JP2856076B2 - Printing equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a heat generating element of a thermal head driven by a DC power supply such as a battery, which generates heat based on print data. A printable printing device,
In particular, the present invention relates to a printing apparatus having a function of notifying a low power state.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a heating element of a thermal head driven by a DC power supply generates heat based on print data, so that printing can be performed on plain paper or thermal paper in predetermined unit lines. As a printing apparatus having print control means for changing the print width in a plurality of stages in accordance with the data and generating heat from the heating elements corresponding to the changed print width and generating heat elements corresponding to the print data, for example, a tape BACKGROUND ART Mainly portable devices such as a writer and an electronic stamp device are known. This type of printing apparatus is driven by a DC power supply such as a battery. As a method for detecting a weak power supply state in which the supply voltage from the DC power supply is lower than a required voltage, the power supply is operated during operation. In general, when the voltage becomes equal to or lower than a predetermined voltage, the power supply is detected as weak.

In order to detect such a weak power supply,
For example, there is known a battery exhaustion detecting device as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-134019. In this battery consuming apparatus, a first cut-off voltage and a second cut-off voltage are set, and a voltage detected during printing is smaller than the first cut-off voltage, or a voltage detected during non-printing is set to a second cut-off voltage. If the voltage is lower than the cutoff voltage, it is determined that the battery is in a consumed state. The reason why the two types of cutoff voltages are set in this way is as follows.

In other words, during printing, a relatively large current (for example, about several amperes) is applied to drive a stepping motor or the like for energizing the heating elements of the thermal head to generate heat and to move the position of the thermal head.
Is required. On the other hand, when printing is not being performed (for example, when printing content is input from a keyboard or the like, or when the printer is in a standby state), only a current of about 0.1 amperes flows at most because current only needs to flow to the control system. .

As described above, since the amount of voltage drop during printing and the amount of voltage drop during non-printing are different, setting a single end voltage cannot cope with both cases. Specifically, if the final voltage is adjusted to the operation lower limit voltage of the control system, the battery is consumed due to a relatively large voltage drop during printing, and an instruction to replace the battery is issued. On the other hand, if the end voltage is adjusted to the lower limit voltage of the printing system, for example, when only the control system is operated without printing for a long time,
Although the battery is actually exhausted, it is determined that the battery is not exhausted, and the use of the battery is continued, so that normal printing cannot be performed when printing is performed.

[0006] Therefore, by separately setting the cut-off voltage for "at the time of printing" and "at the time of non-printing", it is possible to accurately detect the state of consumption of the battery and prevent the adverse effect due to the continued use of the consumed battery. What you want to do.

[0007]

However, in the battery exhaustion detecting device described in the above publication, only two states, "during printing" and "during non-printing", are distinguished, so the following inconvenience occurs. . In other words, in the case of a printing apparatus in which the print width is changed and set in a plurality of stages in accordance with the print data, and a heating element corresponding to the print data is heated from among the heating elements corresponding to the changed print width, At the time of printing with a small print width, a state where the battery is exhausted and normal printing cannot be performed (hereinafter also referred to as a weak power state) is not detected. Printing defects due to blurring or the like may occur.

As described above, even during the operation of the printing system, the difference in the voltage drop is remarkably noticeable depending on the size of the printing width, so that only the two states of “printing” and “non-printing” are available. If only a single set voltage is used at the time of printing without making a distinction, defective printing or the like may occur.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and by setting an optimum power-supply weakness judgment voltage corresponding to a printing width at the time of printing, it is possible to appropriately prevent a printing failure due to a weak power supply. A printing device is provided.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a thermal head driven by a DC power supply, as shown in FIG. By causing the heating element to generate heat based on the print data, printing can be performed for each predetermined unit line on plain paper or thermal paper, and the print width is changed and set in a plurality of steps according to the print data. In a printing apparatus having print control means for causing a heating element corresponding to print data to generate heat from among heating elements corresponding to a set printing width, power supplies respectively set corresponding to the printing width that can be set and changed in a plurality of stages. Power supply weak determination voltage storage means storing a weak determination voltage; output voltage detection means for detecting an output voltage of the DC power supply; and an output voltage detected by the output voltage detection means. Power weakness determining means for determining whether the output voltage is smaller than a power weakness determining voltage corresponding to a print width changed and set by the print control means, and the power weakness determining voltage corresponding to the output voltage by the power weakness determining means And a power-supply notifying unit for notifying that the power supply from the DC power supply is in a power-supplied weak state in which the supply voltage is equal to or less than a required voltage. It is.

