JP6031763B2 - Printer - Google Patents

Description

The present invention also relates to the printer to perform printing.

  As a system for operating an operated device from a portable operation terminal by wireless communication, for example, a technique described in Patent Document 1 is known. In this prior art, the operated device (Bluetooth device) and the operation terminal (portable terminal) are connected by Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication, and the operated device executes an operation corresponding to the information transmitted from the operation terminal. Is possible.

JP 2009-71664 A

  In recent years, a system has been proposed in which a printer is applied as the operated device, and an operator appropriately operates an operation unit provided in an operation terminal to cause a printing apparatus to perform desired printing via wireless communication. is there. For example, in such a system, when an operator who carries an operation terminal that can be connected to a printing apparatus wants to perform desired printing at a destination, he / she performs a printing operation on an appropriate printer at hand, and performs the desired printing. It is very convenient if it can be executed easily and easily. However, in the above-described conventional technology, no particular consideration has been given to such a point.

An object of the present invention allows manipulating the appropriate printer at hand of the operator can be performed easily and conveniently print is to provide a printer.

In order to achieve the above object, a first invention of the present application is a printer that performs printing on a printing medium, a conveying unit that conveys the printing medium, and a printing medium that is conveyed by the conveying unit. Printing means for executing printing, printer control means for controlling the conveying means and the printing means, and wired connection so as to be able to send and receive information to the printer control means, and send and receive information to and from an IC circuit section for storing information A printer wireless tag comprising a tag antenna, the printer wireless tag storing printer identification information capable of specifying the printer stored in the IC circuit portion, and the printer obtained from the IC circuit portion by first wireless communication with the printer wireless tag Print data transmitted from the operation terminal by identifying the printer using the identification information is acquired by second wireless communication different from the first wireless communication. Has a printing data acquiring means, a detection result acquisition means for acquiring predetermined detection result relating to the printing operation, the said IC circuit part of the wireless tag the printer, the detection obtained by said detection result acquisition means The print data acquisition means stores the result, and the detection result is determined based on the detection result and the printer identification information acquired from the IC circuit unit by the first wireless communication with the printer wireless tag. The printer is selected based on whether or not it matches, and the printer is specified using the printer identification information, so that the print data transmitted by the operation terminal is acquired by the second wireless communication, A printer control unit configured to execute the printing of the print data acquired by the print data acquisition unit on the print medium; And controlling the conveying means and the printing means together cooperation with.

  The printer of the first invention of this application is provided with a printer wireless tag. The printer wireless tag is connected to the printer control unit by wire, and stores printer identification information capable of specifying the printer in the IC circuit unit. The printer identification information is acquired by the operation terminal when the operation terminal reads the printer wireless tag through the first wireless communication by an appropriate operation of the operator. Thereafter, the operation terminal transmits the print data by the second wireless communication by specifying the printer using the acquired printer identification information. The transmitted print data is acquired by the print data acquisition unit of the printer. Thus, based on the control of the printer control unit, the conveyance unit and the printing unit cooperate to print the acquired print data on the printing medium.

  As described above, in the first invention of the present application, after the operation terminal specifies the printer using the printer wireless tag, the operation terminal transmits the print data and causes the printer to perform printing (= print operation). As a result, for example, when an operator carrying the operation terminal wants to perform desired printing at a destination, the user can surely perform a printing operation on a nearby printer and easily and easily execute the desired printing. .

In the first invention of this application, the printer is specified by wireless communication (first wireless communication) with a wireless tag (printer wireless tag) having a relatively short communication distance. As a result, the operator must first obtain the printer identification information by bringing the operation terminal close to (or substantially in contact with) the printer that is to perform the printing operation. Thereby, for example, even when a plurality of printers are arranged close to each other, the operator easily recognizes one printer as a target of the printing operation intuitively and performs the printing operation reliably. Can do. Further, the operation terminal is close to one of the plurality of printers → the printer is specified and the print data is transmitted → the operation terminal is close to the next printer → the printer is specified and the print data is transmitted → By repeating the above procedure, it is possible to perform printing operations for the plurality of printers one after another in a short time (or almost simultaneously) and to cause each printer to perform desired printing.
Further, in the first invention of the present application, for example, the remaining battery level when the printer is driven by the battery, the type of printing medium stored in the printer, the remaining printing medium level, and the like are detected in relation to the printing operation. The result is acquired by the detection result acquisition means. The acquired detection result is stored in the IC circuit unit of the printer wireless tag. Thereby, when the operation terminal reads the wireless tag for printer by the first wireless communication, the detection result is acquired by the operation terminal together with the printer identification information. As a result, the operation terminal can determine whether or not the acquired detection result matches a predetermined condition for transmitting print data and executing printing. For example, whether the remaining battery level is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, whether the type of printing medium is consistent with the print data to be transmitted, the remaining amount of printing medium is predetermined. The operation terminal determines whether or not the threshold value is greater than or equal to the threshold value or whether the print data is to be transmitted. Then, only when the detection result matches the predetermined condition, the operation terminal selects a printer corresponding to the detection result as a print data transmission target, and uses the acquired printer identification information to By specifying the printer, print data is transmitted by the second wireless communication.
As described above, in the first invention of the present application, it is possible to prevent the operation terminal from transmitting print data without tangent to a different wireless communication path to a printer that is inappropriate as a print data transmission target. The desired printing intended by the operator can be executed smoothly and reliably.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the IC circuit unit of the wireless tag for printer stores address information of the printer as the printer identification information, and the print data acquisition means is for the printer. Acquiring the print data transmitted from the operation terminal by specifying the printer using the address information acquired from the IC circuit unit through the first wireless communication with the wireless tag through the second wireless communication. Features.

