JP6645091B2 - Printing apparatus, printing method, and printing program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing device, a printing method, and a printing program.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a printing apparatus that performs printing on a printing medium such as a long tape that is housed in a roll shape and a sheet that is housed in a stacked state. Among such printing apparatuses, there is a printing apparatus including a pair of guide portions that guide a print medium to be conveyed at both ends in a width direction orthogonal to a conveyance direction.

  For example, a pair of L-shaped plate-shaped members provided on the upper surface of a platen located below the ink-jet head that ejects ink is provided. A guide printing device has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  Further, there is known a printing apparatus in which the end on the downstream side in the transport direction of the roll paper is a free end, and the roll paper is not sandwiched by rollers or the like downstream from the recording head. In such a printing apparatus, it is considered that the distance between the recording head and the roll paper at the printing position can be kept constant by attracting the roll paper to the platen (for example, see Patent Document 2).

JP-A-2014-46461 JP 2012-45897 A

  However, as described in Patent Literature 1, when an L-shaped plate-shaped member as a pair of guide members guides both ends in the width direction of the print medium below the inkjet head, the surface of the print surface of the print medium is There is a problem that printing cannot be performed over the entirety. Furthermore, even if the guide member is configured to guide only the back surface of the print medium, ink is ejected from the inkjet head so as to perform printing over the entire surface of the print medium in a state where the print medium is not at the print position. Then, there is a problem that ink adheres to the guide member and the ink adhered to the guide member may adhere again to the back surface of the print medium. In order to avoid these problems, it is necessary that the guide member does not guide the front and back surfaces of the print medium at the printing position. As a result, the distance between the printing medium and the inkjet head at the printing position may change every time printing is performed.

  Further, in order to enable printing over the entire front surface or to prevent re-adhesion to the back surface of the print medium, if the printing apparatus is configured so as not to guide the front surface and the back surface of the print medium at the printing position, the printing is performed. No platen can be provided to contact the back of the media. Therefore, in such a printing apparatus, the distance between the recording head and the roll paper at the printing position is kept constant by attracting the roll paper to the platen as in the printing apparatus described in Patent Document 2. I can't do that either.

  In general, in printing by inkjet, the distance between the print head and the print medium at the printing position is desirably always constant without fluctuating each time printing is performed. In printing equipment that can fluctuate every time printing is performed, the distance or a length equivalent to that distance must be measured before printing, and if the processing according to the measured distance cannot be performed, the print quality will be uneven every time printing is performed. Or the print quality may be lower than when the distance is constant.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problem, and even if the distance between the print head and the print medium at the print position fluctuates each time printing is performed, it is possible to perform appropriate print processing according to the distance. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing apparatus, a printing method, and a printing program that can measure the distance or a length according to the distance before printing.

In order to achieve the above object, one aspect of the printing apparatus according to the present invention is:
Before printing, an acquisition unit that acquires a sensor value corresponding to the brightness of the surface of the medium according to the distance to the medium to be printed from now on,
Based on the sensor value acquired by the acquisition unit, a determination unit that determines a threshold value according to the distance to the medium for determining the end of the medium,
A printing unit that determines an end of the medium based on the threshold value determined by the determination unit, and performs printing on the medium between the determined ends,
A length acquisition unit that acquires a length along one direction of the medium,
A length acquisition control unit that controls the length acquisition unit,
The acquiring unit acquires a sensor value corresponding to the brightness of each position in the one direction along the surface of the medium before the printing,
Before the printing, the length acquisition control unit causes the length acquisition unit to acquire the length of the medium along the one direction,
The determining unit determines an end of the medium based on a change in a sensor value corresponding to the brightness according to the acquired position in the one direction and a length of the medium along the one direction. Determining a threshold according to the distance to the medium for performing
It is characterized by the following.

In order to achieve the above object, one aspect of the printing method according to the present invention is:
Before printing, an acquisition unit that acquires a sensor value corresponding to the brightness of the surface of the medium according to the distance to the medium to be printed from now on,
Based on the sensor value acquired by the acquisition unit, a determination unit that determines a threshold value according to the distance to the medium for determining the end of the medium,
A printing unit that determines an end of the medium based on the threshold value determined by the determination unit, and performs printing on the medium between the determined ends,
A length acquisition unit that acquires a length along one direction of the medium,
A length acquisition control unit that controls the length acquisition unit,
The acquiring unit acquires a sensor value corresponding to the brightness of each position in the one direction along the surface of the medium before the printing,
Before the printing, the length acquisition control unit causes the length acquisition unit to acquire the length of the medium along the one direction,
The determining unit determines an end of the medium based on a change in a sensor value corresponding to the brightness according to the acquired position in the one direction and a length of the medium along the one direction. To determine a threshold according to the distance to the medium for performing,
It is characterized by the following.

Further, in order to achieve the above object, one aspect of the printing program according to the present invention is:
Before printing, an acquisition unit that acquires a sensor value corresponding to the brightness of the surface of the medium according to the distance to the medium,
Based on the sensor value acquired by the acquisition unit, a determination unit that determines a threshold value according to the distance to the medium for determining the end of the medium,
A printing unit that determines an end of the medium based on the threshold value determined by the determination unit, and performs printing on the medium between the determined ends,
A length acquisition unit that acquires a length along one direction of the medium,
A length acquisition control unit that controls the length acquisition unit ;
The acquisition unit, before the printing, to acquire a sensor value corresponding to the brightness of each position in the one direction along the surface of the medium,
Before the printing, the length acquisition control unit causes the length acquisition unit to acquire the length of the medium along the one direction,
The determining unit determines an end of the medium based on a change in a sensor value corresponding to the brightness according to the acquired position in the one direction and a length of the medium along the one direction. A threshold value corresponding to the distance to the medium is determined .

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, even if the distance between the print head and the print medium at the print position fluctuates, a printing apparatus capable of measuring the distance before printing so that appropriate print processing can be performed according to the distance. , A printing method and a printing program can be provided.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an internal configuration of the printing apparatus when the ink carriage is at a standby position. FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an internal configuration of the printing apparatus. FIG. 2 is a plan view of an internal configuration of the printing apparatus. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an internal configuration of the printing apparatus when the ink carriage is in a printing area. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an internal configuration of the printing apparatus when the ink carriage is at a waste ink position. FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of FIG. 1, showing an internal configuration of the printing apparatus when the ink carriage is at a standby position. (A) is a schematic diagram showing an example of a curl of a tape member, and (b) is a schematic diagram showing another example of a curl of a tape member. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration related to control of the printing apparatus. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a control unit. 6 is a flowchart of a printing process executed by the printing device. (A) and (b) are explanatory diagrams for explaining the reason for determining a threshold value before printing. 6 is a flowchart of a threshold value determining process executed by the printing apparatus. (A) is a flowchart of a first modified example of the threshold value determining process performed by the printing device, (b) is a flowchart of a second modified example of the threshold value determining process performed by the printing device, and (c) is 13 is a flowchart of a third modification of the threshold value determination process executed by the printing apparatus. 9 is a flowchart of a printing process executed by a printing apparatus according to a modification. 9 is a flowchart of an edge determination process executed by a printing apparatus according to a modification. 13 is a flowchart of a tape width error determination process executed by a printing apparatus according to a second modification.

  Hereinafter, a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding portions are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  FIG. 1 shows an internal configuration of a printing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The printing apparatus 1 has a configuration as shown in FIG. 1 inside a housing (not shown).

  The printing apparatus 1 is an ink-jet label printer of a type in which ink is atomized and sprayed directly onto a printing medium (tape member 3), and a printing pattern including a pattern such as a picture or a character is printed on a long tape member 3. Print.

  Note that the X axis, Y axis, and Z axis shown in FIG. 1 are orthogonal to each other, and in the present embodiment, the X axis direction is parallel to the transport direction of the tape member 3, and The directions are substantially parallel. The Y-axis direction is parallel to the transport direction of the ink carriage 30, and is a direction substantially parallel to the width direction of the tape member 3 in a printing area described later. The Z-axis direction is a direction substantially parallel to the direction in which the ink is ejected from the print head 32. The setting in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction is the same in the following drawings. Also, in this specification, a sign is added when specifying one of the axial directions. For example, the ink ejection direction (downward in FIG. 2) is expressed as “−Z direction”, and the opposite direction is expressed as “+ Z direction”.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printing apparatus 1 includes a tape storage unit 10, an ink carriage (ink cartridge storage unit) 30, an ink cartridge (ink tank) 31, and a carriage transport unit 35.

