JP3780583B2 - Printer device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a printer apparatus that can easily control the position of a print head to an intermediate position.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for video printers that capture image data such as video images, computer graphics, and digital still cameras, and print them in color with high definition. For such applications, a printer using a sublimation thermal transfer system is often used because it has high image quality and does not require maintenance. In some cases, a printer using a melt-type thermal transfer system is used.
[0003]
In a sublimation type thermal transfer printer, heat is applied to an ink sheet containing a sublimable dye as a main component, and the vaporized ink reacts with a polyester-based coating on a printing paper to cause color development. In order to apply heat to the ink sheet, for example, a thermal head is used. In this method, gradation can be expressed in dot units by adjusting the amount of heat applied. For example, when 256 gradations can be produced for each of Y (yellow), M (magenta), and C (cyan) colors, the so-called full-color printing of about 16.7 million colors is performed by printing these colors in a plane-sequential manner. Is possible.
[0004]
The thermal head is provided with a heating element corresponding to dots, for example, in line units. The thermal head is arranged in parallel to the paper, and data is given to the heating element in units of lines, so that heat corresponding to the given data is generated and ink is vaporized. By sequentially moving the paper or the head, printing is performed on the paper surface.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in the conventional printer apparatus, when the head is moved to a head position that is located in the middle of the entire movement stroke of the head, the head position is determined from either side of the reciprocation of the head movement. It was. That is, for example, when the head moves up and down, the position sensor such as an optical sensor provided for an intermediate position of the head moves the head from the top to the bottom and the head from the bottom to the top. Is detected.
[0006]
In such a method, since the head position must be detected in both directions of the sensor position, a wide detection range of the sensor is required. Therefore, it was necessary to use a highly accurate sensor to compensate for this. Furthermore, it is necessary to devise a mechanism such as strict sensor mounting position and mechanism operating range. For this reason, there has been a problem in that the design and the cost of parts are increased.
[0007]
Conventionally, many printers are equipped with a plurality of microprocessors (hereinafter referred to as microcomputers), and dedicated functions are assigned to them. Therefore, for example, when feeding paper to the printer, it is possible to accurately control the head position by detecting the head position with a sensor and interrupting a dedicated mechanical control microcomputer.
[0008]
However, in recent years, microcomputers have been improved in performance and capacity, and there has been a demand for miniaturization and cost reduction of printers. There are a plurality of functions such as mechanical control, image processing for printing, and user interfaces in the apparatus. It has become necessary to consolidate these functions into one microcomputer. As a result, more interrupt processing is used, and the interval at which the output from the sensor for head position detection is monitored by software becomes longer than when a dedicated mechanical control microcomputer is used, resulting in an error in the head stop position. There was a problem that became large.
[0009]
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a printer apparatus that does not require a high-precision head position sensor and controls the position of the print head with a simple mechanism.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-described problem, according to the present invention, in a printer apparatus in which a print head has a plurality of head positions, the first position, the second position, and the first and first positions according to the operation state of the printer apparatus. A print head arranged at a plurality of positions with a predetermined position between the two positions, and a print head disposed at a position corresponding to the first position, the second position, and the predetermined position. head and Ruhe head position sensor detecting the position, the print head when stopping the second position to the first predetermined position is moved in a direction towards the position, in which the print head disposed in a predetermined position The print head is moved in the direction from the second position to the first position until it is detected by the position sensor, and the print head is moved until the print head is not detected by the head position sensor arranged at a predetermined position. After moving in the direction from the position 2 to the first position, the print head is moved in the direction from the first position to the second position until it is detected by the head position sensor arranged at a predetermined position. And a control unit that controls the printer to control the printer.
[0011]
As described above, according to the present invention, when the print head is moved in the direction from the second position toward the first position and stopped at the predetermined position between the first and second positions, the print head is predetermined. After the print head is moved from the second position to the first position until it is detected by the sensor arranged at the position and is no longer detected, the print head is moved from the first position to the second position. Since the print head is stopped when the print head is detected by a sensor arranged at a predetermined position, the print head position control at the predetermined position is always controlled only in one direction. Can be done.
[0012]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 schematically shows an example of the configuration of a printer device based on a sublimation thermal transfer system applicable to the present invention. A printer 3 is connected to the computer 1 via the interface 2. An instruction such as printing to the printer 3 and print data are sent from the computer 1 to the printer 3 via the interface 2. The printer 3 includes a memory 4, a microcomputer 5 including a microprocessor, a thermal head driving device 6, a thermal head 7, and a mechanical unit 8 such as a printing paper transport mechanism. Here, it is assumed that the printer 3 performs color printing with three colors of Y (yellow), M (magenta), and C (cyan).
