head such as a dot impact head, a thermal head, or an ink jet head are not available. In addition, various print heads are arranged close to the paper support mechanism due to structural necessity. However, in such a printer device in which the printing mechanism is arranged close to the paper supporting mechanism, a jam may occur when the paper is conveyed and inserted into the narrow gap between the opposing paper supporting mechanism and the printing mechanism. Will be higher. Further, when a plurality of types of paper are used in the printer device, for example, when a thin and flexible paper, a paper having a notch or a bend at a leading edge thereof, or a curved paper is used, a further jam occurs. Increases the likelihood of
The reliability of the printer device and the workability of handling are reduced.

[0005]

A paper transport mechanism for sequentially transporting paper along a paper transport path is provided, and paper detecting means for detecting the paper transported to the paper transport path by the paper transport mechanism is provided. A paper support mechanism for supporting the paper in a paper transport path at a printing position is provided, and a printing mechanism for printing on the paper supported at the printing position by the paper support mechanism is provided.
An interval variable mechanism for supporting at least one of the printing mechanism and the paper support mechanism so as to be able to approach and separate from the other and always positioning and holding the paper separation mechanism at a separation position is provided, and a detection output of the paper detection means is provided. positioning operation control means for causing the positioning operation of the pitch adjusting mechanism to hold the previous SL paper supporting mechanism and said printing mechanism to close positions on the basis of the provided, for the
When the paper is not detected by the paper detecting means, the paper
The paper feed speed by the transport mechanism is increased and the paper detection
When the paper is detected at the step, the paper transport mechanism
Motor control circuit to reduce the paper feed speed
Was.

[0006]

When the sheet detected by the sheet detecting means detects the sheet conveyed to the sheet conveying path, the variable interval mechanism switches the printing mechanism and the sheet supporting mechanism .
Positioning and holding at the close position , paper detection means detects paper
If not, the positioning control unit controls the operation of the variable interval mechanism to return the paper support mechanism and the printing mechanism to the separated position in the same manner as before inserting the paper at the printing position,
Wait for paper insertion.

[0007]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, in the printer 1, as illustrated in FIG. 1, mechanically, guide plates 2 to 9 and feed rollers 10 to 13 are arranged at positions facing each other from above and below so as to form a paper transport path. A platen roller 14 is rotatably supported between the guide plates 5 and 7. Therefore, here, the guide plates 2 to 9 and the rollers 10 to 14 constitute a sheet transport mechanism, and the guide plates 5 and 7 and the platen roller 14 constitute a sheet support mechanism. A head unit 15 as a printing mechanism is disposed on the platen roller 14 so as to oppose from above through the paper transport path. The head unit 15 is supported so as to be vertically displaceable, and The guide plates 5, 7
It comes into contact with and separates from.

Here, in the head unit 15, a guide plate 16 opposed to the guide plates 5, 7 and the like is mounted on the lower surface of a main body case 17, and a dot impact type printing built in the main body case 17 is performed. The head 18 is inserted into a through hole (not shown) of the guide plate 16.
And the platen roller 14. Further, an ink ribbon 19 is movably arranged in the main body case 17 by a feed roller, a guide plate (both not shown), and the like. It is stretched in the gap.

The head unit 15 having the above-described structure is supported by the main body case 17 so as to be vertically movable by guide rails 20 located on the left and right sides in FIG. It is biased upward at 21. Further, an eccentric cam 22 rotatably supported is in contact with the upper surface of the head unit 15 urged upward in this manner, and the vertical position of the head unit 15 is changed according to the rotation of the eccentric cam 22. It is changing.

In the printer 1, a through hole (not shown) is formed in the guide plates 4 and 5, and a paper sensor 23 composed of a photo interrupter or the like is arranged on the through hole.

As shown in FIG. 2, the printer 1 has a CPU (Central Processing).
, A motor control circuit 26, a print control circuit 27, and a paper detection circuit 28 via a bus 25.
The motor control circuit 26 is connected to a paper transport motor 29 for driving the rollers 10 to 14 and a head vertical motor 30 for driving the eccentric cam 22. Further, a print head 18 of the head unit 15 is connected to the print control circuit 27,
The paper detection circuit is formed by connecting the paper sensor 23 to the paper detection circuit 28.