  The tape storage unit 10 stores the tape member 3 in a state of being wound around a tape core 12 in a roll shape. The tape member 3 is a print medium formed by laminating a printing tape having a printing surface and a back surface having an adhesive surface, and a release tape attached to the adhesive surface.

  FIG. 2 shows the printing apparatus 1 viewed from the side (Y-axis direction). As shown in FIG. 2, the tape member 3 is housed in the tape housing unit 10 while being mounted on the tape cartridge 11. The tape cartridge 11 is a container in which the tape member 3 is mounted in a state wound around a tape core 12. Note that the tape cartridge 11 is omitted in FIG. 1 for easy understanding.

  The tape storage unit 10 can store (load) a tape cartridge 11 on which various types of tape members 3 having different tape widths, tape colors, and the like are mounted in a replaceable state.

  As shown in FIG. 2, an ASF (Automatic Sheet Feeder) roller 13 is provided at a tape feeding port of the tape cartridge 11. The ASF roller 13 and the platen roller 22 each include a pair of rollers. The ASF roller 13 is a delivery roller (tape transport unit) that transports the tape member 3 housed inside the tape cartridge 11 while nipping and transporting the tape member 3 between the pair of rollers. The platen roller 22 is a main roller (tape transporting unit) that transports the tape member 3 sent out from the inside of the tape cartridge 11 by the ASF roller 13 while nipping and transporting the tape member 3 between a pair of rollers. The ASF roller 13 and the platen roller 22 can transport the tape member 3 to the downstream side in the transport direction by rotating forward, and can transport the tape member 3 to the upstream side by rotating backward.

  At least one roller gear (not shown) is integrally attached to each end of the rotation shaft of one of the pair of rollers of the ASF roller 13 and the platen roller 22. The ASF roller 13 and the platen roller 22 are connected to a stepping motor 21 via these roller gears. The driving force accompanying the rotation of a driving gear (not shown) attached to the driving shaft of the stepping motor 21 is transmitted to the roller gears via a plurality of driven gears, so that the ASF roller 13 and the platen roller 22 move in advance. It rotates at the specified rotation speed. As a result, the ASF roller 13 sends out the tape member 3 stored in the tape cartridge 11 to the platen roller 22, and in cooperation with the platen roller 22, sends out the tape member 3 to the printing area. The other of the pair of rollers of each of the ASF roller 13 and the platen roller 22, to which the roller gear is not attached, is rotated by the transport operation of the tape member 3 so that the transport of the tape member 3 is performed. It is a passive roller for assisting.

  The ink carriage (ink cartridge storage section) 30 includes an ink cartridge (ink tank) 31 filled with ink, and a print head 32 (ink jet head) for discharging the ink filled in the ink cartridge 31.

  The print head 32 is a printing mechanism that discharges ink filled in the ink cartridge 31 to perform printing on the tape member 3, and is installed on the lower surface of the ink cartridge 31 (the surface facing the tape member 3). A plurality of nozzles for printing are arranged in the print head 32 along the width direction (Y-axis direction) and the transport direction (X-axis direction) of the tape member 3. The ink in the plurality of nozzles generates bubbles by being heated by the heater, and the generated bubbles cause the ink to be discharged from each of the plurality of nozzles toward the tape member 3 (in the −Z direction). According to such a principle, the print head 32 prints a print pattern on the tape member 3. The print head 32 functions as a printing unit.

  The carriage transport unit 35 is a transport mechanism that moves the ink carriage 30 in the Y-axis direction in the drawing. The carriage transport section 35 includes a carriage belt 39 (see FIG. 6) provided along the Y-axis direction. The ink carriage 30 is mounted on the carriage belt 39. The carriage belt 39 is connected to the stepping motor 36 via a gear (not shown). By driving the stepping motor 36, the ink carriage 30 can reciprocate in the width direction of the tape member 3 between the standby position, the printing area, and the waste ink position. The carriage transport unit 35 functions as an ink cartridge transport unit. Hereinafter, in this specification, a period during which printing is performed by the print head 32 in one print job, that is, ink is being ejected from the print head 32, and the ejected ink is printed on the printing surface ( The period during which the ink is received on the ink receiving surface is referred to as a printing period. Further, a relative position where the ink carriage 30 (the ink cartridge 31 and the print head 32) is arranged with respect to the tape member 3 during this printing period is referred to as a printing position. The printing position is set such that the position in the moving direction (Y-axis direction) of the ink carriage 30 is set during the printing period or in accordance with print data determined based on the tape width, curl, and other conditions. It can change between different print jobs. In this specification, an area including a range in which the printing position can be changed, that is, an area including a relative position where the ink carriage 30 (the ink cartridge 31 and the print head 32) can be arranged with respect to the tape member 3 during a printing period. Is called a print area. In the present embodiment, this print area is disposed between the standby position in the width direction of the tape member 3 and the waste ink position, and when viewed from above in the Z-axis direction, the transport path of the tape member 3 The cartridge 31 is disposed at a position where the transport paths intersect.

  FIG. 3 shows the internal configuration of the printing apparatus 1 as viewed from above. In FIG. 3, the configurations of the ink carriage 30, the ink cartridge 31, the print head 32, and the like are omitted as appropriate for easy understanding. As shown in FIG. 3, a cap 37 and a waste ink receiver 38 are provided below the path along which the ink carriage 30 moves in the carriage transport unit 35. The control unit 2 transports the ink carriage 30 in the transport direction (the width direction of the tape member 3) by the carriage transport unit 35, and arranges the ink carriage 30 at any of the standby position PA, the print area PB, and the ink discharge position PC. Let it. In FIG. 3, each position or area is indicated by a dotted line.

  The cap 37 is a member that seals a discharge port of a nozzle in order to prevent the print head 32 from drying. That is, when the nozzles of the print head 32 come into contact with air and dry, the ink hardens and causes nozzle clogging. In order to avoid this, during the period excluding the printing period, as shown in FIG. 1, the ink carriage 30 (that is, the ink cartridge 31) is controlled by the control unit 2 via the carriage control circuit 53 so as to be in a standby state. The cap 37 is placed at the position PA, that is, at the position of the cap 37 which is the home position, so that the print head 32 does not dry out. The cap 37 functions as cap means.

  On the other hand, during the printing period, as shown in FIG. 4, the ink carriage 30 is driven by the carriage transport unit 35 and moves to the printing position PB above the tape member 3. That is, when printing is instructed, the carriage transport unit 35 moves the ink carriage 30 (ink cartridge 31) from the standby position PA above the cap 37 to the print area PB above the tape member 3.

  Further, before the printing period, as shown in FIG. 5, the ink carriage 30 (ink cartridge 31) is driven by the carriage transport unit 35 and moves to the waste ink position PC above the waste ink receiver 38. The waste ink receiver (ink absorber) 38 is a member that absorbs dry ink (waste ink) that causes ejection failure.

  Even when the print head 32 is closed by the cap 37, the ink of the print head 32 dries with the passage of time, causing ink ejection failure. To avoid this, the ink carriage 30 moves onto the waste ink receiver 38 before the printing period, discharges the waste ink to the waste ink receiver 38, cleans the nozzles, and prints. Thereby, the print quality can be stabilized.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the print head 32, the ink cartridge 31, and the ink carriage 30 discharge ink to a waste ink receiver 38 by a carriage belt 39 at a print position (print area PB) for printing on the tape member 3. To the waste ink position PC and a standby position PA for sealing the ejection openings of the nozzles of the print head 32 during the non-printing period. When the ink carriage 30 is at the standby position, the print head 32 is covered with the cap 37 as shown in FIG. When the ink carriage 30 reaches the standby position, the cap 37 is lifted up by a link mechanism (not shown) so as to cover the entire nozzles (ink ejection ports) of the print head 32.

  Returning to the description of the tape transport unit of the printing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. Since the tape member 3 is wound around the tape core 12 and held for a long period of time, it is plastically deformed as a whole due to its material properties, and has a winding habit of winding. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7A, the tape member 3 has a curl that causes plastic deformation in the direction away from the print head 32 (ink ejection direction, −Z direction) at the printing position. become. On the other hand, as will be described in detail later, as shown in FIG. 2, the tape member 3 has been rewound to the storage position of the tape member 3 before starting the print job. Is deformed in a direction opposite to the above-described winding direction (a direction opposite to the ink ejection direction, + Z direction). Therefore, for example, if the state in which the tape member 3 is rewound to the storage position is maintained for a long period of time without using the tape member 3 for a long period of time, the start end of the tape member 3 is printed as shown in FIG. At the position, a winding habit of a direction opposite to the above-described winding direction, that is, a direction approaching the print head 32 (a direction opposite to the ink ejection direction, + Z direction) is formed. Further, even if the tape member 3 is in the storage position, if printing is restarted within a relatively short period of time, the winding habit opposite to the above-described winding direction does not occur. As described above, the tape member 3 may have a different state of plastic deformation depending on the situation. Therefore, the distance between the tape member 3 and the print head 32 and the start end detection sensor 26 at the printing position may fluctuate. .