The power supply cut-off means for cutting off the power supply from the DC power supply to at least the thermal head after the notification of the power supply weakness by the power supply weakness notification means. 2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

Further, the invention according to claim 3 includes an impregnated body attached to the grip portion and impregnated with ink, and a heat-sensitive stencil sheet fixedly covering the surface of the impregnated body and forming a stamp face portion. 2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing device is configured as a device for perforating the stamp face portion in a dot shape by causing a heating element of the thermal head to generate heat based on predetermined data on a stamp body provided with a stencil printing plate. Wherein the heat-sensitive paper is a heat-sensitive stencil sheet constituting the stamp face portion, and the printing control means drives and perforates the punch means including the thermal head for punching the stamp face portion in dots. A printing apparatus characterized by being used as control means for performing control.

[0013]

According to the printing apparatus of the first aspect having the above-described configuration, the printing control means changes the printing width in a plurality of steps according to the printing data. By causing the heating elements corresponding to the print data to generate heat from the middle, printing can be performed on plain paper or thermal paper for each predetermined unit line. When printing on plain paper, for example, an ink ribbon is interposed, and the coloring layer of the ink ribbon is melted and transferred to plain paper.

The thermal head is driven by a DC power supply. It is determined whether or not the power supply from the DC power supply is in a weak power state in which the supply voltage is lower than a voltage necessary for a predetermined operation. Judge in this way. The power-supply weakness determination voltage storage means stores the power-supply weakness determination voltage set for each of the print widths that can be changed and set in a plurality of stages. Then, the output voltage of the DC power supply is detected by the output voltage detection unit, and the power supply weakness determination unit determines whether the detected output voltage is smaller than the power supply weakness determination voltage corresponding to the print width changed and set by the print control unit. Determine whether or not.

If the power supply weakness notifying means determines that the output voltage is lower than the corresponding power supply weakness determination voltage by the power supply weakness determination means, the power supply from the DC power supply becomes equal to or less than the required voltage. Notify that it is in a weak state. As described above, the power supply weak determination voltage storage means stores the power weak determination voltage set corresponding to the print width which can be changed and set in a plurality of steps. Therefore, for example, the printing width can be changed and set in three stages of 10 mm, 20 mm, and 30 mm, and the voltage drop at each printing width is 1 V, 2 V, and 3 V.
In the case of the power weakness determination voltage V _10, V _20, V ₃₀ corresponding to the print width in consideration of the voltage drop degree it is set. Specifically, for example, the power supply weak determination voltage V20 corresponding to ₂₀ mm is the power supply weak determination voltage V20 corresponding to 10 mm.
₁₀ 1V is set lower than, power weakness determination voltage V ₃₀ corresponding to 30mm is and so on 1V is set lower than the power weakness determination voltage V ₂₀ corresponding to 20 mm.

As described above, during the operation of the printing system centering on the thermal head, the difference in the voltage drop can be seen significantly depending on the size of the printing width. By setting an optimum power-supply weakness judgment voltage corresponding to the printing width at the time of printing instead of setting, defective printing or the like can be prevented.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the power supply cut-off means cuts off the power supply from the DC power supply to at least the thermal head after the notification of the weak power state by the weak power supply notification means, thereby causing defective printing. Can be more appropriately prevented. That is, in the above-described claim 1, the power-supply informing unit reports that the power supply is in a weak state, and is expected to prompt the user to input a print stop command by his / her own hand. However, the user does not always notice the notification.
Therefore, by automatically cutting off the power supply to the thermal head so that printing is not performed, it is possible to reliably prevent the execution of defective printing by mistake.