  As a result, the operation terminal can easily identify the printer using the address information, reliably connect, and transmit the print data.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to operate an appropriate printer that is close to the operator, and to execute printing easily and easily.

1 is a system configuration diagram showing an operation terminal to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied together with a portable printer. It is the perspective view which looked at the appearance of a portable printer from the slanting back side. It is a sectional side view by the III-III section in Drawing 2 showing the internal structure of a portable printer. It is a block diagram showing the functional structure of a portable printer and an operation terminal. It is a block diagram showing an example of a functional composition on processing control in an operation terminal. It is a figure which illustrates notionally the flow of the information from an operating terminal to a portable printer. It is explanatory drawing showing the behavior which acquires the address information of a portable printer by communication with a wireless tag, and the behavior which transmits print data to a portable printer after specifying by address information. It is a flowchart showing the control content performed by CPU of an operating terminal. It is a flowchart showing the control content performed by the control circuit of a portable printer. It is explanatory drawing showing the behavior in which the operation terminal is performing radio | wireless communication with respect to the portable printer installed in various places. FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view illustrating an appearance of a portable printer in a modified example in which state determination is performed by detecting a state quantity. It is a schematic plan view of the main body case of a portable printer. It is a perspective view of the paper package with which the portable printer is mounted. It is a perspective view of the pickup roller part of the main body case of a portable printer. It is a sectional side view of a portable printer. It is a block diagram of a portable printer. It is a flowchart showing the control procedure performed by CPU.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<System configuration>
FIG. 1 shows an operation terminal 200 to which the present embodiment is applied, together with a portable printer 100 that is an operation target. In FIG. 1, the portable printer 100 and the operation terminal 200 constitute a printing system PS. The portable printer 100 and the operation terminal 200 are connected so as to be able to transmit and receive information by appropriate mutual recognition wireless communication, in this example, Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication.

  The operation terminal 200 is an information terminal such as a PDA (mobile information terminal) or a smartphone (mobile phone having a PDA function) having a function corresponding to the mutual recognition wireless communication. The operation terminal 200 has a touch panel 201 and, for example, an operation button 202. The touch panel 201 has a display function for displaying various information and messages on a liquid crystal display or the like, and an operator can input desired instructions and information together with the operation buttons 202. Therefore, hereinafter, the display function portion of the touch panel is simply referred to as “display unit 201”, and the operation function portion of the touch panel and the operation buttons are simply referred to as “operation unit 202”. In this example, the operation terminal 200 can transmit print data to the portable printer 100 via the mutual recognition wireless communication and cause the portable printer 100 to execute desired printing.

<Printer configuration>
A schematic configuration of the portable printer 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

  The portable printer 100 includes a housing 102 that is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole. A cover member 103 is openably and closably provided on the upper surface of the housing 102 on the back side in the drawing. At the time of printing, the printing paper S (printed medium; see FIG. 4 described later) is inserted into the gap (not shown) of the cover member 103. In FIG. 2, the side surface located on the front side of the housing 102 corresponds to the back surface portion of the portable printer 100, and the battery chamber cover 104 is detachably provided on the back surface portion. In a state in which the battery chamber cover 104 is removed, the battery storage chamber 105 that stores the battery power source 107 (see FIG. 3) opens in the rear portion of the housing 102.

  In the housing 102, a platen roller 111 (conveying means) and a thermal line head 112 (printing means) are provided. The platen roller 111 is rotatably supported inside the housing 102, and conveys the printing paper S by being rotated by a driving mechanism (not shown). The thermal line head 112 is installed so as to be able to come into contact with and separate from the platen roller 111, and contacts the platen roller 111 with a predetermined pressing force during printing, and performs desired printing on the printing paper S inserted therebetween.

  In a normal case, the printing paper S is inserted into the gap conveyance path with the cover member 103 closed, so that the printing paper S is conveyed by the platen roller 111, and the thermal line head is applied to the printing paper S. The desired printing is performed by 112. In order to remove a paper jam, the cover member 103 is opened. At this time, since the platen roller 111 is released from the thermal line head 112, it is possible to easily pull out the paper.

  The housing 102 includes a top cover 121, an under cover 131, and two side covers (not shown).

<Functional configuration of printer and operation terminal>
A functional configuration of the portable printer 100 and the operation terminal 200 will be described with reference to FIG.