  On the other hand, in order to stabilize print quality, it is desirable that the distance between the tape member 3 and the print head 32 at the print position is as constant as possible. Therefore, the printing apparatus 1 includes a transport guide 23 that is a guide for correctly guiding the tape member 3 to a printing position by the print head 32. The transport guide 23 has a pair of guide members disposed above and below the transport path of the tape member 3, and the transport guide 23 forms a tape transport path.

  To ensure that the distance between the tape member 3 and the print head 32 at the printing position is constant, it is sufficient to guide the tape member 3 at the printing position so as to sandwich the tape member 3 from both sides in the Z-axis direction. In such a case, at least a part of the surface of the tape member 3 at the printing position is covered by the guide member. Then, printing on the entire surface of the tape member 3 (printing over the entire width in the width direction) cannot be realized. Therefore, at least at the printing position, it is desirable that no member for guiding is provided on the upper surface (the surface facing the print head 32) of the tape member 3.

  In addition, when a guide member is provided on the lower surface (the surface opposite to the above-described opposing surface) of the tape member 3 at the printing position, when ink adheres to the guide member on the lower surface during printing. There is. Then, the ink adhered to the guide member may adhere to the lower surface of the tape member 3 again, and the tape member 3 may be stained. For this reason, at the printing position, it is desirable that the guide member is not provided also on the lower surface side of the tape member 3.

  Further, even when the tape member 3 comes into contact with the guide member as the tape member 3 is transported immediately after printing on the tape member 3 and the ink received on the printing surface is not completely dried, the guide is also provided. There is a possibility that the ink may adhere to the member and the ink may adhere to the tape member 3 again. For this reason, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the transport guide 23 has no guide member at least at the printing position. In a region other than the printing position, the pair of guide members of the transport guide 23 are vertically separated from each other with respect to the transport path of the tape member 3 (Z-axis direction) in order to suppress ink re-adhesion. I have. The shape of the transport guide 23 depends on the position on the transport path so that the tape member 3 can be guided from the storage position to a cutting position described below along the transport path, while suppressing ink re-adhesion to the guide member. Is set as appropriate.

  An ink receiver (ink absorber) 28 that receives ink that has not adhered to the tape member 3 among the ink ejected from the print head 32 is disposed below the tape transport path at the printing position.

  The end detection sensor 25 and the start detection sensor 26 include a light-emitting element that emits light substantially parallel to the Z-axis direction toward the transport path, and a light-receiving element that receives light reflected on the surface of the tape member 3 that is the sensor object. And a reflection-type optical sensor having an element.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the end detection sensor 25 detects whether the end or the start of the tape member 3 is between the ASF roller 13 and the platen roller 22 so as to be upstream of the print position in the tape transport path. Side, between the ASF roller 13 and the platen roller 22, below the transport path. Further, the start end detection sensor 26 is fixedly installed on the lower surface of the ink cartridge 31 above the transport path, downstream of the printing position in the tape transport path. Since the start detection sensor 26 moves together with the print head 32 with the transport of the ink cartridge 31, the relative position of the start detection sensor 26 with respect to the print head 32 does not change.

  The tape member 3 on which the print pattern is printed is fed out of the housing of the printing apparatus 1 from the tape feeding section 16. The tape feeding section (cutting position) 16 includes a full-cut mechanism 17 as a full-cutting unit that cuts the printing tape and the peeling tape of the tape member 3 in the width direction, and cuts only the printing tape of the tape member 3 and releases the peeling tape. And a half-cut mechanism 18 as a half-cut unit that does not cut off. When the printing is completed, the full-cut mechanism 17 or the half-cut mechanism 18 is operated according to the setting, and the tape member 3 is cut in the width direction, thereby producing one tape-shaped label.

  FIG. 8 illustrates a configuration related to control of the printing apparatus 1.

  The printing apparatus 1 includes a central control circuit (control unit) 2, a power supply circuit 5, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) control circuit 40, a Bluetooth (registered trademark) module / WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) module 41, a display device 43, and a display screen. A control circuit 47, a memory control circuit 48, a UI (user interface) control circuit 49, a tape transport control circuit 51, an ink discharge control circuit 52, and a carriage control circuit 53 are provided.

  The central control circuit 2 (hereinafter, referred to as a control unit 2) is a circuit including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that is a processing device. The control unit 2 is connected to each circuit in the printing apparatus 1 through a bus, and controls the entire system of the printing apparatus 1. In FIG. 6, most of the circuits are connected only to the control unit 2, but the circuits can also communicate data via a bus.

  The power supply circuit 5 includes a power supply IC (Integrated Circuit) or the like, and generates and supplies power required for each circuit. For example, each circuit such as the tape transport control circuit 51, the ink discharge control circuit 52, and the carriage control circuit 53 operates by receiving power from the power supply circuit 5.

  The tape transport control circuit 51 includes a motor driver that controls driving of the stepping motor 21 and controls transport of the tape member 3. The tape transport control circuit 51 receives the drive signal output from the control unit 2 and supplies drive power to the stepping motor 21. The tape transport control circuit 51 determines how much the stepping motor 21 has rotated by counting the number of pulses of the drive signal output to the stepping motor 21. Then, the tape transport control circuit 51 determines the transport distance of the tape member 3 based on the rotation speed. The stepping motor 21 employs a 1-2-phase excitation drive, and has a gear ratio of, for example, one step per line (0.0423 mm).

  An end detection sensor 25 and a start detection sensor 26 are connected to the control unit 2. The end detection sensor 25 and the start detection sensor 26 output a signal (sensor value corresponding to brightness) according to the amount of light (light flux per unit solid angle) received by the light receiving element to the control unit 2. The tape transport control circuit 51 obtains information related to the tape member 3 such as a print start position of the tape member 3 by receiving detection signals from the end detection sensor 25 and the start detection sensor 26 from the control unit 2, and obtains the obtained information. , The tape member 3 is conveyed forward or backward by the ASF roller 13 and the platen roller 22.

  Here, the detection results by the end detection sensor 25 and the start detection sensor 26 will be described in more detail. When the same amount of light is emitted from each of the light emitting elements of the end detection sensor 25 and the start detection sensor 26, the higher the reflectance of light on the surface of the detection target, the larger the sensor value detected by the light receiving element. When the tape member 3 is located at the detection position, the sensor value corresponding to the reflected light on the surface of the tape member 3 is detected. Even if the light is not substantially received, or even if the light receiving element receives the reflected light, since the light is reflected by the housing of the printing apparatus 1, the detected sensor value is small compared to the case where the tape member 3 is provided. Conceivable. Therefore, it can be determined whether or not the tape member 3 exists at the detection position (the presence or absence of the tape member 3 at the detection position) based on the difference in the detection sensor value. In the present embodiment, if the sensor values detected by the light receiving elements of the end detection sensor 25 and the start detection sensor 26 are equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the tape member 3 is at the detection position, and if the sensor value is less than the predetermined threshold. It is determined that there is no tape member 3 at the detection position. In addition, as the determination method, the determination conditions are appropriately changed, such as determining that the tape member 3 is at the detection position when the value is less than the threshold value and determining that the tape member 3 is not at the detection position when the value is equal to or more than the threshold value. May be.

  The ink discharge control circuit 52 controls the discharge of ink from the print head 32 during printing. The ink discharge control circuit 52 receives the print data and the print signal output from the control unit 2, and controls the energized dots of the print head 32 by a driver IC provided inside. Thus, the ink discharge control circuit 52 causes the print head 32 to discharge ink to perform printing.

  The carriage control circuit 53 includes a motor driver that controls driving of the stepping motor 36, and controls the carriage carriage 35 to carry the ink carriage 30. The carriage control circuit 53 receives the drive signal output from the control unit 2 and supplies driving power to the stepping motor 36. The carriage control circuit 53 determines how much the stepping motor 36 has been rotated by counting the number of pulses of the drive signal output to the stepping motor 36. Then, the carriage control circuit 53 determines the transport distance of the ink carriage 30 based on the rotation speed.