[0013]
When the computer 1 is instructed to perform a printing operation by the printer 3, the image data displayed or stored on the computer 1 is separated into three colors Y, M, and C. The image data separated into the three colors is sequentially supplied to the printer 3 via the interface 2. These image data are transferred to the memory 4 and stored in the printer 3. When the image data for one image to be printed (that is, for three colors) has been prepared in the memory 4, the operation proceeds to the next operation. Next, for example, paper feeding and printing are performed on the printer apparatus.
[0014]
FIG. 2 schematically shows the mechanism of the printer device 3. This mechanism corresponds to the mechanical unit 8 shown in FIG. 1 and is controlled by the microcomputer 5. The control of the mechanical unit 8 by the microcomputer 5 is performed in a time-sharing manner together with other processes performed in the printer device 3 such as data processing for printing and user interface control. In FIG. 2, the thermal head 7 has three head positions of H ₀ , H ₁ , and H ₂ . H ₀ is a reference position. H ₁ is the head position when feeding paper. H ₂ is the head position during printing.
[0015]
As shown in FIG. 2, a pair of paper transport rollers 11 a and 11 b, a platen roller 12, and a pair of ink ribbon transport rollers 13 a and 13 b are arranged inside the printer device 3. An ink ribbon 14 coated with a dye used for printing is wound around and attached to the pair of ink ribbon transport rollers 13a and 13b. When the printer 3 is configured to perform color printing, the ink ribbon 14 has Y, M, and C color areas. B (Black) may be added to this to make 4 colors. The ink ribbon 14 is wound up from, for example, the roller 13 a to the roller 13 b, so that a new surface always appears on the thermal head 7. Further, paper sensors 15 and 16 for detecting the printing paper position are arranged at predetermined positions.
[0016]
A thermal head (hereinafter abbreviated as “head”) 7 for printing is movable and has the three positions H ₀ , H ₁ , and H ₂ described above. The position above the ribbon 14 shown in FIG. 2A is set as the reference position H ₀ . Also, the position shown in FIG. 2B is the paper feed position H _1, and the position shown in FIG. 2C is the print position H ₂ . Although omitted in FIG. 2 to avoid complication, a head for detecting the position of the head 7 at a position corresponding to each of these head positions H ₀ , H ₁ , and H _2. Position sensors Se ₀ , Se ₁ and Se ₂ are provided.
[0017]
These head position sensors Se ₀ , Se ₁ , and Se ₂ are formed by combining a light emitting element such as a light emitting diode and a light receiving element such as a phototransistor. That is, when the head 7 is located between the light emitting element and the light receiving element of the head position sensor Se ₁ , for example, the light from the light emitting element received by the light receiving element is blocked, and the presence of the head 7 is the head position sensor Se _1. Detected.
[0018]
In such a configuration, the head 7 moves to the position H ₂ , and the ink ribbon 14 and the printing paper 17 are pressed against each other by the head 7 and the platen roller 12 to perform printing.
[0019]
As shown in FIG. 2A, the printing paper 17 is conveyed into the printer device 3 by being drawn into the pair of paper conveying rollers 11a and 11b. Then, when it is detected that the leading edge of the paper has reached a predetermined position by the paper sensor 15 made of, for example, an optical sensor, the printing operation is started. At this time, the position of the head 7 is set to the reference position H ₀ .
[0020]
FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of the printing operation in this embodiment. When the printing operation is started, as shown in FIG. 2B, the head 7 is moved from the reference position H ₀ to the paper feeding position H ₁ to prepare for printing (step S1). Further, the paper transport rollers 11a and 11b rotate in the paper feeding direction, whereby the printing paper 17 is drawn into the printer device 3 to be fed. This paper feeding is continued until the end of the printing paper 17 is detected by the sensor 16 (step S2). When the end of the printing paper 17 is detected and the printing position is determined, the paper 17 is fed by the rollers 11a and 11b.
[0021]
In the next step S3, for example, when printing the color Y, the ink ribbon 14 is fed by the ink ribbon transport rollers 13a and 13b until the beginning of the area where the color Y pigment is applied is detected. Cueing is performed. When the ink ribbon 14 is fed to a predetermined area, in step S4, the head 7 is moved from the feed position H ₁ to the printing position H _2, printing is started in the next step S5.
[0022]
That is, when the head 7 moves to the position H ₂ , the ink ribbon 14 and the printing paper 17 are sandwiched between the head 7 and the platen roller 12 and are pressed against each other. Then, the paper transport rollers 11a and 11b rotate in the printing direction, whereby the color Y is printed on a predetermined portion of the printing paper 17. When the printing paper 17 is fed by a predetermined amount in the printing direction and the printing of the color Y is completed, the head 7 is moved from the position H ₂ to the position H ₁ .