  4, the portable printer 100 includes a thermal line head 112 that performs desired printing on the printing paper S, the platen roller 111, a control circuit 143, a memory 144 such as a RAM or a ROM, and the like. A communication control unit 142 that controls the mutual recognition wireless communication performed with the operation terminal 200 via the printer-side antenna 141 and a printer wireless tag T are provided.

  The printer wireless tag T is connected to the IC circuit unit 150 that stores printer identification information P (for example, address information; see FIG. 7A described later) that can identify the portable printer 100, and the IC circuit unit 150. A tag antenna 151. The IC circuit unit 150 includes a control unit 157 that controls the operation of the circuit elements of the IC circuit unit 150 and a memory unit 155 configured as, for example, a dual port type memory. One port 155 a of the memory unit 155 is connected to the control unit 157. The other port 155 b of the memory unit 155 is an external output terminal, and is connected to the control circuit 143 through the wired connection unit 154.

  The operation terminal 200 includes a CPU 203 (terminal control means), a memory 204 including, for example, a RAM and a ROM, the operation unit 202, the display unit 201, a solid state drive device (SSD), and the like, and stores various types of information. A mass storage device 205, an RFID wireless transmission / reception unit 208 (first communication means) provided with a first antenna 208A, and a mutual recognition wireless communication control unit 206 (second communication means) provided with a second antenna 206A. It has.

  The RFID wireless transmission / reception unit 208 performs the above-described printer specific to the portable printer 100 by wireless communication (first wireless communication) between the tag antenna 151 of the printer wireless tag T and the first antenna 208A according to the control of the CPU 203. The identification information P is acquired. In this example, the short-range wireless communication system using the 13.56 MHz band is used to limit the communication distance to an area of less than 10 cm.

  The mutual recognition wireless communication control unit 206 controls the operation terminal 200 to the portable printer 100 through the mutual recognition wireless communication (second wireless communication) between the second antenna 206A and the printer-side antenna 141 according to the control of the CPU 203. Control to send print data. In this communication, the communication distance is assumed to be in the range of about 10 m to 100 m.

  The CPU 203 performs signal processing in accordance with a program stored in advance in the ROM while utilizing the temporary storage function of the RAM, thereby transmitting and receiving various instruction signals and information signals to and from the portable printer 100. Yes. Note that the program stored in the ROM includes a print processing program for executing a print processing method shown in the flow of FIGS. 8 and 17 described later.

  The mass storage device 205 (may be the memory 204) stores a program for converting a print command into a printer code (details omitted) for each type of a predetermined format such as a character style or a font. .

  Next, with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, a functional configuration and process flow in the operation terminal 200 will be described.

  In FIG. 5, at least one application program AP and a printer driver PD program are deployed and started on the memory 204 of the operation terminal 200, and can send and receive instruction signals and information signals to and from each other. . The application program AP transmits / receives a signal to / from the printer driver PD. The printer driver PD transmits / receives a signal to / from the large-capacity storage device 205, and mutual recognition wireless communication between the communication control unit 206 and the communication control unit 142. A signal is transmitted / received to / from the portable printer 100.

  Both the application program AP and the printer driver PD are executed by one CPU 203 provided in the operation terminal 200. That is, for example, each of the CPUs 203 is independently executed by time-division interrupt control such as a known time sharing system (TSS). The printer driver PD may be preinstalled in the basic OS of the operation terminal 200, or may be a program that is individually activated on the OS in the same manner as other applications.

  Here, as the application program AP, an application program for document creation and image creation, for example, a document management application program for document creation / management, an image management application program for image creation / management such as photographs and illustrations, etc. There is. Then, the application program AP generates a print job including a print command in response to the operation of the operation unit 202 by the operator, and the generated print job is output from the application program AP to the printer driver PD.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the printer driver PD accepts the print job output from the application program AP, and converts the print command included in the print job into a corresponding printer code. The converted printer code (print data) is output to the portable printer 100. The portable printer 100 performs various necessary processes based on the printer code input from the printer driver PD, and then performs necessary printing. Note that the above-described print processing program for executing the print processing method shown in the flow of FIG. 8 is a program including both the application program AP and the printer driver PD.

<Features of this embodiment>
A feature of this embodiment is that the operation terminal 200 first acquires the printer identification information P by communication with the printer wireless tag T (first wireless communication), and then uses the acquired printer identification information P. The portable printer 100 is specified and print data is transmitted by mutual recognition wireless communication (second wireless communication).

  That is, as shown in FIG. 7A, the printer RFID tag T is stored in the IC circuit unit 150 of the printer RFID tag T by first communicating with the operation terminal 200 with the printer RFID tag T. The identification information P is acquired by the operation terminal 200. As a result, in the example shown in the drawing, the character “Got address!” Indicating that the address has been acquired, the communication date and time “2011-10-30 00:06:17”, and the printer identification information are displayed on the display unit 201. Address information ““ 001987xxxx ”” or the like as P is displayed.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 7B, the operation terminal 200 transmits the print data by mutual recognition wireless communication by specifying the portable printer 100 using the acquired address information. The portable printer 100 executes printing on the printing paper S using the transmitted print data.