Further, as described above, the printing apparatus according to the third aspect is a heat-sensitive material which is attached to the holding portion and which impregnates the ink and impregnably covers the surface of the impregnated material to form the stamp face. A stamp body provided with a stencil printing plate including stencil paper is configured as a device for perforating the stamp face portion into dots by causing a heating element of a thermal head to generate heat based on predetermined data. In this apparatus, the heat-sensitive stencil sheet is used as the heat-sensitive paper according to claim 1, and the printing control means performs drive control and punching control on a punching means including a thermal head for punching a stamp surface in a dot shape. Used as a means.

In this case, the heat-generating elements of the thermal head generate heat to finally perforate the heat-sensitive stencil sheet. The term "print" is appropriate for thermal paper of the type in which the coloring element is melted and colored by the heat generated by the heating element, but a printing control means for causing the heating element corresponding to the print data to generate heat from the heating element. Is the same as in the case of the present invention, and although the result is punching, it is included in the "printing" operation by the print control means. Therefore, since the perforation is performed by the printing operation on the heat-sensitive stencil sheet as an example of the heat-sensitive paper, the printing apparatus according to claim 3 can be regarded as an example in which the one according to claim 1 is subordinated. . Even if it is difficult to grasp them as subordinate concepts, the technical fields of both inventions are technically directly related, the industrial application fields are the same, and the essential items of the configurations of both inventions It is clear that both inventions have the relationship of Patent Law Article 37 (2) because the main parts of the invention are also the same.

[0020]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an embodiment in which the printing apparatus of the present invention is applied to a stamp apparatus. The stamp device according to the present embodiment is roughly composed of a stamp body 1 and a heating and punching device 50.
Will be described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 2 to FIG.
Is a grip portion 2 for grasping by hand, a stamp portion 3 fixedly connected to the grip portion 2, a skirt member 6 for covering the outer peripheral side of the stamp portion 3, and a detachably attached to the stamp portion 3. And a protective cap 7.

The gripping portion 2 is formed of a rectangular parallelepiped hollow body having an open lower end, and a concave portion 11 for attaching a label 10 is formed at the top thereof, and the lower end of a front wall 12 and a rear end of a rear wall 13 of the gripping portion 2 are formed. Each of the portions is provided with a pair of engaging claws 14 projecting downward. Also, the front wall 12 and the rear wall 13 of the gripper 2
A guide groove 15 is formed in the lower part of the front wall 12, an engagement recess 16 is formed in the front wall 12, an engagement hole 18 is formed in the left side wall 17, and a central portion of the lower surface of the upper wall 19 inside the grip portion 2. Is formed with a spring supporting portion 20.

The stamp unit 3 includes a stamp unit main body 4
The stamp portion main body 4 is inserted and fixed from below, covers the upper approximately 2/3 portion of the outer periphery of the stamp portion main body 4, and engages with the four engaging claws 14 of the grip portion 2 to hold the grip portion. 2
And an outer peripheral holding member 5 fixed to the outer periphery.

The stamp body 4 has a rectangular parallelepiped hollow synthetic resin base member 2 having a shallow recess 25 on the lower surface side.
6 and the impregnated body 2 attached to the concave portion 25 of the base member 26
7, an impregnated body 27 impregnated with oil-based ink; and a heat-sensitive stencil sheet 28 covering the lower surface of the impregnated body 27 and the outer peripheral side of the base member 26 and bonded to the outer peripheral surface of the base member 26 with an adhesive 29.
It is composed of The impregnated body 27 may be bonded to the concave portion 25 of the base member 26 with an adhesive or the like.

The base member 26 is made of a synthetic resin material or a metal material having excellent oil resistance because of contact with the oil-based ink. By mounting the impregnating body 27 in the recess 25 of the base member 6, 27 can be prevented from being displaced.
7 can be prevented from flowing out. The impregnated body 27
Is made of an elastic foam or a non-woven fabric of a synthetic resin material. The impregnated body 27 is impregnated with oily ink in a saturated state, and when pressure is applied to the impregnated body 27,
Ink oozes out.

The heat-sensitive stencil sheet 28 is formed by bonding a thermoplastic film and a porous support with an adhesive layer. The thermoplastic film is made of a thermoplastic synthetic resin film having a thickness of 1 to 4 μm, preferably 2 μm. The porous support is made of a porous thin paper mainly made of natural fibers or semi-synthetic fibers such as rayon.

