JP6117713B2 - Printer and program - Google Patents

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a printer and a program.

  A printer that prints labels and receipts includes paper wound in a roll shape inside the printer. And the paper wound in roll shape is pulled out at the time of printing, and information is printed on the surface.

  When such a printer runs out of paper, it is necessary to stop using the printer and replace it with a new paper wound in a roll.

  However, if a sheet runs out during customer service, the customer will have to wait to replace the sheet.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a printer capable of notifying that the remaining amount of paper is small.

The printer according to the embodiment includes a storage unit, a weighing unit, a weight input unit, a weighing unit, a determination unit, and a notification unit. The storage unit stores a sheet to be printed and a holding member that holds the sheet . The weighing unit outputs a signal indicating a total weight value of the paper stored in the storage unit and the holding member . The weight input means receives an input for setting a weight value of the holding member. The weighing unit measures the weight of the paper by subtracting the weight value of the holding member received by the weight input unit from the weight value indicated by the signal output from the weighing unit. The determination means determines whether the measurement value measured by the measurement means is lower than a preset threshold value. The notification means notifies when the determination means determines that the measured value is lower than the threshold value.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a printer according to this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the upper case of the printer is opened. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state where the upper case of the printer is opened and the holder is removed. FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of a holder provided with a label sheet. FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of a holder that is not provided with a label sheet. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the printer. FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the printer. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a notification image. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a notification image using icons. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of notification processing executed by the microcomputer of the printer.

  A printer and a program according to embodiments will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Although the embodiment described below shows an example applied to a printer that issues a label or receipt on which information related to a product such as food is printed, various kinds of information are recorded on a recording medium such as paper without being limited thereto. The present invention may be applied to any device that prints.

  FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a printer 1 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the upper case 4 of the printer 1 is opened. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state where the upper case 4 of the printer 1 is opened and the holder 7 is removed.

  The printer 1 includes a printer body 2 inside. The printer main body 2 is covered with a lower case 3, an upper case 4, and a front cover 5, and is protected from external impacts, dust, and the like.

  Inside the printer 1, the printer body 2 described above, the label paper L wound in a roll shape, a holder 7 that is a holding member for holding the roll-shaped label paper L, and the label paper L and the holder 7 are accommodated. Storage unit 8 and scale 9.

  The printer main body 2 includes a print head 22 and a platen roller 23. The print head 22 includes a thermal head (not shown) having a heating element (not shown), a thermal head driving unit (not shown), and the like, and prints information on the printing surface of the label paper L. The platen roller 23 conveys the label paper L and presses the label paper L against the print head 22 using a stepping motor (not shown) and a drive gear (not shown).

  The lower case 3 is a rectangular parallelepiped case whose upper surface and front surface are open. The upper surface is closed by the upper case 4 and the front surface is closed by the front cover 5. Further, the lower case 3 is provided with a connection terminal (not shown) used for connection between the internal printer body 2 and an external device, a power supply terminal (not shown) for supplying power to the printer body 2, and the like.

  The upper case 4 is also used as an opening / closing member for the lower case 3. The upper case 4 includes a touch panel display 41. The touch panel display 41 receives various operation inputs and displays various information.

  The front cover 5 includes a discharge guide 53 that guides the discharge of the label paper L, and a mount discharge port 54 that discharges the mount from which the label paper L has been peeled off. The front cover 5 covers the front surface of the printer main body 2 so that it can be opened and closed, and opens or closes to the outside. A label discharge port 60 for discharging the label is provided between the upper end portion of the front cover 5 and the lower portion of the front end of the upper case 4.

  The storage unit 8 stores the label paper L and the holder 7. Further, when the label paper L that does not require the holder 7 is used, the storage unit 8 stores the label paper L as it is.

  The scale 9 is, for example, a mechanical sensor that measures the weight such as a strain gauge. The strain gauge is a sensor in which a resistor such as a metal laid out in a zigzag shape is attached on a thin insulator. When an object is placed on the strain gauge, the resistor is elongated by the weight of the object, and the cross-sectional area is narrowed to increase the electric resistance value. The strain gauge uses this electric resistance value for weighing.

  A scale 9 serving as a weighing unit is installed on the bottom surface of the storage unit 8 and outputs a signal indicating a change in the weight of the label paper L wound in a roll shape. When the label paper L wound in a roll shape is held by the holder 7, the scale 9 outputs a signal indicating a change in the weight of the label paper L including the holder 7. In the present embodiment, it is determined whether the remaining amount of the label paper L is lower than the threshold by measuring the weight of the label paper L.

  FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of the holder 7 provided with the label paper L. FIG. FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of the holder 7 in which the label paper L is not provided. The holder 7 includes a front member 71, a rear member 72, a bottom member 73, a left side member 74, a right side member 75, a right side movable member 76, and a core member 77.

  The holder 7 holds the core of the label paper L wound in a roll shape through the core member 77. Thereby, the label paper L wound in a roll shape is rotated and pulled out.