The tape width detection sensor 27 is a sensor that detects the tape width of the tape member 3 loaded in the tape storage unit 10. For example, a notch or the like as a tape width indicating means is provided in a tape storage case for housing the tape member 3, and the tape width of the tape member 3 being loaded is detected by reading the shape of the notch.
The display screen control circuit 47 controls data transfer to the display device 43, turning on / off of a backlight, and the like.
The display device 43 is a display device including, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display).

  The memory control circuit 48 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) such as a NAND flash memory for storing programs and data, and a RAM such as a DDR (Double Data Rate) memory for temporarily storing programs and data. (Random Access Memory) and control these. The memory control circuit 48 receives the print data including the pattern to be actually printed and the transport distance of the tape member 3 determined by the tape transport control circuit 51 via the control unit 2 and stores them in the storage device.

  The UI control circuit 49 receives an operation input from an input device such as a keyboard, a mouse, a remote controller, a button, and a touch panel, and supplies the received operation input information to the control unit 2.

The USB control circuit 40 controls USB communication between a PC (Personal Computer) 44 and the printing apparatus 1. The PC 44 transmits print data and the like to the printing device 1 via the USB control circuit 40.
The Bluetooth module / WLAN module 41 is a module for the printing apparatus 1 to wirelessly communicate with an external device. The user can transmit various data to the printing apparatus 1 via the portable terminal by short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth. Further, the PC 44 may transmit print data or the like to the printing apparatus 1 via the Bluetooth module / WLAN module 41 instead of the USB control circuit 40.

  The functional configuration of the control unit 2 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, the control unit 2 includes a brightness acquisition unit 61, a tape width acquisition unit 62, a threshold value determination unit 63, an edge determination unit 64, an edge determination unit 65, and a head position determination unit. 66, a print data acquisition unit 67, and a printing unit 68.

  The brightness acquisition unit 61 receives the output signal from the start detection sensor 26 and stores the received signal in the RAM of the memory control circuit 48 in association with the time. At this time, the tape transport control circuit 51 stops the transport of the tape member 3 after transporting the tape member 3 to a position where the start end of the tape member 3 is located in the printing area. In this state, the carriage control circuit 53 fixes the tape member 3 to the ink carriage 30. The arranged leading edge detection sensor 26 is conveyed along the tape width direction over the entire tape width, and the sensor value from the leading edge detection sensor 26 obtained during the conveyance is read by the brightness acquisition unit 61 into the RAM of the memory control circuit 48. To memorize.

  The tape width acquisition unit 62 receives the output signal from the tape width detection sensor 27, and determines the tape width of the tape member 3 based on the received signal. In the present embodiment, the tape width of the tape member 3 that can be loaded into the tape storage unit 10 is equal to any one of a plurality of known tape widths, for example, three types such as 6 mm, 12 mm, and 18 mm. .

  The threshold determining unit 63 determines a brightness threshold based on the sensor value stored in the memory control circuit 48 in association with the time. The edge determination unit 64 detects the edge of the tape member 3 in the tape width direction with reference to the brightness threshold determined by the threshold determination unit 63. At this time, with the transport of the tape member 3 stopped as described above, the carriage control circuit 53 transports the start end detection sensor 26 fixedly arranged on the ink carriage 30 along the tape width direction, and is obtained during the transport. An end in the tape width direction is detected based on a sensor value from the start end detection sensor 26.

The end determining unit 65 directly determines the position of the end of the tape member 3 based on the brightness threshold value determined by the threshold determining unit 63.
The head position determination unit 66 determines the position of the print head 32 in the tape width direction based on the position of the end of the tape member 3 detected by the end determination unit 64. As will be described later, the head position determining unit 66 directly or based on the position of the end of the tape member 3 determined by the end determining unit 65 based on the brightness threshold determined by the threshold determining unit 63. Thus, the position of the print head 32 in the tape width direction may be determined.

The carriage control circuit 53 conveys the ink carriage 30 along the tape width direction, and stops the ink carriage 30 at the position of the print head 32 determined by the head position determination unit 66.
The print data acquisition unit 67 acquires print data from the memory control circuit 48, and the tape transport control circuit 51 transports the tape member 3 in the transport direction based on the acquired print data. The tape member 3 is arranged so as to face the printing start position of the member 3.
The printing unit 68 causes the ink discharge control circuit 52 to discharge ink from the print head 32 based on the print data.

  The printing process executed by the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

  When receiving an instruction to start printing based on a user operation or the like from the UI control circuit 49, the printing apparatus 1 executes the following printing processing. When starting the printing process, the control unit 2 starts the brightness detection operation by the start detection sensor 26. When the power of the printing apparatus 1 is turned on, a brightness detection operation by the start detection sensor 26 is started as an initial operation, and when the power is turned off, a brightness detection operation by the start detection sensor 26 is performed as an end operation. May be terminated. Further, as an initial operation when the power of the printing apparatus 1 is turned on, the control unit 2 acquires the tape width of the loaded tape member 3 based on the detection result by the tape width detection sensor 27, and acquires the acquired tape width. The value of the width is stored in the memory control circuit 48. Thereby, the control unit 2 functions as the tape width acquisition unit 62.

  Before the start of printing, the starting end of the tape member 3 is located at the storage position as shown in FIG. Therefore, first, the tape member 3 is forwardly conveyed, and the start end of the tape member 3 is moved from the storage position to the printing area (printing pre-processing: step S10). Specifically, the control unit 2 causes the tape transport control circuit 51 to rotate the stepping motor 21 by a predetermined number of steps. As a result, the control unit 2 causes the tape member 3 to rotate in the normal direction via the platen roller 22 by a length corresponding to the number of steps, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B. 3 is arranged in the print area. The brightness detection process by the start edge detection sensor 26 is described as being continued throughout the printing process, but may be started and stopped as needed.

  Before the start of printing, the ink carriage 30 is located at the home position, that is, at the standby position PA. After arranging the start end of the tape member 3 in the printing area, the control unit 2 rotates the stepping motor 36 by a predetermined number of steps by the carriage control circuit 53, thereby printing the ink carriage 30 from the standby position PA. An operation to convey in the -Y direction to the ink discharge position PC via the area PB is started (step S11).

While the ink carriage 30 passes through the print area PB, the start end detection sensor 26 passes above the start end of the tape member 3. Therefore, the control unit 2 causes the carriage transport unit 35 to start the transport operation of the ink carriage 30. The control unit 2 continuously detects the brightness by the start detection sensor 26 during the period when the ink carriage 30 passes through the print area PB (Step S12).
The control unit 2 stops the rotation of the stepping motor 36 after rotating the stepping motor 36 by a predetermined number of steps. Thereby, the control unit 2 completes the conveyance of the ink carriage 30 to the ink discharge position PC (Step S13).

  After arranging the ink carriage 30 at the ink discharge position PC, the control unit 2 controls the ink discharge control circuit 52 to cause the print head 32 to discharge ink (step S14).

  After the end of the brightness detection by the start detection sensor 26 described above, the control unit 2 determines a brightness threshold based on the brightness detected in step S13 (threshold determination process: step S20). This threshold value determination processing will be described later. The threshold value determined here is used for an edge determination process S30, a head position determination process S40, and the like, which will be described later.

  Next, the control unit 2 starts an operation of transporting the ink carriage 30 to the print area PB in the + Y direction by the carriage transport unit 35 (Step S15). Note that the above-described threshold value determination processing S20 needs to be completed by the control unit 2 before the start end detection sensor 26 passes again above the start end of the tape member 3.

  The control unit 2 continuously detects the brightness by the start end detection sensor 26 even while the ink carriage 30 is being conveyed from the ink discharge position PC to the print area PB by the carriage conveyance unit 35. Here, when the ink carriage 30 is conveyed from the ink discharge position PC to the standby position PA via the print area PB, the tendency of the sensor value detected by the start detection sensor 26 will be described with reference to FIG. I do. Note that the graphs in FIGS. 11A and 11B do not necessarily indicate the raw data detected by the start detection sensor 26, and the data actually detected generally follow these graphs. , The sensor value fluctuates up and down.

  First, when the ink carriage 30 is arranged at the ink discharge position PC and the start end detection sensor 26 is arranged at a position deviated from above the tape member 3, the sensor value detected by the start end detection sensor 26 indicates a minimum value. (Time point ts). When the ink carriage 30 and the start end detection sensor 26 move along the width direction of the tape member 3 and the start end detection sensor 26 passes over the end of the tape member 3 in the width direction, the sensor value of the start end detection sensor 26 is obtained. Starts to increase (time t0). The sensor value reaches a local maximum shortly after the leading edge detection sensor 26 passes over the end of the tape member 3, and the sensor value reaches a maximum just before the leading edge detection sensor 26 passes over the other end of the tape member 3. Value (between time tmax1 and time tmax2). Thereafter, the sensor value of the start end detection sensor 26 starts to decrease, and the sensor value reaches the minimum value shortly after the start end detection sensor 26 passes over the other end of the tape member 3 (time point t3). After that, since the start end detection sensor 26 is arranged at a position deviated from above the tape member 3, the sensor value of the start end detection sensor 26 again shows the minimum value (between time t3 and time tE).