As shown in FIG. 6 and the like, with the base member 26 turned upside down, the impregnating body 27 is mounted in the recess 25, and then the impregnating body 27 is impregnated with the oil-based ink.
7, a heat-sensitive stencil sheet 28 is covered so that the porous support is on the impregnated body 27 side, and the heat-sensitive stencil sheet 28 is adhered to the surface of the impregnated body 27, and the outer periphery of the heat-sensitive stencil sheet 28 is The side portion is folded in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the base member 26 and adhered by the adhesive layer 29 to form the stamp portion main body 4.

The portion of the heat-sensitive stencil sheet 28 that is in close contact with the surface (the lower surface in FIG. 6) of the impregnated body 27 constitutes the stamp face portion 33. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the outer peripheral holding member 5 includes a rectangular peripheral wall portion 34 in a plan view to which the stamp body 4 is adhered in an inner fitting manner, an upper wall portion 35, and an upper wall portion 35. And a pair of left and right engaging wall portions 36 projecting from the predetermined height. The pair of left and right engagement walls 36 includes a gripper 2.
An engagement hole 37 corresponding to the four engagement claws 14 is formed,
The pair of left and right engagement walls 36 is formed on the upper wall 4 of the skirt member 6.
One pair of left and right rectangular holes 42 are slidably inserted vertically from below, and the four engaging claws 14 are engaged with the four engaging holes 37 of these engaging wall portions 36 from above. ,
In addition, the outer peripheral holding member 5 is fixed to the grip portion 2 by bringing the upper end of the engagement wall portion 36 into contact with the lower end of the grip portion 2.

The skirt member 6 includes a rectangular outer peripheral wall portion 40 in which the outer peripheral wall portion 34 of the outer peripheral holding member 5 is slidably fitted in a vertical direction, and an upper wall portion 41 at the upper end thereof. An upper wall portion 41 located above the upper wall portion 35 of the outer peripheral holding member 5, a gate-shaped portion 43 that projects upward from the center of the upper wall portion 41 by a predetermined height and is inserted into the grip portion 2, A spring support 45 protruding from the center of the upper end of the gate 43
And so on.

Below the left and right walls of the gate 43,
A guide hole 44 is formed at a position in the front-rear direction corresponding to the guide hole 18 so as to penetrate both wall portions. The spring support portion 20 of the grip portion 2 and the skirt member 6
A compression spring 21 for urging the skirt member 6 downward with respect to the grip portion 2 is attached to the spring support portion 45 of
The skirt member 6 is configured to be able to move up and down to predetermined first to third positions.
Biased toward position. The skirt member 6 is used for attaching and detaching the protective cap 7 and for positioning the stamp face portion 33.
The lower end of the center of the four surfaces of the outer peripheral wall 40 is partially cut away.

In the first position, the upper wall portion 41 of the skirt member 6 comes into contact with the upper wall portion 35 of the outer peripheral holding member 5, so that the lower end of the skirt member 6 projects lower than the stamp surface portion 33. When in the second position, the upper wall portion 41 of the skirt member 6
When the lower end of the skirt member 6 is located at the same level as the stamp face portion 33 and is located between the upper wall portion 35 of the outer peripheral holding member 5 and the lower end of the grip portion 2, the skirt member 6
The upper wall portion 41 is in contact with the lower end of the grip portion 2, and the lower end of the skirt member 6 is located above the stamp surface portion 33. still,
It is desirable that the stroke of the skirt member 6 from the first position to the second position be set to about 5 mm.

The protective cap 7 is provided on the stamp body 4.
The outer peripheral wall portion 48 is formed in the same shape as the outer peripheral wall 34 of the outer peripheral holding member 5 in a plan view, and the protective cap 7 is made of a skirt. It is supported by being fitted inside the outer peripheral wall portion 40 of the member 6.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the protective cap 7
In the state in which the outer peripheral wall 34 is attached, the upper end thereof abuts against the lower end of the outer peripheral wall 34, and a small gap is left between the protective cap 7 and the stamp face 33. It is supported by a frictional force between the outer peripheral wall portion 40 and the inner peripheral surface. Therefore, even if the grip portion 2 is pushed downward with the protective cap 7 attached, the gap is maintained by the contact between the upper end of the protective cap 7 and the lower end of the outer peripheral wall 34, so that the protective cap Ink does not adhere to 7.

