JP4203424B2 - Printer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer such as a label printer or a receipt printer.

An outline of printing processing in a conventional label printer will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 5, 1 is a label mount, 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D,... Are labels provided on the label mount 1 so as to be peeled at regular intervals, and 3 is a label 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D,. A thermal head for printing data on 4, 4 is a platen that supports the label mount 1 at a position facing the thermal head 3, and 5 is a downstream side of the printing position by the thermal head 3 with respect to the transport direction X of the label mount 1. And a cutter for cutting the label mount 1.

In the conventional label printer, when the printing on one label 2A is completed, the label mount 1 is placed in the X direction so that the cutting line by the cutter 5 is positioned between the printed label 2A and the next label 2B. Is stopped by feeding a certain amount (see FIG. 5A). Then, the cutter 5 is operated to cut the label mount 1. At this time, the label 2B to be printed next is hatched in the drawing (hatched in the figure) from the relationship between the interval between the labels 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D,... And the mounting position of the thermal head 3 and the cutter 5. The portion P) stops downstream of the thermal head 3 in the paper transport direction X (see FIG. 5B).

  Therefore, in order to perform printing on the leading portion P of the label 2B, the conventional label printer places the label mount 1 in the −X direction so that the leading end of the label 2B is positioned at the printing position of the thermal head 3 before printing. Is fed back by a specified amount (see FIG. 5C). Thereafter, the label mount 1 is fed in the X direction and printing on the label 2B is started. When printing is completed, the label mount 1 is fed by a certain amount in the X direction and stopped so that the cutting line by the cutter 5 is positioned between the printed label 2B and the next label 2C (FIG. 5). (See (d)).

As described above, in this type of conventional label printer, printing is started after a predetermined amount of backfeed is performed before printing in order to print from the leading end of the label (for example, see Patent Document 1).
JP 2001-328302 A

  However, conventionally, even when the print data to the head portion P of the label is blank, the paper is always back-feeded by a specified amount, and then the so-called empty feed is carried out without printing until the print start position. Therefore, the time and power required for the back feed and the empty feed are wasted.

  Such a problem occurs not only in a label printer but also in a printer such as a receipt printer that starts printing after backfeeding a predetermined amount of paper for printing from the leading edge of the paper.

  Accordingly, the present invention is intended to provide a printer that can reduce wasteful time and power consumption by eliminating the back feed of paper and the accompanying empty feed, thereby improving efficiency.

  According to the present invention, in a printer that starts printing after a predetermined amount of paper is back-fed for printing from the leading edge of the paper, the back-feed is not necessary when the back-feed is not necessary because the print data at the head of the paper is blank. In order to prevent the image data from being printed, a margin judgment unit for judging whether or not there is a margin of a specified amount or more at the head portion of the image data drawn based on the print data on the paper, and the margin judgment unit When it is determined that there is a margin equal to or greater than the amount, a printing control unit that starts printing without performing backfeed is provided.

  According to the present invention in which such a measure is taken, it is possible to provide a printer capable of reducing wasteful time and power consumption by eliminating the back feed of paper and the accompanying empty feed, thereby reducing efficiency.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the thermal head 3 and the platen 4 face labels 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D,... This is a case where the present invention is applied to a label printer that prints data at a printing position, then cuts the label mount 1 with a cutter 5 and sequentially issues labels 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D,.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of a label printer according to the present embodiment. This label printer is provided with a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11 as a control unit main body. Also, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12 in which fixed data such as programs and character generator data is stored, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13 in which various memory areas for storing variable data are formed, and a host A communication interface 14 that receives print data from a computer (not shown), a head drive circuit 15 that drives the thermal head 3, and a paper feed mechanism that feeds the label mount 1 in the feed direction X and the backfeed direction -X ( A motor drive circuit 17 for driving a stepping motor 16 as a power source (not shown), a motor drive circuit 19 for driving a ribbon motor 18 for feeding an ink ribbon (not shown), and a cutter solenoid for driving the cutter 5. I / O port 21 for outputting an energization signal to 20 and It is provided an I / O port 23 for inputting signals from various sensors 22 such as a paper positioning sensor. The CPU 11, ROM 12, RAM 13, communication interface 14, head drive circuit 15, motor drive circuits 17, 19 and I / O ports 21, 23 are connected by a bus line 24 such as an address bus or a data bus. Yes.

  As shown in FIG. 2 in particular, the RAM 13 is formed with an image buffer 30 in which image data for N (N> 1) lines corresponding to at least one label is drawn.