<Operation terminal control procedure>
Control contents based on the print processing program executed by the CPU 203 of the operation terminal 200 to realize the above contents will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, in step S10, the CPU 203 generates an inquiry signal for obtaining a response of the printer wireless tag T, and transmits the inquiry signal to the printer wireless tag T of the portable printer 100 via the RFID wireless transmission / reception unit 208 and the first antenna 208A. .

  Thereafter, in step S20, the CPU 203 determines whether or not a response signal from the printer wireless tag T to the inquiry signal has been received via the first antenna 208A and the RFID wireless transceiver 208. Until the response signal is received, the determination in step S20 is not satisfied (S20: NO), and the loop waits. If a response signal is received, determination of step S20 will be satisfy | filled (S20: YES), and it will transfer to step S30. This step S20 corresponds to the information acquisition procedure described in each claim.

  In step S30, the CPU 203 extracts and acquires printer identification information P (in this example, address information) unique to the portable printer 100 included in the response signal acquired in step S30. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S40.

  In step S40, the CPU 203 specifies the portable printer 100 as a transmission destination using the address information acquired in step S40.

  Thereafter, in step S50, the CPU 203 transmits a trial signal (inquiry signal) to the portable printer 100 specified in step S40 by mutual recognition wireless communication via the mutual recognition wireless communication control unit 206. In the portable printer 100, when the control circuit 141 receives the trial signal via the communication control unit 142, if the portable printer 100 can communicate with the operation terminal 200, a response signal is output. Therefore, the CPU 203 of the operation terminal 200 can recognize that the portable printer 100 is a communicable printer by receiving the response signal via the mutual recognition wireless communication control unit 206.

  Thereafter, in step S60, the CPU 203 receives whether or not the communication with the portable printer 100 via the mutual recognition wireless communication control unit 206 is successful, in other words, receives a response signal corresponding to the inquiry signal in step S50. It is determined whether or not it has been done. If the communication is not successful, the determination in step S60 is not satisfied (S60: NO), and the process proceeds to step S80 described later. On the other hand, if the communication is successful, the determination in step S60 is satisfied (S60: YES), and the process proceeds to step S70.

  In step S70, the CPU 203 uses the printer driver PD to print a print command included in the print job generated as described above and output from the application AP by an appropriate operation of the operation unit 202 by the operator. Convert to code. Thereafter, the CPU 203 transmits the printer code generated by this conversion, in other words, print data to the portable printer 100 specified as the communication partner via the mutual recognition wireless communication control unit 206 by mutual recognition wireless communication. . This step S70 corresponds to the print data transmission procedure described in each claim. As will be described later, the portable printer 100 receives the printer code output via the communication control unit 142, and thereby performs the desired printing of the content instructed by the printer code by the thermal line head 112. This is executed for the printing paper S.

  On the other hand, in step S80, the CPU 203 outputs a display signal to the display unit 201 to display a predetermined error display.

  When step S70 or step S80 is completed, this flow ends.

<Printer control procedure>
The contents of print processing executed by the control circuit 143 of the portable printer 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

  In step S260, the control circuit 143 receives the printer code transmitted from the mutual recognition wireless communication control unit 206 of the operation terminal 200 in step S70 of FIG. 8 via the communication control unit 142, and acquires corresponding print data. To do. This step S260 corresponds to the print data acquisition means described in each claim (the same applies to modified examples described later).

  In step S265, the control circuit 143 stores the print data acquired in step S260 in the memory 144 including, for example, a RAM or a ROM.

  Thereafter, in step S270, the control circuit 143 controls the platen roller 111 and the thermal line head 112 in cooperation with each other, and performs desired printing on the printing paper S using the print data stored in the memory 144 in step S265. I do. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S275. The control circuit 143 that executes step S270 constitutes the printer control means described in each claim (the same applies to modified examples described later).

  In step S275, the control circuit 143 deletes the print data corresponding to the content that has been printed in step S270 from the memory 144. Then, it returns to step S260 and repeats the same procedure.

  As described above, in the operation terminal 200 of the present embodiment, the printer RFID tag T is wired and connected to the control circuit 143 that controls the thermal line head 112 and the platen roller 111 in cooperation with each other. Printer identification information P that can identify 100 is stored in the IC circuit unit 150. When executing the printing operation, the operator first brings the operation terminal 200 close to or substantially in contact with the printer wireless tag T of the desired portable printer 100, and the operation terminal 200 reads the printer wireless tag T by wireless communication. Do. Thereby, the printer identification information P (address information in the above example) is acquired by the operation terminal 200. Thereafter, the operation terminal 200 identifies the portable printer 100 using the acquired address information, and transmits print data by mutual recognition wireless communication. Thereby, based on the control of the control circuit 143, the thermal line head 112 and the platen roller 111 cooperate to print the acquired print data on the printing paper S.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, after the operation terminal 200 specifies the portable printer 100 using the printer RFID tag T, the print data is transmitted to cause the portable printer 100 to perform printing. Thereby, for example, when an operator who carries the operation terminal 200 wants to perform desired printing at a destination, the user can reliably perform a printing operation on the portable printer 100 at hand, and easily and easily perform the desired printing. Can be executed.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the portable printer 100 is specified by wireless communication with the printer wireless tag T having a relatively short communication distance. As a result, the operator first needs to acquire the printer identification information P by bringing the operation terminal 200 close to or substantially in contact with the portable printer 100 that wants to perform the printing operation (see also FIG. 7A). ).