  Further, since the right side movable member 76 of the holder 7 is connected to the front member 71 and the rear member 72 by the rotation shaft 76b, it can be inclined to the left side. Accordingly, the right side member 75 connected to the right side movable member 76 and the hinge 76a moves to the left side. At this time, since the hinge 76a is opened and closed, the right side member 75 can be maintained substantially vertical. By making the right side member 75 movable as described above, the holder 7 can hold the label sheets L having various widths. Therefore, the printer 1 can use label sheets L having various widths.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the printer 1. The printer 1 includes a microcomputer 100 as an information processing unit that executes information processing. The microcomputer 100 is configured by connecting a RAM (Random Access Memory) 102 and a ROM (Read Only Memory) 103 to a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101 that executes various arithmetic processes and controls each unit.

  Further, the scale 9, the printer main body 2, and the touch panel display 41 are connected to the CPU 101 of the printer 1.

  A storage unit 200 is connected to the CPU 101 of the printer 1. The storage unit 200 is a storage medium such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive). The storage unit 200 stores programs and various files. All or a part of the programs and various files stored in the storage unit 200 are copied to the RAM 102 and executed by the CPU 101 when the printer 1 is activated. The storage unit 200 also stores a holder flag 201, a holder weight 202, and a notification threshold value 203.

  The holder flag 201 is a flag indicating whether or not the holder 7 is used for holding the label paper L. The holder flag 201 is effective when the holder 7 is used. The holder flag 201 becomes invalid when the holder 7 is not used. The holder 7 is used when the label paper L wound in a roll shape has a core.

  The holder weight 202 stores the weight of the holder 7. The holder weight 202 can be set to an arbitrary value by the user via the touch panel display 41.

  The notification threshold value 203 stores a threshold value used for determination when notifying that the remaining amount of label paper L is small. The notification threshold 203 is notified when the weight is set and the weight of the label paper L measured by the balance 9 is lower than the notification threshold 203. Note that the notification threshold 203 may be set in a plurality of stages. Thereby, the urgency of the replacement of the label paper L can be indicated and notified.

  Next, a characteristic functional configuration of the microcomputer 100 realized by the microcomputer 100 executing the program will be described. FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the printer 1. As shown in FIG. 7, the microcomputer 100 functions as a weighing unit 1001, a determination unit 1002, a notification unit 1003, and an operation input unit 1004.

  A weighing unit 1001 serving as a weighing unit measures the weight of the label paper L using a signal output from the scale 9. At this time, when the holder flag 201 is valid, the weighing unit 1001 determines that the holder 7 is used and subtracts the holder weight 202 from the measured value. Thereby, the measuring unit 1001 can reduce an error caused by the holder 7.

  A determination unit 1002 serving as a determination unit determines whether the measurement value of the label sheet L output from the measurement unit 1001 is lower than a preset notification threshold 203. When the notification threshold 203 is set in a plurality of stages, the determination unit 1002 determines which threshold the measurement value is lower than.

  A notification unit 1003 that is a notification unit notifies when the determination unit 1002 determines that the measurement value of the label sheet L is lower than the notification threshold value 203. The notification unit 1003 notifies by at least one of sound and image. When notifying by sound, the notification unit 1003 notifies by a warning sound such as a buzzer or a sound such as “the remaining amount of label paper is very small”.

  The notification unit 1003 notifies the user by displaying a notification image on the touch panel display 41 in the case of notification by an image. Here, FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the notification image G1.

  The notification image G1 is a screen that notifies the user that the remaining amount of the label paper L is small. Therefore, the notification image G1 displays and notifies the message “The remaining amount of label paper is very small”. The notification image G1 includes an OK button B1. When the OK button B1 is pressed, the notification image G1 deletes the notification image G1 because the notification content is recognized.

  The notification by the image is not limited to the display of the message, but may be a notification image G2 with an icon indicating that the remaining amount of the label paper L is small. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the notification image G2 using icons. When the determination unit 1002 determines that the measurement value of the label paper L is lower than the notification threshold 203, the notification unit 1003 displays a notification image G2 with an icon. When the determination unit 1002 determines that the measurement value of the label paper L is higher than the notification threshold value 203, the notification unit 1003 deletes the notification image G2 by the icon.

  Moreover, the alerting | reporting part 1003 alert | reports according to the threshold value which the determination part 1002 determined, when the alerting | reporting threshold value 203 is set in multiple steps. As a result, the notification unit 1003 can notify the urgency level according to the remaining amount of the label paper L.

  The operation input unit 1004 receives an input from the touch panel display 41. For example, the operation input unit 1004 that is a threshold value input unit and a weight input unit receives input for setting the holder flag 201, the holder weight 202, and the notification threshold value 203. Then, the operation input unit 1004 causes the storage unit 200 to store the accepted setting.

  Next, a notification process executed by the microcomputer 100 of the printer 1 when the remaining amount of the label paper L is small will be described in detail. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of notification processing executed by the microcomputer 100 of the printer 1.