Therefore, in the printer 1, a variable interval mechanism for supporting and positioning and holding the head unit 15 so as to be able to contact and separate from the guide plates 5 and 7 and the platen roller 14 is provided between the guide rail 20 and the guide rail 20. It is formed by the coil spring 21, the eccentric cam 22, the head vertical motor 30, and the like. Further, a positioning operation control means for adjusting the vertical position of the head unit 15 based on the detection output of the paper detection means corresponding to the transport position of the paper 31 by the operation control of the head vertical motor 30 of such an interval variable mechanism, The main control unit 24 and the motor control circuit 26 are formed.

In such a configuration, the processing operation of the printer 1 will be described below with reference to FIGS. Here, each step of the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 3 is described for each of the following sentences corresponding to (ST...).

First, in this printer 1, FIG.
As illustrated in (a), the eccentric cam 22 is determined based on the number of steps of the head vertical motor 30 including a step motor.
The head unit 15 is arranged at the uppermost position by the tension of the coil spring 21 in the initial state by restricting the rotational position of.

In the printer 1, at the start of printing, the main control unit 24 controls the motor control circuit 26 to drive the paper transport motor 29 at high speed (ST1), and the feed rollers 10, 11 and the like rotating at high speed. The paper 31 is fed at a high speed. Then, when the paper sensor 23 detects the leading edge of the paper 31 (ST2), the motor control circuit 26 controls the paper transport motor 29 to operate at a low speed under the control of the main control unit 24 which receives the detection output from the paper detection circuit 28. Drive (S
T3) The paper 31 is conveyed at low speed by the feed rollers 10 and 11 rotating at low speed.

When the number of steps of the paper transport motor 29 driven at a low speed reaches a preset numerical value (ST4), the motor control circuit 26 detects this and controls the motor control circuit 26 to control the paper. The driving of the transport motor 29 is interrupted to stop the rotation of the feed rollers 10, 11 (ST5). At this time, in this printer device 1,
The leading edge of the sheet 31 whose conveyance has been interrupted as described above is inserted into the gap between the guide plate 16 and the guide plate 5 of the head unit 15 and positioned immediately before the gap between the print head 18 and the platen roller 14. It is supposed to.

Therefore, in such a state, the motor control circuit 26 is controlled by the main control unit 24 to
Is driven (ST6), and the eccentric cam 22 is rotated until the number of steps of the head up / down motor 30 reaches a preset value (ST7). As a result, as shown in FIG. The head unit 15 moves to the lowermost position against the tension of.

Then, the head unit 15 as described above is used.
Is completed (ST8), the motor control circuit 26 drives the paper conveyance motor 29 at a low speed under the control of the main control unit 24 (ST9), and the print control circuit 27 drives the print head 18 at the same time. The print head 18 of the head unit 15 prints characters, drawings, and the like on the paper 31 that is sequentially conveyed by the rollers 10 to 14 and held at the printing position by the platen roller 14 (ST10). Then, when such printing is completed (ST11), the motor control circuit 26 is controlled by the main control unit 24 upon detecting this.
Drives the paper transport motor 29 at high speed (ST12), and simultaneously drives the head up / down motor 30 in the reverse direction (S12).
T13). Then, the sheet 31 is discharged by the rollers 10 to 14 rotating at high speed, and the head unit 15 is driven until the number of steps of the head vertical motor 30 reaches a preset value (ST14). With the rotation of 22, the coil spring 21 moves to the uppermost position by the tension of the coil spring 21 (ST15), and the printer 1 returns to the initial state.