  Thereby, for example, as shown in FIG. 10, even when a plurality of (three in this example) portable printers 100A, 100B, and 100C are arranged close to each other, the operator can One printer (any one of the portable printers 100A to 100C) can be easily and intuitively recognized and a printing operation can be performed reliably. At that time, as shown in FIG. 10A, first, the operation terminal 200 is brought close to one portable printer 100A, the portable printer 100A is specified, and the print data is transmitted, and then, FIG. As shown in FIG. 10, the operation terminal 200 is brought close to the next portable printer 100B, the portable printer 100B is specified and print data is transmitted, and then the next portable printer 100C is sent to the next portable printer 100C as shown in FIG. On the other hand, it is possible to execute the procedure of approaching the operation terminal 200, specifying the portable printer 100C, and transmitting the print data. That is, the plurality of portable printers 100A, 100B, and 100C are printed one after another in a short time (or almost simultaneously) as shown in FIG. 10 (a) → FIG. 10 (b) → FIG. 10 (c). Each of the portable printers 100A, 100B, and 100C can perform desired printing.

  In the present embodiment, in particular, the IC circuit unit 150 of the printer RFID tag T stores address information as printer identification information P. As a result, as described above, the operation terminal 200 can easily identify the portable printer 100 using the address information, reliably connect, and transmit print data.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and technical idea of the present invention. Hereinafter, such modifications will be described in order.

(1) When consistency is determined based on a predetermined detection result related to a printing operation of a printer. That is, before specifying a printer to execute printing as described above, a predetermined operation related to the printing operation from the printer side to the operation terminal. The detection result (details will be described later) may be transmitted, and the operation terminal may determine whether or not the detection result matches a predetermined condition.

<Schematic configuration of printer>
A schematic configuration of a portable printer (printer) in such a modification will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 11 is a schematic perspective view showing the appearance of a portable printer according to this modification. 12 is a schematic plan view of a main body case of the portable printer, FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a paper package mounted on the portable printer, and FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a pickup roller portion of the main body case. FIG. 15 is a side sectional view of the portable printer.

  11 to 15, the portable printer 1 of the present modification has a top open box type main body case 2 having a size of about A6 size or A7 size in plan view and a thickness of about 1 cm or more. Yes. On the upper surface of the main body case 2, a fixed cover 3 and a rotatable lid 13 are provided side by side. Formed in the main body case 2 is a paper storage portion 6 for storing a paper package 5 in which a plurality of thermal papers 4 as cut sheet-like printing media are stored. The paper storage unit 6 is covered with the lid 13. Further, a thermal head 8, a platen roller 9, a paper guide 10, a pickup roller 11, a separation block 12, etc., which will be described in detail later, are arranged near the fixed cover 3 in the main body case 2. Yes. The platen roller 9 and the pickup roller 11 constitute a conveying unit that conveys the thermal paper 4.

  The thermal head 8 is a line head type printing unit, and prints characters, images, and the like for each line on the thermal paper 4 that is sandwiched and conveyed between the platen roller 9. The print width when printing one line is set to be approximately equal to the paper width of the thermal paper 4. In this example, the thermal head 8 and the platen roller 9 have the length in the short side direction of the thermal paper 4 of A6 size or A7 size. The thermal head 8 is used as a printing head because the thermal paper 4 is used as a printing medium, so that no consumable ink or ink ribbon is required, and the mechanism for this can be omitted, making the portable printer 1 compact. Because it can.

  The thermal paper 4 includes various types such as a thermal coloring type having a coloring layer that develops color when heated by the thermal head 8, and a thermal punching type in which a perforated layer that is perforated by overheating is laminated on a substrate. Can be used.

  The pickup roller 11 and the separation block 12 are arranged on the side of the paper storage unit 6 close to the printing mechanism unit 7. The paper package 5 accommodated in the paper accommodating portion 6 is urged toward the bottom plate 6a of the paper accommodating portion 6 via an urging means 15 such as a leaf spring provided on the inner surface of the main body of the closed lid 13. Is done. Of the stacked thermal paper 4 in the paper package 5, the lowermost thermal paper 4 is abutted against the pickup roller 11. Only the lowermost thermal paper 4 passes through the gap between the lower end of the separation block 12 and the guide plate 17 by the cooperation of the rotational drive of the pickup roller 11 and the guide locking surface (not shown) of the separation block 12. The platen roller 9 is rotatably provided adjacent to the separation block 12, and the paper guide 10 is biased to the outer peripheral surface of the platen roller 9 by a biasing means 16 such as a pressing coil spring. The thermal paper 4 separated and conveyed from the paper package 5 by the guide locking surface (not shown) of the pickup roller 11 and the separation block 12 is conveyed between the platen roller 9 and the paper guide 10.

