JP3508598B2 - Printing control method for dot line 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 print control method for a dot line printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 shows a printing principle of a dot line printer.

In FIG. 4, the plurality of printing hammers 210 attached to the hammer bank 200 are normally held in the non-printing position by the attractive force of the permanent magnets 220. The hammer bank 200 is reciprocally moved in the row direction by a shuttle mechanism (not shown) such as a cam or a linear motor. When the hammer bank 200 is moved in one direction (hereinafter referred to as a shuttle), the release coil 230 is reached at a predetermined dot position. Is excited, the printing hammer 210 is released, and printing is performed.

It is well known that such a dot line printer has the following problems.

For example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 55-10385, it is difficult to drive the printing hammers 210 of adjacent columns at the same time, and in order to drive them at the same time, a pulse of current supplied to the release coil 230 is used. That is, it is necessary to lengthen the width or increase the peak value of the current supplied to the coil 230. In the configuration disclosed in the above publication, in order to prohibit the simultaneous drive of the adjacent digits, the type characters on the type drum are provided so as to be displaced along the circumferential direction so that they are not simultaneously driven mechanically.

Also in the dot line printer relating to the present invention, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-11177 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-62.
As disclosed in JP-A-28755, the printing hammers 210 are divided into two groups, and the printing hammers 210 of the second group are provided so as to be offset from the standard set position by half the reciprocal of the printing density (hereinafter referred to as half dots). Simultaneous driving of the adjacent printing hammer 210 is prohibited.

Further, when the printing speed of the dot line printer becomes very high, the number of printing hammers 210 also becomes, for example, three.
However, even if the printing hammers 210 are divided into two groups, the number of printing hammers 210 that are driven at the same time increases, and the electrical and mechanical influences cannot be avoided. Further, when the pitch between the printing hammers 210 is narrowed, there arises a problem that magnetic interference becomes stronger.

Therefore, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 05-38821, the printing hammer 210 has an N of 3 or more.
Printing is performed simultaneously by dividing the printing hammers 210 in each group into a plurality of groups and shifting the printing hammers 210 from a predetermined pitch position by a predetermined amount so that the printing hammers 210 do not collide with the paper at the same timing. The number of hammers 210 is 1 / N.

However, even in this case, if high-density printing is performed, current flows intensively in the adjacent release coils 230,
The electrical influence, especially the influence of magnetic interference becomes large.

That is, in order to increase the speed of the dot line printer, the cycle of supplying the current to the release coil 230 is from when the printing hammer 210 is released from the non-printing position and after printing to when it returns to the non-printing position. It is customary to reduce the time to the same as the time required (hereinafter referred to as hammer repeatability), and this time is usually about 300 μs.
Further, the pulse width for supplying the current to the release coil 230 is
It is usually about 150 μs, which is about ½ of the hammer repeatability. Therefore, even if they are not driven at the same timing, the pulse width of the adjacent printing hammers is 1 / N.
They overlap each other, resulting in magnetic interference.

As an example of the above, as shown in FIG. 5, the dot row L to be printed at the same time is 6 and the number N of groups of the printing hammer 210 is 6 and the hammer repeatability is 300.
μs, the pulse width of the current flowing through the release coil 230 is 150
Consider the case where high-density printing is performed when μs is set.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 6, in the section T, a current is constantly flowing through the half of the release coil 230 of the hammer bank 200 (for example, 6 as shown by a point P in FIG. 6). Current is flowing in the release coils 230 of three of the hammers). As described above, in the case of the high-speed dot line printer, the influence of magnetic interference becomes large depending on the print pattern, no matter how large N is.

[0013]

As described above, the number of printing hammers simultaneously driven is set to 1 / N by arranging the printing hammers at a predetermined pitch position so as not to collide with the paper at the same timing. However, the influence of magnetic interference increases depending on the print pattern, and the force for sucking and holding the print hammer increases, resulting in dot removal. When driving with constant voltage and constant pulse width,
Since the inductance is reduced and the time constant of the current waveform is reduced, the current rises faster and the current value increases.

[0014]

According to a first print control method of the present invention, which solves the above problems, a shuttle mechanism prints a hammer bank having a plurality of printing hammers arranged at a predetermined pitch along a print line. Move back and forth along the line,
In a dot line printer that performs printing by driving a printing hammer in the course of this reciprocal movement, the entire printing range printed during one movement of a hammer bank is divided into printing ranges for individual printing hammers, and Divide the entire printing range into multiple blocks, calculate the number of driving plans for each printing hammer from the print data sent before the start of printing,
Further, the number of driving hammers for each block is compared with the first specified value to calculate the number of printing hammers exceeding the first specified value for each block, and the number of printing hammers for at least one block is calculated. When the value exceeds the second specified value, the print data for one movement of the hammer bank is printed in plural times.