[0023]
Thus, the movement of the head 7 to the position H _{1 that} occurs before the start of printing of each color has two types of movement, that is, movement from the position H ₀ and movement from the position H ₂ . That is, the head 7 moves from the position H ₀ to the position H ₁ before the first printing on the printing paper 17, and moves from the position H ₂ to the position ₁ during printing of each color Y, M, and C. To do. In the present invention, in both cases, the position H ₁ of the head 7 is determined based on movement in a predetermined direction, for example, movement from the position H ₀ to the position H ₁ . Here, the moving direction for position determination is referred to as a position determination direction.
[0024]
At this time, the position of the head 7 is determined as follows. As shown in FIG. 4A, the initial head 7 is at the position H ₂ and is detected by the head position sensor Se ₂ . The head 7 shown in this example moves on an arc having a predetermined radius with a certain point as a center point. In step S6, the head 7 is moved to the position H ₁ direction. This movement is continued until the head 7 is detected by the head position sensor Se ₁ at the position H ₁ . When the head 7 is detected in the head position sensor Se _1, the head 7 is moved further to the head position sensor Se ₁ can no longer detect the head 7 (step S7).
[0025]
When the head 7 passes the position H ₁ and is no longer detected by the head position sensor Se ₁ , the movement of the head is stopped. Next, as shown in FIG. 4C, the head 7 is moved in the position determination direction. This movement is continued until the head 7 is detected by the head position sensor Se ₁ (step S8). When the head 7 is detected by the head position sensor Se ₁ , the movement of the head 7 is stopped, and the head 7 is positioned at a predetermined position H ₁ as shown in FIG. 4D.
[0026]
Then, the paper transport rollers 11a and 11b are rotated again in the paper feeding direction, and the printing paper 17 is drawn into the printer. In step S9, it is determined whether printing of each color (three colors Y, M, and C in this example) has been completed. If it is determined that the process has not been completed, the process returns to step S2 again, and printing of color M and color C is performed by the same procedure as described above. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S9 that printing of each color has been completed, the process proceeds to step S10.
[0027]
In step S10, the paper transport rollers 11a and 11b rotate in the printing direction and are discharged until the printing paper 17 is no longer detected by the sensor 15. Then, the head 7 is moved from the position H ₁ to the position H ₀ and printing is finished.
[0028]
In the above description, the present invention has been described as applied to a sublimation thermal transfer type printer apparatus, but this is not limited to this example. That is, the present invention can be applied to other types of printer apparatuses that perform similar head movement. In the above description, the position determination method for the position H ₁ between the position H ₀ and the position H ₂ has been described. However, this is not limited to this example. For example, the present invention can be applied even when more intermediate positions H ₁₁ , H ₁₂ , H ₁₃ ... Are provided between the position H ₀ and the position H ₂ . Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to a printer device. That is, the present invention can be applied to other devices that require similar position control.
[0029]
As a modification of this embodiment, a method of moving the head 7 from the position H ₀ to the position ₁ after moving the head 7 from the position H ₂ to the position H ₀ is also conceivable. In this case, there is a drawback that the amount of movement of the head 7 increases.
[0030]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, since the position determination direction of the head position is limited to one predetermined direction, the accuracy of the head position sensor for detecting the head position is also only in one direction. It ’s enough. For this reason, a highly accurate head position sensor is not required, and the cost of the apparatus can be reduced.
[0031]
Moreover, since the direction of control is one direction, the mechanism is simplified, and there is an effect that costs for design and manufacturing can be reduced.
[0032]
Therefore, there is an effect that a small and low-cost printer device can be realized.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing an example of the configuration of a printer device using a sublimation thermal transfer system applicable to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram schematically illustrating a mechanism of a printer apparatus.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a printing operation in the embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram schematically showing head position control in the embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
3 ... printer, 7 ... thermal head, 11a, 11b ... paper conveying roller, 12 ... platen roller, 15, 16 ... the paper _{sensor, Se 0, Se 1, Se} 2 ··・ Head position sensor

Claims (1)

In the printer device in which the print head has a plurality of head positions,
A print head adapted to take a head position at a plurality of positions including a first position, a second position, and a predetermined position between the first position and the second position in accordance with an operation state of the printer device;
Said first position, said second position, and respectively arranged in positions corresponding to the above predetermined position, and Ruhe head position sensor detecting the position of the print head,
Until the print head is detected by a head position sensor disposed at the predetermined position when the print head is moved from the second position toward the first position and stopped at the predetermined position. The print head is moved in the direction from the second position to the first position, and the print head is moved to the second position until the print head is no longer detected by a head position sensor disposed at the predetermined position. From the first position to the second position, and then from the first position to the second position until the print head is detected by a head position sensor disposed at the predetermined position. And a control unit that controls the printer to move in the direction of heading.

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