A number of perforations (dot pattern perforations) of a pattern consisting of a character string serving as a mirror character and, for example, a rectangular frame surrounding the outside thereof are formed in the stamp face 33 by a thermal head of a thermal printer (not shown). Since the stamp body is formed, the pattern can be printed, for example, about 1000 times, similarly to a stamp having a normal rubber stamp surface.

Next, the heating punch 50 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the heating perforation device 50 includes a main body frame 51, a keyboard 52 and a liquid crystal display 53 provided at a front portion of the main body frame 51, and a heating perforation portion provided at a rear portion of the main body frame 51. Body frame 5
1 comprises a control unit CU and the like.

The keyboard 52 includes a character / symbol key including a plurality of character keys and a plurality of symbol keys that also serve as a kana key and an alphabet key, and various function keys (cursor movement key / execute key / line feed key / fix / end). Key, cancel key, delete key, shift key, lower case switch,
Character type setting switch, punching switch, etc.) and a main switch.

The liquid crystal display 53 is configured to display a plurality of lines of character strings corresponding to a pattern to be printed on the stamp body 1. The heating perforation section includes a perforation mounting section for detachably mounting the stamp body 1 and a heating perforation mechanism for perforating the stamp surface portion 33 of the stamp body 1 mounted on the perforation mounting section in a dodged shape. Is provided. A control system including a control unit CU that drives and controls the printing mechanism PM and the liquid crystal display 53 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 7, the control unit CU has a keyboard 52, a printing mechanism PM, a liquid crystal display 53 via a display drive circuit 121, and the presence / absence of the stamp body 1 and a front-rear width. Detection sensor 1
04 is connected. In the case of the present embodiment, the stamp body 1 has a printing width of 10 mm / 20 mm / 30 mm.
And three types of stamp bodies 1 are provided so that the detection sensor 104 can detect the type of the stamp body 1 attached.

As shown in FIG. 7, the control unit CU includes:
CPU 111, ROM 112, RAM 113, CG-ROM 114 for punching, CG-ROM 115 for display on the display 53, and the input interface 1 connected to the keyboard 52 and the detection sensor 104
16 and an output interface 117 are mutually connected by a bus 118.

The output interface 117 includes a head driving circuit 119 for driving the thermal head 90 constituting the printing mechanism PM, and a motor driving circuit for driving the carriage feed motor 100 also constituting the printing mechanism PM. 120 and the display drive circuit 12
1 is connected.

The ROM 112 is provided with a program memory 122 in which a control program for controlling the entire operation of the heating and punching apparatus 50 is stored, and a dictionary memory 123 for kana / kanji conversion and the like. ROM 112
The predetermined power weakness determination voltage V ₁₀ in the heating perforating apparatus 50, V _20, V ₃₀ are set respectively.

The power supply weak determination voltages V ₁₀ , V ₂₀ and V ₃₀ will be described. In the case of this embodiment, as described above,
Three types of stamp bodies 1 having a printing width W of 10 mm, 20 mm, and 30 mm can be exchanged and mounted, and a predetermined character string or the like can be printed (actually, perforation on a dot). Therefore, the determination voltages corresponding to the three types of printing width W are set. Incidentally, the relationship among these three power weakness determination voltage _{V 10, V 20, V 30} ,
V _10> is the V _20> V _30. This is because the larger the print width W, the larger the voltage drop.
mm, 20 mm, and 30 mm, the voltage drop is 1 V,
Assuming that the voltages are 2 V and 3 V, specifically, for example, 20 m
power weakness determination voltage V ₂₀ corresponding to the m is set from power weakness determination voltage V ₁₀ corresponding to 10 mm 1V lower, 1V from power weakness determination voltage V ₂₀ power weakness determination voltage V ₃₀ corresponding to 30mm is corresponding to 20mm It is set to be low.