According to a second printing control method of the present invention which solves the above-mentioned problems, a hammer bank having a plurality of printing hammers arranged at a predetermined pitch along a print line is reciprocally moved along the print line by a shuttle mechanism. In a dot line printer that performs printing by driving the printing hammer in the course of this reciprocal movement, the entire printing range printed during one movement of the hammer bank is divided into printing ranges for individual printing hammers. , The entire printing range is divided into a plurality of blocks, the planned driving number for each print hammer is calculated from the print data transmitted before the start of printing, and the planned driving number and the first specified value for each hammer are calculated. The number of print hammers exceeding the first specified value is calculated for each block by comparison, and the number of print hammers in at least one block is the second If it exceeds the value is to be printed by changing the driving pulse width of the print hammer.

According to a third printing control method of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems, a hammer bank having a plurality of printing hammers arranged at a predetermined pitch along a printing line is reciprocally moved along the printing line by a shuttle mechanism. In a dot line printer that performs printing by driving the printing hammer in the course of this reciprocal movement, the entire printing range printed during one movement of the hammer bank is divided into printing ranges for individual printing hammers. , The entire printing range is divided into a plurality of blocks, the planned driving number for each print hammer is calculated from the print data transmitted before the start of printing, and the planned driving number and the first specified value for each hammer are calculated. The number of print hammers exceeding the first specified value is calculated for each block by comparison, and the number of print hammers in at least one block is the second When the value exceeds the fixed value, the drive pulse width of the printing hammer is changed and printing is performed, and when the number of the printing hammer exceeds the third specified value which is larger than the second specified value, the hammer bank is moved by one. Minute print data is divided into a plurality of times for printing.

According to a fourth printing control method of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems, a hammer bank having a plurality of printing hammers arranged at a predetermined pitch along a print line is reciprocally moved along the print line by a shuttle mechanism. In a dot line printer that performs printing by driving the printing hammer in the course of this reciprocal movement, the entire printing range printed during one movement of the hammer bank is divided into printing ranges for individual printing hammers. , The entire printing range is divided into a plurality of blocks, the planned driving number for each print hammer is calculated from the print data transmitted before the start of printing, and the planned driving number and the first specified value for each hammer are calculated. The number of print hammers exceeding the first specified value is calculated for each block by comparison, and the number of print hammers in at least one block is the second When the number of print hammers exceeds a predetermined value, the print pulse width of the print hammer is changed and printing is performed, and the number of print hammers in which the planned number of drives for each hammer exceeds a fourth specified value which is larger than the first specified value. When the value exceeds the fifth prescribed value, the print data for one movement of the hammer bank is printed in a plurality of times.

[0018]

FIG. 1 shows an example of the present invention.

The microprocessor 100 uses the data processing circuit 1 to process print data transferred from a host device (not shown).
The dot image is edited via 10 and written in the RAM 130. Before the start of printing, the print control circuit 120 has the RAM 1
The dot image data is read from 30 and edited according to the arrangement of the printing hammer 210, and the dot image data for one shuttle is written in the RAM 140. At the start of printing,
The print control circuit 120 sequentially reads the dot image data from the RAM 140 and supplies current to the release coil 230 at an appropriate timing to perform printing.

FIG. 2 is a print range (hereinafter referred to as the number of dots) which each print hammer 210 is responsible for in the print range for one shuttle in the arrangement of the print hammers 210 shown in FIG.
And a specific example in which dot positions are assigned will be shown. Figure 2
In this case, the number of dots handled by each printing hammer 210 is 200, and the total number of printing hammers 210 is 300.
It is an individual.

The print control circuit 120 writes the dot image data in the RAM 140, and at the same time, the print hammer 2
Calculate the planned print drive number of 10 and calculate the number in the RAM 150.
Write to the corresponding address.

For example, if the planned number of print drives of the print hammer 1 of the print hammer 210 is 20, the print control circuit 120 sets the address “1” of the RAM 150 to “20”.
Write the data. Similarly, assuming that the planned number of print drives of the print hammer 2 is 150, the print control circuit 12
0 writes the data “150” to the address “2” of the RAM 150. In this way, the print control circuit 120 calculates the planned print drive number for all the print hammers 210, and writes the number of dots to be printed at the address of the RAM 150 corresponding to the print hammers 210. When the writing of the dot image data for one stroke is completed, the microprocessor 100 sequentially reads the data in the RAM 150 from addresses “1” to “300”, and the number of dots to be printed exceeds the specified value depending on the number of printing hammers 210. A printing method is designated in the print control circuit 120.

The print bank 1 to the print hammer 150 and the print hammer 151 to the print hammer 3 in the hammer bank 200.
A control method when divided into two blocks of 00 will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 3, the microprocessor 100 sets the count value A and the count value B to "0", and RA
Data is sequentially read from address 1 of M150. The data of the RAM 150 corresponding to the read address is 1
If it is 00 or more, the address of the RAM 150 is 1 to 1
Up to 50, add 1 to the count value A each time
Count value B when the address of 50 is 151 to 300
Add 1 each time.

After the data up to the address 300 in the RAM 150 is read, the microprocessor 100
Checks the values of the count value A and the count value B, and when one of the count values exceeds 60, instructs the print control circuit 120 to perform the two-division printing. If it exceeds 60 and is 60 or less, the microprocessor 100 causes the print control circuit 120 to change the pulse width of the current flowing through the release coil 230 from 150 μs to 18 μs.
Instruct to spread to 0 μs. If both count values are 30 or less, the microprocessor 100 sets the pulse width to 150 μs and instructs the print control circuit 120 to perform normal printing in which print data for one shuttle is printed by one shuttle.