  By the paper guide 10 and the lower surface of the thermal head 8, the thermal paper 4 separated and conveyed from the paper container 6 is reversed and conveyed in a horizontal U shape and conveyed to the printing position of the platen roller 9. On the back surface (upper surface) side of the thermal head 8, a spring hooking portion of a coil spring 19 that urges the platen roller 9 is locked, and the printing portion of the thermal head 8 is in contact with the platen roller 9. Then, printing is performed on the upper surface of the thermal paper 4 by the thermal head 8, and the thermal paper 4 is discharged from the gap 20 between the upper surface of the separation block 12 and the edge of the fixed cover 3 to the outside of the lid 13.

  The platen roller 9 and the pickup roller 11 are driven by a drive motor 22 and a gear transmission arranged on one inner side surface (in the embodiment, the conveyance direction side of the thermal paper 4 shown in FIG. 12) along the long side of the main body case 2. Mechanism (gear train) 23. By making the diameter of the platen roller 9 larger than the diameter of the pickup roller 11, the paper conveyance speed at the platen roller 9 is set larger than the paper conveyance speed at the pickup roller 11, and the pickup roller 11, the separation block 12, The sheet separation at this point is performed slowly, and the sheet conveyance by the platen roller 9 and the printing speed are increased. For this purpose, a one-way clutch (not shown) is provided downstream of the platen roller 9 in the gear train so that the pickup roller 11 can be rotated with respect to high-speed conveyance at nine platen rollers. A guide support block 24 extending from the paper guide 10 toward the platen roller 9 is fixed to the inner surface along the pair of long sides of the main body case 2.

  In this modification, as will be described in detail later, when a print command and image data (print data) are sent from the operation terminal 200 to the portable printer 1 by the above-described mutual recognition wireless communication (second wireless communication), the drive motor 22 Are driven to rotate, and the pickup roller 11 and the platen roller 9 start to rotate simultaneously. Then, due to the rotation of the pickup roller 11, only the tip of the lowermost thermal paper 4 among the laminated thermal papers 4 collides with the separation block 12. Thereby, only the lowermost thermal paper 4 is separated and conveyed between the lower surface of the separation block 12 and the guide plate 17. The thermal paper 4 nipped between the platen roller 9 and the paper guide 10 is nipped and conveyed by the rotating platen roller 9 and the paper guide 10 and moves in the direction of the thermal head 8. The desired printing is performed on the surface of 4. Thereafter, the printed thermal paper 4 is discharged out of the portable printer 1 through a gap 20 between the solid cover 3 and the back of the separation block 12.

<Functional configuration>
The functional configuration of the portable printer 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 16 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 4 in the above embodiment, and the same parts as those in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted or simplified as appropriate. In FIG. 16, the portable printer 1 has a CPU 41 that performs the same function as the control circuit 143 of the printer 100 of the above embodiment. The CPU 41 is connected to a ROM 42, SRAM 43, battery voltage detection circuit 45, motor drive circuit 46, thermal head control circuit 47, liquid crystal display unit 48, communication control unit 49, and operation unit 51. The drive motor 22 is connected to the motor drive circuit 46, and the thermal head 8 is connected to the thermal head control circuit 47. The motor drive circuit 46 and the thermal head control circuit 47 are supplied with voltage from the rechargeable battery 50 stored in the battery storage unit 50a.

The ROM 42 stores various predetermined programs. The SRAM 43 is used as a work area when developing print data. The battery voltage detection circuit 45 functions as a detection result acquisition unit that detects the voltage of the rechargeable battery 50, that is, the remaining battery level as the predetermined detection result .

  The motor drive circuit 46 is a circuit that drives the drive motor 22, and the head control circuit 47 is a circuit that controls the heating element of the thermal head 8. The liquid crystal display unit 48 is display means for displaying predetermined display items and notifying the user.

  The communication control unit 49 has a function equivalent to that of the communication control unit 142 of the printer 100 of the above embodiment, and is connected to the printer wireless tag T and between the operation terminal 200 and the same as the above embodiment. The mutual recognition wireless communication performed via the printer-side antenna 141 is controlled.

  The printer wireless tag T includes the IC circuit unit 150 storing the printer identification information P (for example, address information) that can specify the portable printer 1 and the tag antenna 151, as in the above embodiment. . The IC circuit unit 150 includes the control unit 157 and the memory unit 155. One port 155 a of the memory unit 155 is connected to the control unit 157, and the other port 155 b of the memory unit 155 is connected to the CPU 41 via the wired connection unit 154. As a feature of this modification, the voltage value of the rechargeable battery 50 detected by the battery voltage detection circuit 45 is acquired by the IC circuit unit 150 of the wireless tag T for printer via the CPU 41 at any time (or at an appropriate timing). And stored in the memory 155.