The RAM 113 is provided with an input buffer 124 for storing input data, a punching buffer 125 for storing punching data, a shift register 126, and various other counters and registers. CG for drilling
-ROM 114 stores dot pattern data of a large number of characters to be punched in association with code data, and CG-ROM 115 for display stores dot pattern data of a large number of characters to be punched. It is stored in association with the code data.

Next, the head drive circuit 119 will be described. As shown in FIG. 8, one electrode of each heating element 103 is connected to a power supply terminal 127 from a power supply circuit described later.
And the other electrode is connected to the driver 12
8 are connected to each other.

The input terminals of each driver 128 include an output terminal of an inverter 129 connected to the input side of a stove input terminal 130 for drilling, and an output terminal of a data latch circuit 132 whose input side is connected to a latch signal input terminal 131. Terminals are connected to each other. Further, the data latch circuit 13
2, each output terminal of the shift register 135 whose input terminal is connected to the clock input terminal 133 and the data input terminal 134 is connected to each input terminal.

In the head drive circuit 119, when the data for punching is stored in synchronization with the clock signal in the shift register 135, and then the latch signal is supplied to the data latch circuit 132, the data is stored in the shift register 135. Data latch circuit 13 corresponding to the
2 and stored.

At the same time, the data is stored in each driver 1
28. In this state, when a perforation pulse signal of logic “0” is applied from the perforation strobe input terminal 130 to the input terminal of the inverter 128, a signal of logic “1” is output from the output terminal of the inverter 128 and each driver 128 Is applied to the input terminal.

Therefore, when the data of the data latch circuit 132 is logic "1", the output side of the driver 128 becomes logic "0", and the drive current is supplied from the power supply terminal 127 to the corresponding heating element 103. . At this time, the pulse width of the drilling pulse signal input to the drilling strobe input terminal 130 is set so that the surface temperature of the heating element 103 becomes a temperature suitable for thermal drilling.

Next, the configuration of the power supply system will be described with reference to FIG. First, the power supply device 150 includes a battery 153.
Or a predetermined DC power source obtained by converting an external AC power source by an AC adapter 151. The predetermined DC power source is supplied to a power supply voltage detection circuit 160 in the control unit CU and a switch unit 161 is output. The power is supplied to the power supply circuit 163 via the power supply circuit 163. Note that the power supply voltage detection circuit 160 corresponds to the output voltage detection means. The switch unit 161 includes a switch that operates mechanically, and turns off the switch in response to an OFF signal from the CPU 111 in the control unit CU. The switch unit 161 includes:
When the switch is connected, the power supply circuit 163
Is supplied with the voltage output from the power supply device 150 as it is. Note that the switch unit 161 corresponds to a part of the power supply cut unit.

The power supply circuit 163 includes a booster circuit 165 and a stabilizing circuit 167. The power supply circuit 163 is raised to a predetermined voltage by the booster circuit 165 and supplied to the printing mechanism PM. The thermal head 90 and the carriage feed motor 100 are mainly consumed by their operations, but are also required by the head drive circuit 119 and the motor drive circuit 120.

On the other hand, the stabilizing circuit 167 lowers the voltage to a predetermined voltage and supplies a stable power supply voltage to the control unit CU. For example, when 9 V DC power is supplied from the power supply device 150, the voltage is boosted to 12 V in the booster circuit 85 and reduced to 5 V in the stabilization circuit 87.

In the power supply voltage detecting circuit 160, the power supply 1
The voltage supplied from the power supply 50 is detected and sent to the CPU 111. The CPU 111 converts the voltage into a digital value by an internal A / D converter, stores the digital value in the internal RAM, and uses the digital value in a power supply weakness determination process described later. Next, the operation of the heating perforation apparatus 50, particularly related to the weak power determination process, will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The power-supply weakness determination process is a power-supply weakness determination during a printing operation (a punching operation in the present embodiment). When a print command is issued and the printing operation is actually performed, the power supply weakness determination process is performed. Perform processing.