In addition to the above method, the count value A
It is also possible to arbitrarily change the pulse width such that the pulse width is expanded to 200 μs when both the count value B and the count value B are more than 30 and 60 or less.

Also, the method of dividing the blocks can be arbitrarily changed such that the printing hammer 210 is divided into six blocks of 50 blocks each.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is judged whether or not a print pattern is affected by magnetic interference before printing is started,
In the case of a print pattern that is affected by magnetic interference, it is possible to change to a printing method that is not affected by magnetic interference, so it is possible to improve print quality without increasing the cost of the device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of control according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing dot positions for each printing hammer.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of control according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a main part showing a printing mechanism of a dot line printer.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an arrangement of printing hammers.

FIG. 6 is a timing chart showing drive timing of a print hammer.

[Explanation of symbols]

100 is a microprocessor, 110 is a data processing circuit, 120 is a print control circuit, 130, 140 and 150 are RAMs, 200 is a hammer bank, 210 is a print hammer,
220 is a permanent magnet, and 230 is a release coil.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-7-61046 (JP, A) JP-A-8-252931 (JP, A) JP-A-9-240025 (JP, A) JP-A-2- 2018 (JP, A) JP-A-4-101865 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41J 2/30 B41J 2/515

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A hammer bank having a plurality of printing hammers arranged at a predetermined pitch along a print line is reciprocated along the print line by a shuttle mechanism, and the print hammer is driven in the process of the reciprocal movement. In a dot line printer that performs printing by dividing the entire printing range printed during one movement of the hammer bank into printing ranges of individual printing hammers, dividing the entire printing range into a plurality of blocks, and printing. The planned driving number is calculated for each print hammer from the print data transmitted before the start, and the planned driving number for each hammer is compared with the first specified value to determine the first specified value for each block. The number of print hammers that have been exceeded is calculated, and if the number of print hammers exceeds a second specified value in at least one block, the amount of movement of one of the hammer banks is increased. A print control method for a dot line printer, characterized in that the print data of (1) is printed plural times. 2. A hammer bank having a plurality of printing hammers arranged at a predetermined pitch along a print line is reciprocated along the print line by a shuttle mechanism, and the print hammer is driven in the process of the reciprocal movement. In a dot line printer that performs printing by dividing the entire printing range printed during one movement of the hammer bank into printing ranges of individual printing hammers, dividing the entire printing range into a plurality of blocks, and printing. The planned driving number is calculated for each print hammer from the print data transmitted before the start, and the planned driving number for each hammer is compared with the first specified value to determine the first specified value for each block. The number of print hammers that have exceeded is calculated, and if the number of print hammers exceeds a second specified value in at least one block, a drive pulse for the print hammers. A print control method for a dot line printer, characterized in that printing is performed by changing the width. 3. The print control method for a dot line printer according to claim 2, wherein the drive pulse width can be arbitrarily changed. 4. The print control method for a dot line printer according to claim 1, wherein the number of the blocks can be arbitrarily changed. 5. A hammer bank having a plurality of printing hammers arranged at a predetermined pitch along a print line is reciprocated along the print line by a shuttle mechanism, and the print hammer is driven in the process of the reciprocal movement. In a dot line printer that performs printing by dividing the entire printing range printed during one movement of the hammer bank into printing ranges of individual printing hammers, dividing the entire printing range into a plurality of blocks, and printing. The planned driving number is calculated for each print hammer from the print data transmitted before the start, and the planned driving number for each hammer is compared with the first specified value to determine the first specified value for each block. The number of print hammers that have exceeded is calculated, and if the number of print hammers exceeds a second specified value in at least one block, a drive pulse for the print hammers. When changing the width and printing, and when the number of the print hammers exceeds the third specified value which is larger than the second specified value, the print data for one movement of the hammer bank is printed in plural times. A printing control method for a dot line printer, characterized in that. 6. A hammer bank having a plurality of printing hammers arranged at a predetermined pitch along a print line is reciprocated along the print line by a shuttle mechanism, and the print hammer is driven in the process of the reciprocal movement. In a dot line printer that performs printing by dividing the entire printing range printed during one movement of the hammer bank into printing ranges of individual printing hammers, dividing the entire printing range into a plurality of blocks, and printing. The planned driving number is calculated for each print hammer from the print data transmitted before the start, and the planned driving number for each hammer is compared with the first specified value to determine the first specified value for each block. The number of print hammers that have exceeded is calculated, and if the number of print hammers exceeds a second specified value in at least one block, a drive pulse for the print hammers. When the width is changed and printing is performed, the number of print hammers in which the planned driving number for each hammer exceeds the fourth specified value which is larger than the first specified value is the fifth.
The print control method for the dot line printer is characterized in that the print data for one movement of the hammer bank is printed a plurality of times when the specified value is exceeded.