  First, the microcomputer 100 (metering unit 1001) of the printer 1 determines from the holder flag 201 stored in the storage unit 200 whether or not the holder 7 is used to hold the label paper L (step S1). ).

  When it is determined that the holder 7 is being used (step S1; Yes), the microcomputer 100 (the weighing unit 1001) of the printer 1 uses a signal indicating the change in the weight of the label paper L output from the scale 9. The holder weight 202 stored in the storage unit 200 is subtracted from the measured measurement value (step S2).

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the holder 7 is not used (step S1; No), the microcomputer 100 (the weighing unit 1001) of the printer 1 outputs a signal indicating the change in the weight of the label paper L output from the scale 9. The process proceeds to step S3 without subtracting the measured value weighed using.

  Next, the microcomputer 100 (determination unit 1002) of the printer 1 determines whether the measured value is lower than the notification threshold 203 (step S3). At this time, if it is determined that the holder 7 is used, the microcomputer 100 (determination unit 1002) of the printer 1 determines using the measured value after the holder weight 202 is subtracted. On the other hand, when it is determined that the holder 7 is not used, the microcomputer 100 (determination unit 1002) of the printer 1 determines using the measurement value output from the balance 9 and not subtracted.

  If the measured value is higher than the notification threshold 203 (step S3; No), the microcomputer 100 (determination unit 1002) of the printer 1 returns to step S1. On the other hand, when the measured value is lower than the notification threshold value 203 (step S3; Yes), the microcomputer 100 (notification unit 1003) of the printer 1 notifies the user with sound or a screen (step S4) and ends the process. .

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the balance 9 that outputs a signal indicating a change in the weight of the label paper L stored in the storage unit is provided. Then, the weighing unit 1001 measures the weight of the label paper L using the signal output from the scale 9. The determination unit 1002 determines whether the measurement value of the label paper L measured by the measurement unit 1001 is lower than the notification threshold value 203 stored in the storage unit 200. When the determination unit 1002 determines that the measured value of the label paper L is lower than the notification threshold 203 stored in the storage unit 200, the notification unit 1003 notifies. Therefore, the printer according to the present embodiment can notify that the remaining amount of label paper is small.

  Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

  In the above-described embodiment, it has been described that the scale 9 that measures the weight of the label paper L is installed on the bottom surface of the storage unit 8, but the installation location of the scale 9 is not limited to the bottom surface. For example, the upper surface or the side surface of the storage unit 8 may be used. In this case, a hanging scale that measures the weight by hanging the label paper L may be used.

  In addition, the program executed by each device of the above embodiment is provided by being incorporated in advance in a storage medium (ROM or storage unit) included in each device, but is not limited thereto, and can be installed in a form or executable. Various types of files may be recorded and provided on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R, or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk). Furthermore, the storage medium is not limited to a medium independent of a computer or an embedded system, but also includes a storage medium in which a program transmitted via a LAN, the Internet, or the like is downloaded and stored or temporarily stored.

  Further, the program executed by each device of the above embodiment may be stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and provided by being downloaded via the network, or via a network such as the Internet. It may be configured to be provided or distributed.

1 Printer 7 Holder 8 Storage Unit 9 Scale 41 Touch Panel Display 100 Microcomputer 1001 Weighing Unit 1002 Judgment Unit 1003 Notification Unit 1004 Operation Input Unit 200 Storage Unit 201 Holder Flag 202 Holder Weight 203 Notification Threshold G1, G2 Notification Screen

JP 2004-262059 A

Claims (5)

A storage unit that stores a sheet to be printed and a holding member that holds the sheet ;
A weighing unit that outputs a signal indicating a total weight value of the paper stored in the storage unit and the holding member ;
Weight input means for receiving an input for setting a weight value of the holding member;
Weighing means for weighing the paper by subtracting the weight value of the holding member received by the weight input means from the weight value indicated by the signal output from the weighing unit;
Determination means for determining whether a measurement value measured by the measurement means is lower than a preset threshold;
Informing means for informing when the determining means determines that the measured value is lower than the threshold;
With printer. Further comprising threshold value input means for receiving an input for setting the threshold value;
The printer according to claim 1. A display further,
The informing means informs the display by displaying an icon indicating that the remaining amount of label paper is small,
The printer according to claim 1 or 2 . The determination means determines using a threshold value of a plurality of stages.
The printer according to any one of claims 1 to 3 . A storage unit that stores a sheet to be printed and a holding member that holds the sheet ;
A computer for controlling a printer, comprising: a weighing unit that outputs a signal indicating a total weight value of the paper stored in the storage unit and the holding member ;
Weight input means for receiving an input for setting a weight value of the holding member;
Weighing means for weighing the paper by subtracting the weight value of the holding member received by the weight input means from the weight value indicated by the signal output from the weighing unit;
Determination means for determining whether a measurement value measured by the measurement means is lower than a preset threshold;
Informing means for informing when the determining means determines that the measured value is lower than the threshold;
Program to make it work.

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