  Even when the ink carriage 30 is conveyed in the reverse direction, the sensor value of the start end detection sensor 26 changes similarly. That is, the sensor value becomes the minimum value while the start end detection sensor 26 is disposed off from above the tape member 3, and the sensor value starts to increase shortly before being disposed above the tape member 3. Slightly after passing through the end of No. 3, the sensor value becomes the maximum value. In addition, while the start end detection sensor 26 is disposed above the tape member 3, the sensor value becomes a maximum value, and the sensor value starts to decrease shortly before being disposed off from above the tape member 3, and the tape member 3 starts to decrease. Shortly after passing through the end of No. 3, the sensor value becomes the minimum value.

  The control unit 2 detects the start end based on the time change of brightness obtained when the ink carriage 30 is transported from the ink discharge position PC to the print area PB and the threshold value determined in the threshold value determination process S20. The time when the sensor 26 has just passed the widthwise end of the tape member 3 is estimated. Specifically, when the sensor value of the brightness detected by the start detection sensor 26 becomes equal to the threshold value determined in the threshold determination processing S20, the detection position of the start detection sensor 26 in the width direction of the tape member 3 is set. It is considered that the end is arranged (end determination processing: step S30).

  The control unit 2 specifies the step position of the stepping motor 36 for transporting the ink carriage 30 at the time estimated in the above-described edge determination process S30, and adds a predetermined number of steps to the specified position. Is determined as the position of the print head 32 for the current print processing (head position determination processing: step S40). When determining the position of the print head 32, instead of adding a predetermined number of steps, print data is obtained from the memory control circuit 48, and the number of steps to be added is determined in consideration of the obtained print data. May be. Here, the position of the print head is a position in the width direction of the tape member 3. That is, in the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the distance between the print head 32 and the print medium in the print area PB may not only fluctuate every time printing is performed, but also the position of the tape member 3 in the print area PB. May shift in the width direction every time printing is performed. By changing the position of the print head 32 at the start of printing each time printing is performed in accordance with such displacement of the tape member 3 in the width direction, appropriate printing processing can be performed.

Further, the control unit 2 causes the carriage control circuit 53 to rotate the stepping motor 36 so that the step position of the stepping motor 36 becomes the step position determined in the above-described head position determination processing S40. It is arranged at the printing position (step S16).
Thereafter, the control unit 2 acquires the print data from the memory control circuit 48, and executes a printing process on the tape member 3 based on the print data (step S17). When the printing process for one print job is completed, the ASF roller 13 and the platen roller 22 rewind the tape member 3 by reversing the tape member 3 and rewind the tape member 3. Then, the ASF roller 13 is further reversely rotated by a specified step, so that the start end of the tape member 3 is set at a position interposed between the pair of rollers of the ASF roller 13 (hereinafter, referred to as a storage position of the tape member 3). (Post-print processing: Step S18). As described above, during the period excluding the printing period, the tape member 3 is rewound into the tape cartridge 11 and stored. Thus, the tape cartridge 11 can be replaced.

  Next, the above-described threshold value determination processing S20 will be described in detail. FIGS. 11A and 11B are explanatory diagrams for explaining the reason for determining the threshold before printing, and FIG. 12 is a flowchart of the threshold determination process. FIGS. 13A to 13C are flowcharts of the threshold value determination processing of the first to third modifications.

  As described above, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the tape member 3 may be different in the state of plastic deformation depending on the situation. Therefore, the tape member 3 and the print head at the printing position are different. The distance between the sensor 32 and the start detection sensor 26 may vary. FIG. 11A shows that, as shown in FIG. 7A, the distance between the tape member 3 and the starting end detection sensor 26 at the printing position is relatively long (compared to the state shown in FIG. 7B). 11B is a graph showing the lapse of time of the sensor value detected by the start detection sensor 26 in step S12 described above, and FIG. 11B shows the print position as shown in FIG. 7B. If the distance between the tape member 3 and the start end detection sensor 26 is relatively short (closer than the state shown in FIG. 7A), the sensor detected by the start end detection sensor 26 in step S12 described above. It is a graph which shows a time passage of a value. For the sake of simplicity, FIGS. 11A and 11B show graphs generated based on actually detected sensor values approximated to trapezoidal (square) shapes. Although the horizontal axis of this graph is time, the start end detection sensor 26 is conveyed along with the ink carriage 30 at a constant speed in the conveyance direction (the width direction of the tape member 3). The length corresponds to the physical length. Therefore, a line segment having a length obtained by converting the width of the tape member 3 into time is shown at the upper part of each graph so as to match the actual position of the tape member 3.

  As shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, the length of the upper side of the trapezoid and the inclination of the oblique side of the trapezoid are substantially the same regardless of the distance between the tape member 3 and the starting end detection sensor 26 at the printing position. It is. However, when the distance is relatively short, the maximum value of the sensor value (the sensor value at the upper side) is relatively large (that is, bright), and when the distance is relatively long, the maximum value of the sensor value (the sensor value at the upper side) is compared. It turns out that it is very small (that is, dark).

  As described above, when the sensor value is larger than the predetermined threshold value, it can be determined that the tape member 3 exists at the position detected by the start end detection sensor 26. For example, if (A) in FIG. 11 is set to the threshold value, the tape member 3 is arranged at the detection position, that is, at the printing position, regardless of the distance between the tape member 3 and the start detection sensor 26 at the printing position. You can see if it was.

  Next, when detecting the end of the tape member 3 in the width direction, assuming that a constant threshold value (A) is always set, a point at which a straight line passing through (A) and parallel to the horizontal axis intersects the oblique side of the trapezoid. It is determined that tA1 and tA2 are the times when the widthwise end of the tape member 3 is located at the detection position, that is, the time when the start end detection sensor 26 passes over the end of the tape member 3. Further, since the straight line parallel to the horizontal axis intersects the two oblique sides of the trapezoid, the width of the tape member 3 to be detected can be detected based on the length between these points.

  Here, comparing the graph of FIG. 11B with the end position of the tape member 3 shown above, when the threshold value is set to (A), the tape member 3 and the start end detection sensor at the print position are set. If the distance from the end position is long, it can be understood that the result of determination of the end position is correct. That is, the time points tA1 and tA2 when the end of the tape member 3 is located at the detection position are equal to the time points tA1 and tA2 at which the straight line passing through (A) and parallel to the horizontal axis intersects the oblique side of the trapezoid.

  However, comparing the graph of FIG. 11A with the end position of the tape member 3 shown above, when the threshold value is set to (A), the tape member 3 and the start detection sensor 26 at the print position are set. If the distance between is small, it can be understood that the result of the determination of the end position is incorrect. That is, time points tC1 and tC2 at which the end of the tape member 3 is located at the detection position are different from time points tA1 and tA2 at which the straight line passing through (A) and parallel to the horizontal axis intersects the oblique side of the trapezoid. That is, in this case, the time points tA1 and tA2 earlier than the actual time points tC1 and tC2 are erroneously detected as the time points at which the widthwise end of the tape member 3 is arranged at the detection position.

  Therefore, in order to always correctly determine the time point at which the widthwise end of the tape member 3 is located at the detection position, the distance between the tape member 3 and the start end detection sensor 26 at the printing position is determined by the distance between the tape member 3 and the start end detection sensor 26. Must be changed for the edge detection. Specifically, when the distance between the tape member 3 and the start detection sensor 26 at the printing position is long, the threshold is set to (A), and the tape member 3 and the start detection sensor 26 If the distance between is short, the threshold is set to (C) which is larger than (A). Thereby, regardless of the distance between the tape member 3 and the starting end detection sensor 26 at the printing position, the time when the end of the tape member 3 is arranged at the detection position can be appropriately determined, and the detection target can be determined. The width of the tape member 3 can also be appropriately detected.

  Next, a method of determining a threshold will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13A to 13C.