In the power supply weakness determination process, first, the output voltage Vout output from the power supply voltage detection circuit 160 is A / D converted into a digital value (S110).
out is stored in the internal RAM (S120). Then, power weakness determination voltage corresponding to the current swath W (V ₁₀ or V
₂₀ or V ₃₀ ) from the ROM 112 (S130).
To S180).

That is, if W ≦ 10 mm (S13
0: YES) Power supply weak judgment voltage V corresponding to 10 mm
₁₀ is read (S160), and if W> 10 mm (S13
0: NO) If W ≦ 20 mm (S140: YES),
Reads the power weakness determination voltage V ₂₀ corresponding to a 20mm (S170), W> at 20mm (S140: NO) W ≦
30mm if (S150: YES), reads out the power weakness determination voltage V ₃₀ corresponding to a 30mm (S180),
The process moves to S190.

The print width W is determined by the detection sensor 104.
(See FIG. 7) is obtained by detecting which of the three types of stamp bodies 1 for 10 mm, 20 mm, and 30 mm is mounted. Then, in S190, the output voltage Vout stored in the internal RAM in S120 is read out, and S140, S160, S160
180 one of the power weakness determination voltage read by the processing (V ₁₀ or V ₂₀ or V ₃₀₎ to determine a smaller or not the. If the output voltage Vout is equal to or higher than the power weakness determination voltage (V ₁₀ or V ₂₀ or V ₃₀₎ (S190: N
O) Since this is within the allowable range in terms of the voltage required for the operation of the present heating and perforating apparatus 50, the present processing is temporarily terminated.

Meanwhile, positive determination, that is, the output voltage Vout is power weakness determination voltage (V ₁₀ or V ₂₀ or V in S190
₃₀ ) If smaller than the lower limit voltage necessary for the operation of the present heating and punching apparatus 50, the state is lower.
An indication that the power is weak is displayed on the liquid crystal display 53 (S200), and the power is turned off after a predetermined time (S21).
0).

In the case of a negative determination in S170, it is determined that the print width W is larger than 30 mm. Therefore, in this embodiment, there is no such stamp body 1 and an error display is displayed on the liquid crystal display 53 (S220). ), The process is temporarily terminated. As described above, the printing mechanism PM including the thermal head 90 of the heating and punching apparatus 50 is driven by the power supply device 150 which is a DC power supply. It is possible to reliably determine whether or not the power supply is in a weak state in which the voltage is lower than the required voltage according to the printing width.

That is, in the case of the present embodiment, the ROM 112 stores the power weak determination voltages V ₁₀ , V ₂₀ , and V ₃₀ that are respectively set corresponding to the print width W that can be changed and set in three steps. Then, the output voltage Vout of the power supply device 150 at the time of print execution, power weakness determination voltage corresponding to what is currently mounted in the three types of the stamp body 1 for 10mm for · 20 mm for · 30 mm (V ₁₀ or compared V ₂₀ or V _30), the output voltage Vout is power weakness determination voltage (V
₁₀ or V ₂₀ or V ₃₀₎ to determine a smaller or not (S190).

[0059] Then, when the output voltage Vout is power weakness determination voltage (V ₁₀ or V ₂₀ or V ₃₀₎ is smaller than is in a state where the heating perforating apparatus 50 is below the lower limit voltage required to operate Therefore, an indication that the power is weak is displayed on the liquid crystal display 53 (S200), and the power is turned off after a predetermined time (S210).

As described above, during the operation of the printing system centering on the thermal head 90, the difference in the voltage drop is considerably noticeable depending on the size of the printing width W. instead of setting the voltage, by further setting the optimum power weakness determination voltage V _10, V _20, V ₃₀ corresponding to the printing width W at the time of printing,
Bad printing can be prevented.

In the present embodiment, the power supply is cut off after displaying not only that the power is in a weak state, but also displaying the display. This is because, for example, the carriage feed motor 100 and the like may rotate slower than usual in a state where the voltage is lower than the lower limit voltage necessary for the operation of the heating perforation device 50. Is often better. Informing the user of the weak power in S200, for example, prompts the user to input a print stop command by his / her own hand. However, the user does not always notice the notification. Therefore, by stopping printing in the process of S210,
It is possible to reliably prevent a bad print from being executed by mistake.