As described above, the head unit 15 separates from the platen roller 14 and the like, and the paper 31 is inserted into the wide gap between the guide plate 16 and the guide plate 5. When the insertion is completed, the head unit 15 is moved. The printing is performed on the paper 31 by being arranged close to the guide plates 5 and 7 and the platen roller 14 and the like. That is, in the printer 1, it is not necessary to insert the paper 31 into the fixed narrow gap between the head unit 15 and the guide plate 5, so that it is possible to prevent the paper 31 from being jammed and to print on the paper 31. When the head unit 15 is moved by the positioning operation control means,
And the platen roller 14 and the like, the printing quality can be improved. Further, in the printer device 1, the head unit 15 is separated from the platen roller 14 and the like even after the printing on the paper 31 is completed, so that it is possible to contribute to the prevention of the occurrence of a jam when the paper 31 is discharged.

In the printer 1 of the present embodiment, the head unit 15 as a printing mechanism is supported on a paper support mechanism, which is stationary and includes a platen roller 14 and guide plates 5 and 7, so that the head unit 15 can be moved toward and away from the printer. Although illustrated, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but includes a modified example (not shown) in which a printing mechanism that is supported in a positionally movable manner supports a paper supporting mechanism so as to be able to contact and separate from the printing mechanism. Modifications (not shown) for supporting the support mechanism so as to come in contact with and separate from the support mechanism can also be implemented.

Further, in the printer 1 of the embodiment, a paper support mechanism is formed by the pair of guide plates 5 and 7 and one platen roller 14, and the head unit 15 in which the guide plate 16 and the like are mounted on the print head 18 is provided. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, a sheet supporting mechanism may be formed by a single platen board or a conveyor belt (both not shown). Alternatively, it is also possible to form a printing mechanism with a print head (not shown) without a guide plate or the like.

Further, in the printer 1 of the above embodiment,
In the initial state, the head unit 15 is
The head unit 15 is arranged close to the platen roller 14 when the paper 31 is inserted into the gap, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. It is also possible to separate the printing mechanism and the paper support mechanism that are arranged close to each other only when inserting paper.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the printer 1 having the dot impact type print head 18 as the printing mechanism has been exemplified. However, the present invention is not limited to the printer 1, and the printing mechanism and the paper support The present invention can be applied to various printers in which a mechanism is arranged in close proximity, for example, to a printer (not shown) having a print head of a thermal type or an ink jet type as a printing mechanism in the same manner as the above embodiment. It is something.

[0024]

According to the present invention, as described above, at least one of the printing mechanism and the paper support mechanism is provided so as to be capable of coming and going with respect to the other, and is provided with a variable spacing mechanism for positioning and holding. by providing the positioning operation control means for causing the positioning operation of the pitch adjusting mechanism so as to hold the the paper support mechanism and the printing mechanism to the proximity position based on, even if a plurality of kinds of sheets are used in the printer device Jams can be prevented , and paper can be detected by paper detection means.
Paper feed speed by the paper transport mechanism when not
When the paper is detected by the paper detection means at high speed, the paper
Motor control circuit that reduces the paper feed speed by the transport mechanism
High-speed printing using the variable interval mechanism
Those having an effect such as Ru can do printing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional side view showing an operation of a main part of a printer device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a circuit structure of the printer device.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation during printing.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer apparatus 2-14 Paper transport mechanism 5, 7, 14 Paper support mechanism 15 Printing mechanism 20-22, 30 Interval variable mechanism 23, 28 Paper detection means 24, 26 Positioning operation control means

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B41J 25/308 B41J 11/42 B41J 13/00

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A sheet transport mechanism for sequentially transporting the sheets along the paper transport path; a sheet detecting means for detecting the paper transported to the paper transport path by the paper transport mechanism; A paper support mechanism for supporting paper at a printing position, a printing mechanism for printing on the paper supported at the printing position by the paper support mechanism, and contacting at least one of the printing mechanism and the paper support mechanism with the other. An interval variable mechanism that is detachably supported and always positioned and held at the separated position ;
Wherein the positioning operation control means for causing the positioning operation of the pitch adjusting mechanism to hold the previous SL paper supporting mechanism and said printing mechanism to the proximity position based on the detection output of the paper detecting means, said by the paper detecting means No paper detected
Sometimes, the paper feed speed by the paper transport mechanism is set to high speed.
When the paper detecting means is detecting the paper,
Motor control to reduce the paper feed speed by the paper transport mechanism
A printer device comprising a control circuit .