  The RFID wireless transceiver 208 of the operation terminal 200 is portable by wireless communication (first wireless communication) between the tag antenna 151 of the printer wireless tag T and the first antenna 208A, under the control of the CPU 203. The printer identification information P unique to the printer 1 and the voltage value of the rechargeable battery 50 are acquired. In addition, the mutual recognition wireless communication control unit 206 controls the portable printer 1 from the operation terminal 200 through the mutual recognition wireless communication (second wireless communication) between the second antenna 206A and the printer-side antenna 141 according to the control of the CPU 203. Control to send print data to

<Control procedure>
In the present modification, the control contents based on the print processing program executed by the CPU 203 of the operation terminal 200 will be described with reference to FIG. Components equivalent to those in FIG. 17 are given the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted or simplified as appropriate.

  In the flow shown in FIG. 17, steps S110, S120, and S130 are newly provided between steps S20 and S30 in FIG. That is, the CPU 203 of the operation terminal 200 first generates an inquiry signal for requesting the response of the printer wireless tag T in step S10, and the printer of the portable printer 1 via the RFID wireless transmission / reception unit 208 and the first antenna 208A. To the wireless tag T.

  Thereafter, in step S20, the CPU 203 determines whether or not a response signal from the printer wireless tag T to the inquiry signal has been received via the first antenna 208A and the RFID wireless transceiver 208. Until the response signal is received, the determination in step S20 is not satisfied (S20: NO), and the loop waits. If a response signal is received, determination of step S20 will be satisfy | filled (S20: YES), and it transfers to newly provided step S110. This step S20 corresponds to the information acquisition procedure described in each claim in this modification.

In step S110, the CPU 203 uses the voltage value of the rechargeable battery 50 as a detection result relating to the printing operation of the portable printer 1 included in the response signal acquired in step S30 as described above. Extract and get. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S120.

  In step S120, it is determined whether or not the voltage value acquired in step S110 is sufficient to print the print data to be transmitted. Specifically, for example, whether or not the voltage value is greater than or equal to a predetermined voltage threshold value (which may be fixedly set or variably set corresponding to the print data). Determine whether. If the voltage value obtained in step S110 is not sufficient to print the print data, the determination in step S120 is not satisfied, and the process proceeds to step S80 similar to FIG. In step S90, the incompatibility factor is written in the result information list on the memory such as the SRAM 43. On the other hand, if the voltage value acquired in step S110 is sufficient to print the print data, the determination in step S120 is satisfied, and the process proceeds to step S130. This step S120 corresponds to the determination procedure described in each claim.

  In step S130, based on the response signal received in step S20, the CPU 203 determines whether or not the portable printer 1 has already received a print command (print JOB) including some print data and is executing the print JOB. Determine whether. That is, the IC circuit unit 150 of the printer RFID tag T is executing job presence / absence information indicating whether the print job has been received from the CPU 41 or the print job at any time (or at an appropriate timing). Is acquired and stored in the memory 155. The response signal received in step S20 includes at least one of the job presence / absence information and the job execution information. In step S130, the determination is performed based on the information.

  If the print job is being executed, the determination in step S130 is satisfied, and the process proceeds to step S80 similar to FIG. 8 and a predetermined error display is performed on the display unit 201. If the print job is not being executed, the determination at step S130 is not satisfied, and the routine goes to step S30 similar to FIG.

  In step S30, as in FIG. 8, the CPU 203 extracts and acquires printer identification information P (address information in this example) unique to the portable printer 1 included in the response signal acquired in step S20. .

  Henceforth, since step S40, step S50, step S60, step S70, and step S80 are the same as that of the above-mentioned FIG. 8, description is abbreviate | omitted. As in the above embodiment, step S70 corresponds to the print data transmission procedure in this modification.

  Also in this modified example described above, the same effects as those of the above embodiment are obtained. That is, after the operation terminal 200 identifies the portable printer 1 using the printer wireless tag T, the operation terminal 200 transmits print data to cause the portable printer 1 to perform printing. Thereby, for example, when an operator who carries the operation terminal 200 wants to perform desired printing at a destination, the user can reliably perform a printing operation on the portable printer 1 at hand, and easily and easily perform the desired printing. Can be executed.

  In the present modification, in particular, when the portable printer 1 is inappropriate as a print data transmission target, step S120 in FIG. 17 is not satisfied (or the determination in step S130 is satisfied), and steps S30 to S30 are performed. By moving to step S80 without going through S70, the CPU 203 does not transmit print data to the portable printer 1 without connecting the mutual recognition wireless communication. Accordingly, it is possible to smoothly and surely execute the desired printing intended by the operator by eliminating unnecessary wireless line connection and print data transmission operation to an inappropriate printer.