The ROM 112 corresponds to the power supply weak determination voltage storage means of the present invention. Also, the CPU 111 corresponds to the print control unit, the weak power determination unit, the weak power notification unit, and the power supply cut unit of the present invention. Of the processes executed by the CPU 111, the above-described S110 to S190 are the processes as the weak power determination unit. , And S200 corresponds to the processing as the power weak notification unit. Also, S210 corresponds to the processing as power supply cut means.

As described above, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments at all, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the stamp apparatus has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to such an apparatus, and any printing apparatus including a thermal head driven by a DC power supply may be used. The same can be applied to a tape printer that prints on a printing tape of a size, or a manual printer that prints on paper or the like while manually moving a small printer mechanism.

Further, in the present embodiment, a description has been given of performing appropriate power weakness determination processing in accordance with the printing width W during printing. However, a voltage drop during non-printing is naturally smaller than that during printing. It is preferable that a predetermined power supply weak determination voltage at the time of non-printing is stored, and the power weakness determination process at the time of non-printing is performed using the power supply weak determination voltage.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an embodiment in which a printing apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a stamp apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the stamp body of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the stamp body of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional front view of the stamp body of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional side view of the stamp body of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged vertical sectional front view of a stamp portion main body of the stamp body of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a control system of the heating perforation apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an electric circuit diagram of a head drive circuit of the heating perforation apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a power supply system of the heating perforation apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of power weakness determination processing in the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a basic configuration of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Stamp body 2 ... Grasping part 3 ... Stamp part 4 ... Stamp part main body 7 ... Protective cap 27 ... Impregnated body 28 ... Heat-sensitive stencil sheet 33 ... Stamp face 50 ... Heat perforation device 51 ... Body frame 52 ... Keyboard 53 ... Liquid crystal Display 85 ... Boost circuit 87 ... Stabilizing circuit 90 ... Thermal head 100 ... Carriage feed motor 103 ... Heat generating element 104 ... Detection sensor 119 ... Head drive circuit 120 ... Motor drive circuit 121 ... Display drive circuit 150 ... Power supply device 153 ... Battery 160 ... Power supply voltage detection circuit 161 Switch part 163 Power supply circuit 165 Boost circuit 167 Stabilization circuit CU Control unit PM Printing mechanism

Continuation of the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B41J 29/46 B41C 1/055 511 B41J 29/38 B41J 29/42 B41K 1/32

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A printing method according to claim 1, wherein a heating element of a thermal head driven by a direct-current power source generates heat based on print data, so that printing can be performed on plain paper or thermal paper for each predetermined unit line. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing width is changed and set in a plurality of steps, and the printing apparatus includes a print control unit that causes the heating element corresponding to the print data to generate heat from among the heating elements corresponding to the changed and set printing width. A power-supply weakness determination voltage storage unit that stores a power-supply weakness determination voltage set corresponding to a print width that can be set and changed; an output voltage detection unit that detects an output voltage of the DC power supply; Power weakness determining means for determining whether the detected output voltage is smaller than a power weakness determining voltage corresponding to the print width changed and set by the print control means. When the power supply weakness determining means determines that the output voltage is smaller than the corresponding power supply weakness determination voltage,
And a power supply weak notification unit for reporting that the supply voltage from the DC power supply is a power supply weak state in which the supply voltage is equal to or lower than a required voltage. 2. A power supply cut-off means for cutting off the power supply from the DC power supply to at least the thermal head after the notification of the power supply weakness by the power supply weakness notification means. The printing device according to claim 1. 3. A stamp body provided with a stencil printing plate including an impregnated body impregnated with ink and a thermosensitive stencil sheet constituting a stamped surface portion, which is fixedly covering the surface of the impregnated body and attached to the grip portion. In contrast, the printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heating element of the thermal head is configured to generate heat based on predetermined data to punch the stamp surface in a dot shape. The heat-sensitive stencil sheet constituting the stamp face portion is used, and the printing control means is used as a control means for performing drive control and punch control on the punch means including the thermal head for punching the stamp face portion in a dot shape. A printing device characterized by the above-mentioned.