  In the threshold value determination method shown in FIG. 12, first, the control unit 2 acquires a square approximating the time change based on the time change of the brightness detected in step S12 described above (step S201). The lower side of the rectangle passes through the sensor values before and after the period during which the sensor value rises, and exists on a straight line parallel to the horizontal axis. Next, the control unit 2 reads the tape width stored in the memory control circuit 48 in the initial operation, and converts the read tape width into a length along the time axis (Step 202). Finally, the control unit 2 sets a sensor value when the approximate width of the rectangle becomes equal to the length of the converted tape width along the time axis as a threshold, and stores the threshold in the RAM of the memory control circuit 48. It is temporarily stored (step 203).

  By the above-described step 203, as shown in FIG. 11A, when the distance between the tape member 3 and the starting end detection sensor 26 at the printing position is relatively short, (C) is set as the threshold, and When the distance between the tape member 3 and the starting end detection sensor 26 at the printing position is relatively long, as in 11 (b), (A) smaller than (C) is set as the threshold. . This makes it possible to set a threshold value corresponding to the distance between the tape member 3 and the start detection sensor 26 at the printing position.

Hereinafter, the threshold value determination methods of the first to third modifications will be described.
In the threshold value determination method of the first modification example of FIG. 13A, first, the control unit 2 acquires a square approximating the time change based on the time change of the brightness detected in step S12 described above. (Step S211). Next, the control unit 2 converts the length of the upper side of the square along the horizontal axis into the length along the time axis (step 212). Next, the length along the time axis of the upper side of the converted rectangle is multiplied by a predetermined coefficient (step 213). Finally, the control unit 2 sets a sensor value when a width of the approximated rectangle becomes equal to a value obtained by multiplying the coefficient as a threshold, and temporarily stores the threshold in the RAM of the memory control circuit 48 ( Step 214).

  That is, the threshold value determining method of the first modified example does not acquire the tape width of the loaded tape member 3 on the basis of the detection result of the tape width detection sensor 27, but uses the approximate upper side length of the square. The method differs from the above-described threshold value determination method in that the tape width of the tape member 3 to be detected is estimated based on the threshold value. Note that the coefficient used in the threshold value determination method of the first modification can be determined in advance from the relationship between the length of the approximated upper side along the time axis and the actual tape width.

  In the threshold determination method according to the second modification of FIG. 13B, first, the control unit 2 acquires a trapezoid approximate to the time change based on the time change of the brightness detected in step S12 described above. (Step S221). Next, the controller 2 acquires a sensor value corresponding to the upper side of the trapezoid (a line segment parallel to the horizontal axis) (Step 222). Finally, a value obtained by multiplying the obtained sensor value by a predetermined coefficient is set as a threshold, and this threshold is temporarily stored in the RAM of the memory control circuit 48 (step 223).

  That is, the threshold value determining method according to the second modification does not determine the threshold value based on the approximate length of the upper side of the trapezoid (square) and the width of the trapezoid, but based on the sensor value corresponding to the upper side. , Is different from the above-described threshold determination method in that the threshold is determined directly. The coefficient used in the threshold value determination method of the second modification is determined in advance from the relationship between the sensor value corresponding to the upper side of the approximate trapezoid and the sensor value when the approximate width of the trapezoid becomes the actual tape width. Can be kept.

  In the threshold value determination method of the third modification example in FIG. 13C, first, the control unit 2 acquires the maximum value of the sensor value based on the temporal change in brightness detected in step S12 (step S12). S231). Next, the control unit 2 sets a value obtained by multiplying the maximum value of the acquired sensor values by a predetermined coefficient as a threshold, and temporarily stores the threshold in the RAM of the memory control circuit 48 (Step 232).

In other words, the threshold value determination method of the third modified example is based on the point that the sensor value is not approximated to a trapezoid (square) and that the threshold value is directly determined based on the maximum value of the sensor value. Different from the method. Note that the coefficient used in the threshold value determination method of the third modified example may be determined in advance from the relationship between the maximum value of the sensor value and the sensor value when the width of the rising portion of the graph becomes the actual tape width. it can.
The threshold may be determined by a method in which the respective elements of the threshold determination method are appropriately combined.

  As described above, the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes, before printing, the start-end detection sensor 26 that acquires the brightness of the surface of the tape member 3 according to the distance to the tape member 3, and the acquired brightness. The threshold value determining unit 63 determines a threshold value according to the distance to the tape member 3 based on the threshold value, and the print head 32 prints on the tape member 3 using the determined threshold value. Therefore, even if the distance between the print head 32 and the tape member 3 at the printing position fluctuates each time printing is performed, the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment can detect the start-end detection sensor 26 and the tape member 3 each time printing is performed. Since a threshold value is determined according to the distance between the tape member 3 and the subsequent printing process can be performed using the threshold value, for example, the end of the tape member 3 can be accurately estimated every time printing is performed. The print head 32 can be stopped at an accurate position every time printing is performed, so that an appropriate printing process can be performed according to the distance.

  Next, a printing process executed by the printing apparatus 1 according to a modification of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. A description of the same processing as the printing processing executed by the printing apparatus according to the above-described embodiment will be omitted.

  First, the process from the print pre-process S10 to the process S15 of starting the transport of the ink carriage from the ink discharge position to the print area is the same as the print process executed by the printing apparatus according to the above-described embodiment.

  Next, the control unit 2 executes an end position determination process (Step S50). FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the edge determination processing. In this process, first, the threshold value set in the threshold value determination process S20 and temporarily stored in the RAM of the memory control circuit 48 is read (step S501). Next, on the graph shown in FIG. 11, when a straight line passing through the read threshold value and parallel to the horizontal axis intersects a portion of the graph where the sensor value increases with time (the left oblique side of the approximate trapezoid). The step position of the stepping motor 21 is obtained, and this step position is regarded as a position corresponding to the end of the tape member 3 on the ink discharge position side (step 502). That is, the step position of the stepping motor 21 at the time when the sensor value of the graph shown in FIG. Is assumed to be.

  Next, the control unit 2 determines a step position obtained by adding a predetermined number of steps to the step position determined in the end position determination processing S50 as the position of the print head 32 for the current print processing (head position). Determination processing: S45). Subsequent processing is the same as in the above-described embodiment. First, the ink carriage 30 is transported to the printing position (step S16), the printing processing is executed (step S17), and when the printing period ends, post-printing processing is executed. (Step S18).

  The printing process executed by the printing apparatus 1 according to this modification directly sets the step position of the stepping motor 21 corresponding to the end of the tape member 3 on the ink discharge position side based on the threshold value determined in the threshold value determination process S20. The printing apparatus 1 according to the above-described embodiment differs in that it is determined, and thus the position of the print head 32 for the current printing process is also directly determined based on the threshold value determined in the threshold value determining process S20. Is different from the print processing executed by the user. Therefore, in the printing process performed by the printing apparatus 1 according to this modification, the edge position of the tape member 3 is directly estimated based on the threshold value determined in the threshold value determination process S20 without performing the edge determination process S30. be able to.

  Next, a tape width error determination process executed by the printing apparatus 1 according to the second modification of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. This process is a process that is executed after the process of step S13 is completed and before the threshold value determination process S20 is started, among the above-described print processes illustrated in FIG. 10 or FIG. Based on the result of the tape width error determination processing, it is determined whether to continue or stop the processing after step S13.

  First, the control unit 2 reads the tape width stored in the memory control circuit 48 in the initial operation, and converts the read tape width into a length along the time axis (step S601). Next, the control unit 2 acquires a trapezoid that approximates the time change based on the time change of the brightness detected in step S12 described above (step S602). The difference between the time length obtained by conversion in step S601 and the length of the upper side of the trapezoid obtained in step S602 is obtained. If the difference is equal to or larger than a predetermined value, the tape width obtaining unit 62 reads the tape width. There is a possibility that some error has occurred, such as an error or a brightness detection error by the start detection sensor 26 while the ink carriage 30 is passing through the print area PB. Therefore, if the difference in length is equal to or larger than the predetermined value, the display device 43 displays "Tape width error" or the like without performing the processing after step S13 in FIG. 10 or FIG. Report an error message. If the difference between the lengths is less than the predetermined value, the processing after step S13 in FIG. 10 or FIG. 14 is continuously executed.

  According to the above-described printing apparatus 1 of the second modified example, the difference between the tape width detected by the tape width acquisition unit 62 and the tape width estimated based on the sensor value detected by the start detection sensor 26 is large. Sometimes, it is considered that an error has occurred, but in such a case, by stopping the printing process or notifying the error, a printing failure that may occur when printing is continued despite the error, etc. Can be prevented beforehand.