In the modification of (1), the voltage (remaining battery level) of the rechargeable battery 50 is described as an example of the predetermined detection result related to the printing operation. However, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, a thermal sensor from a thermal paper sensor 160 ( detection result acquisition means; see FIG. 16) provided in the portable printer 1 and detects the thermal paper 4 by a known appropriate technique (optical, magnetic, or mechanical technique). the number of sheets of the detection result of the paper 4, IC circuit part 150 of the RFID tag T for the printer is acquired via the CPU41 as the detection result may be stored in the memory 155. In this case, in step S110 of FIG. 17, number of sheets of the thermal paper 4 is obtained by extracting, in step S120, the remaining amount the number of sensitive heat sheet 4 tries to transmitted or is above a predetermined threshold value It is determined whether or not the print data is consistent. Further, the detection result (ie, the state quantity) represented by the numerical values as described above is not limited, and the detection result of the type of the thermal paper 4 from the thermal paper sensor 160 is used as the IC circuit portion of the printer RFID tag T. 150 may be acquired as the detection result via the CPU 41 and stored in the memory 155. In this case, in step S110 of FIG. 17, the type of the thermal paper 4 is extracted and acquired, and in step S120, whether or not the type of the thermal paper 4 matches the print data to be transmitted. Is judged. In the case of these, to obtain the same effect as described above. Furthermore, since the result information list stored in the memory makes it possible to easily know the cause of nonconformity, the operator can charge the battery or refill the thermal paper to make it suitable for the intended printing. It is possible.

(2) Others In the above, the case where the operation terminal 200 and the portable printer 100 (or the portable printer 1) are connected by Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited thereto. . That is, the operation terminal 200 and the portable printer 100 (or the portable printer 1) are connected by appropriate mutual recognition wireless communication other than the Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication such as ad hoc communication in a wireless LAN. However, the present invention can be applied in the same manner as described above, and the same effects can be obtained.

  In the above description, the case where the present invention is applied to the portable printer 100 (or the portable printer 1) driven by a battery power source has been described as an example. That is, as another example of a printer, for example, a printer that forms an image or prints characters on a normal printing medium such as A4, A3, B4, or B5 size, or a print label that performs desired printing on a printing tape The present invention may be applied to a printed label producing apparatus that produces In this case, the same effect is obtained.

  In addition, in the above, the arrow shown in each figure of FIGS. 4-6 and FIG. 16 shows an example of the flow of a signal, and does not limit the flow direction of a signal.

  Further, the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 8, 9, and 17 do not limit the present invention to the procedure shown in the above-described flow, and the addition / deletion of the procedure or the order of the procedures are within the scope not departing from the spirit and technical idea of the invention. Changes may be made.

  In addition, although not illustrated one by one, the present invention is implemented with various modifications within a range not departing from the gist thereof.

1 Portable printer (printer)
4 Thermal paper (printed media)
8 Thermal head (printing means)
9 Platen roller 11 Pickup roller 22 Drive motor 41 CPU
42 ROM
45 Battery voltage detection circuit ( detection result acquisition means)
100 Portable printer (printer)
100A-C Portable printer (printer)
111 Platen roller (conveying means)
112 Thermal line head (printing means)
142 communication control unit 143 control circuit 150 IC circuit unit 151 tag antenna 200 operation terminal 203 CPU (terminal control means)
206 Mutual recognition wireless communication control unit (second communication means)
208 RFID wireless transceiver (first communication means)
P Printer identification information S Print paper (print medium)
Wireless tag for T printer

Claims (3)

A printer for printing on a printing medium,
Conveying means for conveying the printing medium;
Printing means for executing printing on the printing medium conveyed by the conveying means;
Printer control means for controlling the transport means and the printing means;
An IC circuit unit that is wired and connected to the printer control means so as to be able to transmit and receive information, and has a tag antenna that stores information and a tag antenna that transmits and receives information, and stores printer identification information that can identify the printer in the IC circuit unit Wireless tag for printer,
Print data transmitted from the operation terminal by specifying the printer using the printer identification information acquired from the IC circuit unit by the first wireless communication with the printer wireless tag is different from the first wireless communication. Print data acquisition means for acquiring by second wireless communication;
Detection result acquisition means for acquiring a predetermined detection result relating to the printing operation;
Have
The IC circuit portion of the wireless tag for printer is
Storing the detection result acquired by the detection result acquisition means;
The print data acquisition means includes
Based on the detection result and the printer identification information acquired from the IC circuit unit by the first wireless communication with the printer wireless tag, the printer is selected depending on whether the detection result matches a predetermined condition. And by using the printer identification information to identify the printer, the print data transmitted by the operation terminal is acquired by the second wireless communication,
The printer control means includes
A printer that controls the transport unit and the printing unit in cooperation with each other so that the printing data acquired by the printing data acquisition unit is printed on the printing medium. The printer according to claim 1.
The detection result acquisition means includes
Obtaining a predetermined amount of state related to the printing operation;
The IC circuit portion of the wireless tag for printer is
Storing the state quantity acquired by the detection result acquisition means;
The print data acquisition means includes
Based on the state quantity and the printer identification information acquired from the IC circuit unit by the first wireless communication with the printer wireless tag, the printer is selected depending on whether or not the state quantity matches a predetermined condition. In addition, by specifying the printer using the printer identification information, the print data transmitted from the operation terminal is acquired by the second wireless communication . The printer according to claim 1 or 2,
The IC circuit unit of the printer wireless tag stores address information of the printer as the printer identification information,
The print data acquisition means includes
Using the address information acquired from the IC circuit unit by the first wireless communication with the printer wireless tag, the printer is identified and the print data transmitted from the operation terminal is acquired by the second wireless communication. A printer characterized by that.

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