  Therefore, the CPU 11 is programmed to execute the processing of the procedure shown in the flowchart of FIG. That is, the CPU 11 waits for a command from the computer as ST (step) 1. If the command received via the communication interface 14 as ST2 is a command for instructing drawing of print data such as characters, bar codes, ruled lines, etc., the CPU 11 performs the image buffer based on the print data as ST3. 30 draws image data such as characters, bar codes, ruled lines, and the like.

  On the other hand, if the received command is a command for requesting label issuance, the CPU 11 searches the data in the image buffer 30 in order from ST1 in ST5, and all the lines are printed dots. It is determined whether or not the margin line is not. Then, the number of lines from the first line is counted as the number of blank lines A until a line that is not a blank line is detected.

  Next, the CPU 11 determines whether or not the number A of blank lines is “0” in ST6. If it is “0”, the data is printed from the head of the label, so the CPU 11 reversely drives the stepping motor 16 in ST7 to back-feed the label mount 1 in the −X direction. When the back feed amount reaches a predetermined amount corresponding to the preset fixed line number B, as ST15, the stepping motor 16 is driven forward to feed the label mount 1 in the X direction, The energization of the head 3 is controlled and the ribbon motor 18 is driven to print the image data drawn from the first line of the image buffer 30 on the label located at the head of the label mount 1. When the paper feed amount from the start of printing reaches a predetermined value after the printing is finished, the stepping motor 16 is stopped and the cutter solenoid 20 is energized to cut the label mount 1 and issue a label.

Here, the fixed line number B is the number of lines corresponding to the distance from the leading end of the leading label 2B remaining when the label mount 1 is cut by the cutter 5 to the print position of the thermal head 3, and each label 2A, Is uniquely determined from the relationship between the intervals 2B, 2C, 2D... And the mounting positions of the thermal head 3 and the cutter 5. The paper feed amount from the start of printing corresponds to the distance from the front end of the label mount 1 cut by the cutter 5 to the rear end of the top label 2B (see FIGS. 5B and 5C) .
On the other hand, if the margin line number A is not “0”, the CPU 11 determines whether the margin line number A is equal to or greater than the fixed line number B in ST8 (margin determining means). If the CPU 11 determines that the blank line number A is equal to or greater than the fixed line number B, the CPU 11 sets the print start address for the label from ST to the default value corresponding to the first line of the image buffer 30 in ST9. Advance to the value corresponding to the B line. In ST10, the paper feed amount required for printing one label is changed from the default amount corresponding to the distance from the leading edge of the label mount 1 cut by the cutter 5 to the trailing edge of the leading label 2B. Is corrected by subtracting the amount corresponding to (correction means, second correction means).

Thereafter, in step ST15, the CPU 11 drives the stepping motor 16 to rotate forward to feed the label board 1 in the X direction, and controls the energization of the thermal head 3 and drives the ribbon motor 18 to drive the head of the label board 1. The image data drawn after the B-th line of the image buffer 30 is printed on the label 2 </ b> B located at. When the paper feed amount from the start of printing reaches the corrected value after printing is completed, the stepping motor 16 is stopped and the cutter solenoid 20 is energized to cut the label mount 1 and issue the label 2B. ( Second print control means)

On the other hand, if it is determined that the number A of blank lines is smaller than the number B of fixed lines, the CPU 11 subtracts the number A of blank lines from the number B of fixed lines in ST11, and corresponds to the minimum back feed amount. The number C is calculated (back feed amount calculation means). In step ST12, the CPU 11 corrects the print start address by proceeding from the default value to a value corresponding to the C-th line of the image buffer 30. In ST13, the paper feed amount necessary for label printing for one sheet is corrected by subtracting an amount corresponding to the number of lines C from the default amount ( first correcting means).

Thereafter, the CPU 11 reversely drives the stepping motor 16 in ST14 to back-feed the label mount 1 in the −X direction. If the back feed amount reaches an amount corresponding to the number of lines C, as ST15, the stepping motor 16 is driven forward to feed the label mount 1 in the X direction and the energization of the thermal head 3 is controlled. Then, the ribbon motor 18 is driven to print the image data drawn after the C line of the image buffer 30 on the label located at the head of the label mount 1. When the paper feed amount from the start of printing reaches the corrected value after printing is finished, the stepping motor 16 is stopped and the cutter solenoid 20 is energized to cut the label mount 1 and issue a label ( first print control means).