  In the present embodiment, the start end detection sensor 26 is fixedly installed on the lower surface of the ink cartridge 31 and moves with the print head 32 as the ink cartridge 31 is transported. However, the present invention is not limited to this. A drive mechanism for transport may be provided separately from the carriage transport unit 35 and transported independently of the ink cartridge 31. Further, in the present embodiment, the starting end detection sensor 26 has been described as including only one reflective optical sensor including one light emitting element and one light receiving element. However, the present invention is not limited to this. A plurality of linear optical sensors may be arranged in the width direction of the member 3, that is, in the transport direction of the ink carriage 30. The plurality of reflective optical sensors of the start end detection sensor 26 are arranged (horizontally) so that the distance from the tape member 3 is constant regardless of the position of the tape member 3 in the width direction. In this case, the horizontal axis of the graph in FIG. 11 indicates the physical position in the direction in which the plurality of reflective optical sensors are arranged. The vertical axis indicates the sensor value detected by the reflective optical sensors arranged at the respective positions on the horizontal axis among the plurality of reflective optical sensors included in the start end detection sensor 26.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the position of the end portion in the width direction of the tape member 3 is detected by detecting the brightness by the start end detection sensor 26 while transporting the start end detection sensor 26 along the width direction of the tape member 3. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The transport direction of the tape member 3 is detected by detecting the brightness by the leading edge detection sensor 26 while transporting the leading edge detection sensor 26 along the transport direction of the tape member 3. May be used to determine the position of the start end side of. In this case, since the position of the detected start end of the tape member 3 can be estimated, even if the distance between the print head 32 and the tape member 3 at the printing position changes every time printing is performed, the start end of the tape member 3 is not changed. The length from the side end to the position for receiving the ink, that is, the length of the so-called “front margin” can be accurately controlled. In this case, a drive mechanism for transporting the start end detection sensor 26 may be provided separately from the carriage transport unit 35, and may be transported independently of the ink cartridge 31.

  In addition, the motor described as a stepping motor including the stepping motor 21 may be a motor that operates continuously. Such a motor is controlled by an encoder, and information such as the length of the transported tape member 3 is also managed by the encoder.

  Note that, not only can a printing apparatus be provided with a configuration for realizing the functions according to the present invention in advance, but also an existing information processing apparatus or the like can function as the printing apparatus according to the present invention by applying a program. . That is, by applying a program for realizing each functional configuration of the printing apparatus 1 exemplified in the above embodiment so that a CPU or the like that controls an existing information processing apparatus or the like can execute the program, the printing apparatus according to the present invention is realized. Can function as Further, the transport method according to the present invention can be implemented using a printing apparatus.

  The method of applying such a program is arbitrary. The program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium such as a flexible disk, a CD (Compact Disc) -ROM, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) -ROM, and a memory card, and can be applied. Further, the program can be superimposed on a carrier wave and applied via a communication medium such as the Internet. For example, the program may be posted on a bulletin board (BBS: Bulletin Board System) on a communication network and distributed. Then, the program may be activated and executed in the same manner as other application programs under the control of an OS (Operating System), so that the above-described processing can be executed.

  As described above, the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments, and the present invention includes the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof. included. Hereinafter, the inventions described in the claims of the present application will be additionally described.

[Appendix 1]
Before printing, an acquisition unit that acquires a sensor value corresponding to the brightness of the surface of the medium according to the distance to the medium,
A determining unit that determines a threshold value according to a distance to the medium based on the acquired sensor value corresponding to the brightness;
A printing unit that performs printing on the medium using the determined threshold value.
[Appendix 2]
A printing position determining unit that determines a relative position of the printing unit with respect to the medium based on the determined threshold value,
The printing device according to claim 1, wherein:
[Appendix 3]
An estimating unit that estimates a point in time at which the acquisition unit has passed over the end of the medium, based on the determined threshold,
The printing position determination unit determines a relative position of the printing unit with respect to the medium, based on the time point estimated by the estimation unit,
3. The printing device according to claim 2, wherein:
[Appendix 4]
The acquisition unit acquires a sensor value corresponding to the brightness of each position in one direction along the surface of the medium before printing.
The determination unit determines the threshold based on a change in a sensor value corresponding to the brightness according to the acquired position in the one direction,
4. The printing device according to any one of supplementary notes 1 to 3, wherein:
[Appendix 5]
A transport unit that moves the acquisition unit in one direction along the surface of the medium,
An acquisition unit transport control unit that controls the transport unit,
The acquisition unit conveyance control unit acquires the sensor value corresponding to the brightness by the acquisition unit while moving the acquisition unit in one direction along the surface of the medium by the conveyance unit before the printing. And
The determination unit is configured to determine the threshold based on a change in a sensor value corresponding to the brightness according to the acquired time in the one direction,
4. The printing device according to any one of supplementary notes 1 to 3, wherein:
[Appendix 6]
A length acquisition unit that acquires the length of the medium along the one direction,
And a length acquisition control unit that controls the length acquisition unit,
Before the printing, the length acquisition control unit causes the length acquisition unit to acquire the length of the medium along the one direction,
The determination unit is configured to determine the threshold based on a sensor value corresponding to the acquired brightness and a length of the medium along the one direction,
6. The printing device according to claim 4 or 5, wherein
[Appendix 7]
A print control unit that controls the printing unit,
The print control unit approximates a change in the sensor value corresponding to the acquired brightness to a rectangle, and a difference between a length of an upper side of the rectangle and a length of the medium to be printed along the one direction is predetermined. When the value is exceeded, control not to perform printing on the medium by the printing unit,
6. The printing device according to claim 4 or 5, wherein
[Appendix 8]
An edge position determination unit that determines a position corresponding to an edge of the medium in the one direction based on the determined threshold, further comprising:
8. The printing apparatus according to any one of supplementary notes 4 to 7, wherein:
[Appendix 9]
A second transport unit that moves the printing unit between a standby position, a printing area, and an ink discharge position;
A printing unit transport control unit that controls the transport of the printing unit,
The printing unit transport control unit moves the printing unit from the standby position to the ink discharge position via the printing area by the second transport unit before the printing,
The acquisition unit acquires a sensor value corresponding to the brightness arranged in the print area while the print unit moves from the standby position to the ink discharge position via the print area.
9. The printing apparatus according to any one of supplementary notes 1 to 8, wherein:
[Appendix 10]
Before printing, obtain a sensor value corresponding to the brightness of the surface of the medium according to the distance from the predetermined position to the medium,
Based on the acquired sensor value corresponding to the brightness, determine a threshold value according to the distance to the medium,
Printing a print on the medium using the determined threshold value,
A printing method, characterized in that:
[Appendix 11]
A computer of a printing apparatus including an acquisition unit, a determination unit, and a printing unit,
Before printing, the acquisition unit acquires a sensor value corresponding to the brightness of the surface of the medium according to the distance to the medium,
Based on the acquired sensor value corresponding to the brightness, the determining unit determines a threshold value according to the distance to the medium,
Using the determined threshold value to perform printing on the medium by a printing unit,
A printing program, characterized in that:

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Printing apparatus, 2 ... Control part, 3 ... Tape member, 5 ... Power supply circuit, 10 ... Tape storage part, 11 ... Tape cartridge, 12 ... Tape core, 13 ... ASF roller, 16 ... Tape feeding part, 17 ... Full cut Mechanism: 18 Half cut mechanism, 21: Stepping motor, 22: Platen roller, 23: Transport guide, 25: End detection sensor, 26: Start detection sensor, 27: Tape width detection sensor, 28: Ink receiver, 30: Ink Carriage (ink cartridge storage section), 31: ink cartridge (ink tank), 32: print head (ink-jet head), 35: carriage transport section, 36: stepping motor, 37: cap, 38: waste ink receiver (ink absorber) , 39: Carriage belt, 40: USB control circuit, 41: Bluetooth module WLAN module, 43 display device, 44 PC, 47 display screen control circuit, 48 memory control circuit, 49 UI control circuit, 51 tape transport control circuit, 52 ink discharge control circuit, 53 carriage Control circuit, 61: brightness acquisition unit (control unit 2), 62: tape width acquisition unit (control unit 2), 63: threshold value determination unit (control unit 2), 64: edge determination unit (control unit 2) 65: end determination unit (control unit 2), 66: head position determination unit (control unit 2), 67: print data acquisition unit (control unit 2), 68: printing unit (control unit 2)

Claims (13)

Before printing, an acquisition unit that acquires a sensor value corresponding to the brightness of the surface of the medium according to the distance to the medium,
Based on the sensor value acquired by the acquisition unit, a determination unit that determines a threshold value according to the distance to the medium for determining the end of the medium,
A printing unit that determines an end of the medium based on the threshold value determined by the determination unit, and performs printing on the medium between the determined ends,
A length acquisition unit that acquires a length along one direction of the medium,
A length acquisition control unit that controls the length acquisition unit,
The acquiring unit acquires a sensor value corresponding to the brightness of each position in the one direction along the surface of the medium before the printing,
Before the printing, the length acquisition control unit causes the length acquisition unit to acquire the length of the medium along the one direction,
The determining unit determines an end of the medium based on a change in a sensor value corresponding to the brightness according to the acquired position in the one direction and a length of the medium along the one direction. Determining a threshold according to the distance to the medium for performing
A printing device characterized by the above-mentioned. Before printing, an acquisition unit that acquires a sensor value corresponding to the brightness of the surface of the medium according to the distance to the medium,
Based on the sensor value acquired by the acquisition unit, a determination unit that determines a threshold value according to the distance to the medium for determining the end of the medium,
A printing unit that determines an end of the medium based on the threshold value determined by the determination unit, and performs printing on the medium between the determined ends,
A transport unit that moves the acquisition unit in one direction along the surface of the medium,
An acquisition unit conveyance control unit that controls the conveyance unit,
A length acquisition unit that acquires the length of the medium along the one direction,
A length acquisition control unit that controls the length acquisition unit,
The acquisition unit transport control unit acquires the sensor value acquired by the acquisition unit while moving the acquisition unit in the one direction along the surface of the medium by the transport unit before the printing,
Before the printing, the length acquisition control unit causes the length acquisition unit to acquire the length of the medium along the one direction,
The determining unit determines an end of the medium based on a change in the sensor value obtained by the obtaining unit according to time in the obtained one direction and a length of the medium along the one direction. Determining the threshold for determining,
A printing device characterized by the above-mentioned. Before printing, an acquisition unit that acquires a sensor value corresponding to the brightness of the surface of the medium according to the distance to the medium,
Based on the sensor value acquired by the acquisition unit, a determination unit that determines a threshold value according to the distance to the medium for determining the end of the medium,
A printing unit that determines an end of the medium based on the threshold value determined by the determination unit, and performs printing on the medium between the determined ends,
A length acquisition unit that acquires a length along one direction of the medium,
A length acquisition control unit that controls the length acquisition unit,
A print control unit that controls the printing unit,
The acquisition unit acquires a sensor value corresponding to the brightness of each position in the one direction along the surface of the medium before the printing,
The determining unit is configured to determine a threshold value according to a distance to the medium for determining an end of the medium based on a change in a sensor value corresponding to the brightness according to the acquired position in the one direction. Decide,
The print control unit approximates a change in the sensor value acquired by the acquisition unit to a rectangle, and the difference between the length of the upper side of the rectangle and the length of the medium in the one direction exceeds a predetermined value. Control to not perform printing on the medium by the printing unit when
A printing device characterized by the above-mentioned. Before printing, an acquisition unit that acquires a sensor value corresponding to the brightness of the surface of the medium according to the distance to the medium,
Based on the sensor value acquired by the acquisition unit, a determination unit that determines a threshold value according to the distance to the medium for determining the end of the medium,
A printing unit that determines an end of the medium based on the threshold value determined by the determination unit, and performs printing on the medium between the determined ends,
A transport unit that moves the acquisition unit in one direction along the surface of the medium,
An acquisition unit conveyance control unit that controls the conveyance unit,
A print control unit that controls the printing unit;
A length acquisition unit that acquires the length of the medium along the one direction,
The acquisition unit transport control unit acquires the sensor value acquired by the acquisition unit while moving the acquisition unit in the one direction along the surface of the medium by the transport unit before the printing,
The determining unit is configured to determine the threshold for determining an end of the medium based on a change in the sensor value acquired by the acquiring unit according to time in the acquired one direction,
The print control unit approximates a change in the sensor value acquired by the acquisition unit to a rectangle, and the difference between the length of the upper side of the rectangle and the length of the medium in the one direction exceeds a predetermined value. Control to not perform printing on the medium by the printing unit when
A printing device characterized by the above-mentioned. Before printing, an acquisition unit that acquires a sensor value corresponding to the brightness of the surface of the medium according to the distance to the medium,
Based on the sensor value acquired by the acquisition unit, a determination unit that determines a threshold value according to the distance to the medium for determining the end of the medium,
A printing unit that determines an end of the medium based on the threshold value determined by the determination unit, and performs printing on the medium between the determined ends,
A second transport unit that moves the printing unit between a standby position, a printing area, and an ink discharge position;
E Bei and a printing unit conveying control unit for controlling the conveying of the printing unit,
The printing unit transport control unit moves the printing unit from the standby position to the ink discharge position via the print area by the second transport unit before the printing,
The acquisition unit acquires a sensor value corresponding to the brightness arranged in the print area while the print unit moves from the standby position to the ink discharge position via the print area.
Printing device you wherein a. A printing position determining unit that determines a relative position of the printing unit with respect to the width direction of the medium based on the threshold value determined by the determining unit,
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: An estimating unit that estimates a point in time at which the obtaining unit has passed over the end of the medium, based on the threshold value determined by the determining unit , further comprising:
The printing position determination unit determines a relative position of the printing unit with respect to the width direction of the medium, based on the time point estimated by the estimation unit,
The printing apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein: The acquisition unit acquires a sensor value corresponding to the brightness of each position in one direction along the surface of the medium before printing.
The determining unit is configured to determine a threshold value according to a distance to the medium for determining an end of the medium based on a change in a sensor value corresponding to the brightness according to the acquired position in the one direction. decide,
The printing device according to claim 5 , wherein: A transport unit that moves the acquisition unit in one direction along the surface of the medium,
An acquisition unit transport control unit that controls the transport unit,
The acquisition unit transport control unit, before the printing, while moving the acquisition unit in one direction along the surface of the medium by the transport unit, acquires the sensor value acquired by the acquisition unit ,
The determining unit is configured to determine the threshold value for determining an end of the medium based on a change in the sensor value obtained by the obtaining unit according to time in the obtained one direction.
The printing device according to claim 5 , wherein: A length acquisition unit that acquires the length of the medium along the one direction,
And a length acquisition control unit that controls the length acquisition unit,
Before the printing, the length acquisition control unit causes the length acquisition unit to acquire the length of the medium along the one direction,
The determining unit determines the threshold based on the sensor value obtained by the obtaining unit and the length of the medium along the one direction,
The printing device according to claim 8, wherein A print control unit that controls the printing unit ;
A length acquisition unit that acquires the length of the medium along the one direction ,
The print control unit, the change of the sensor values acquired by the acquisition unit approximates a square, the length Satono difference along said one direction of the upper side of the length and the medium of the square exceeds the predetermined value Control to not perform printing on the medium by the printing unit when
The printing device according to claim 8, wherein Before printing, an acquisition unit that acquires a sensor value corresponding to the brightness of the surface of the medium according to the distance from a predetermined position to the medium ,
Based on the sensor value acquired by the acquisition unit, a determination unit that determines a threshold value according to the distance to the medium for determining the end of the medium,
A printing unit that determines an end of the medium based on the threshold value determined by the determination unit, and performs printing on the medium between the determined ends,
A length acquisition unit that acquires a length along one direction of the medium,
A length acquisition control unit that controls the length acquisition unit,
The acquiring unit acquires a sensor value corresponding to the brightness of each position in the one direction along the surface of the medium before the printing,
Before the printing, the length acquisition control unit causes the length acquisition unit to acquire the length of the medium along the one direction,
The determining unit determines an end of the medium based on a change in a sensor value corresponding to the brightness according to the acquired position in the one direction and a length of the medium along the one direction. To determine a threshold according to the distance to the medium for performing,
A printing method, characterized in that: Before printing, an acquisition unit that acquires a sensor value corresponding to the brightness of the surface of the medium according to the distance to the medium,
Based on the sensor value acquired by the acquisition unit, a determination unit that determines a threshold value according to the distance to the medium for determining the end of the medium,
A printing unit that determines an end of the medium based on the threshold value determined by the determination unit, and performs printing on the medium between the determined ends,
A length acquisition unit that acquires a length along one direction of the medium,
A length acquisition control unit that controls the length acquisition unit ;
The acquisition unit, before the printing, to acquire a sensor value corresponding to the brightness of each position in the one direction along the surface of the medium,
Before the printing, the length acquisition control unit causes the length acquisition unit to acquire the length of the medium along the one direction,
The determining unit determines an end of the medium based on a change in a sensor value corresponding to the brightness according to the acquired position in the one direction and a length of the medium along the one direction. And determining a threshold value according to a distance to the medium for performing the printing.

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