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when there is no blank at the beginning of the image data 31 drawn in the image buffer 30, a paper backfeed of a specified amount corresponding to the fixed line number B is performed as in the conventional case. The label printing starts after it is done. However, as shown in FIG. 4 (a), when there is a blank having a fixed line number B or more at the beginning of the image data 31 drawn in the image buffer 30, label printing is started without performing paper backfeed. To do. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate wasted time and power consumed for back feed and empty feed, and it is possible to improve efficiency such as improvement of throughput and power saving. Further, since the back feed operation is reduced, the load on the platen 4 and the stepping motor 16 is reduced, and there is an advantage that the life of these consumables can be extended.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4B, even when the margin area at the head of the image data 31 drawn in the image buffer 30 is smaller than the B line, it corresponds to the specified amount of back feed. The number of lines C corresponding to the minimum back feed amount is calculated by subtracting the number A of the leading margin lines from the fixed line number B to be performed, and label printing is started after paper back feed is performed by this number of lines C. ing. Therefore, also in this case, it is possible to eliminate wasted time and power consumed for the back feed and the empty feed, and further efficiency can be achieved.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to a label printer of a type that cuts the label mount, and when the label printing is completed, a label printer of a type that stops after sending the label mount to a position where the printed label can be peeled off. The present invention is also applicable to a receipt printer that prints and issues a receipt in conjunction with a POS (Point Of Sales) terminal or the like.

  In the above embodiment, the processes of ST6 and ST11 to ST14 in FIG. 3 are omitted, and if it is determined in ST8 that the number of blank lines A is less than the fixed line number B, the process proceeds to ST7. It goes without saying that even if the control is changed to start printing after a specified amount of paper backfeed has been performed, it is possible to improve efficiency, such as improved throughput and power saving, compared to the conventional method. is there.

1 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of a label printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows typically the image buffer which the label printer of the embodiment has. 3 is a flowchart showing a main processing procedure executed by the CPU of the label printer in the embodiment. The figure which shows typically the image buffer by which image data was drawn. The schematic diagram which shows the outline | summary of the printing process of a label printer.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Label mount, 2 (2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, ...) ... Label, 3 ... Thermal head, 4 ... Cutter, 5 ... Platen, 11 ... CPU, 30 ... Image buffer.

Claims (2)

In a printer provided with a print head for printing on the conveyed paper and a cutter for cutting the paper printed by this print head ,
An image buffer in which image data is drawn based on print data on the paper ;
A margin determining means for determining whether the head portion of the image data drawn in the image buffer has provisions quantitative or margins,
If it is determined by the margin determining means that there is no margin equal to or greater than the specified amount , the print start position is set to the first line of the image buffer and the paper feed amount is set to a predetermined value. A correction unit that performs a correction to advance the print start position by the specified amount from the first line of the image buffer and a correction to reduce the paper feed amount from the predetermined value by the specified amount;
When the margin determining means determines that there is no margin equal to or greater than the specified amount, after the paper is back-feeded by the specified amount, printing is started from the first line of the image buffer, and the paper feed amount is First print control means for cutting a sheet with the cutter when a predetermined value is reached;
When the margin determining means by Ru is determined that there is the prescribed amount or margin, without the sheet of the back feed, the printing is started from the corrected printing start position by the correction means, the paper feed amount is the A second print control means for cutting the paper with the cutter when the value corrected by the correction means is reached ;
A printer comprising: In a printer provided with a print head for printing on the conveyed paper and a cutter for cutting the paper printed by this print head ,
An image buffer in which image data is drawn based on print data on the paper ;
A margin determining means for determining whether the head portion of the image data drawn in the image buffer has provisions quantitative or margins,
Backfeed amount calculation means for calculating a minimum backfeed amount from the specified amount and the margin amount of the head portion of the image data on the condition that the margin determination means determines that there is no margin equal to or greater than the specified amount ; ,
On the condition that the margin determining unit determines that there is no margin equal to or greater than the specified amount, the print start position is corrected by advancing the minimum back feed amount from the first line of the image buffer and the paper feed amount. First correction means for performing a correction to reduce the predetermined back feed amount by the minimum back feed amount;
On the condition that the margin determination unit determines that there is a margin equal to or greater than the specified amount, the print start position is corrected by the specified amount from the first line of the image buffer, and the paper feed amount is set to the predetermined amount. A second correction means for performing correction to reduce the value by a specified amount;
If the margin determining unit determines that there is no margin equal to or greater than the specified amount, the sheet is back-feeded by the minimum back-feed amount and then printed from the print start position corrected by the first correcting unit. A first print control means for cutting the paper with the cutter when the paper feed amount reaches a value corrected by the first correction means;
When the margin determining means by Ru is determined that there is the prescribed amount or margin, without the sheet of the back feed, it starts printing from the corrected printing start position by the second correction means, paper feeding Second print control means for cutting the paper with the cutter when the amount reaches a value corrected by the second correction means ;
Printer, characterized by comprising a.

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