JP6932913B2 - Printing device and control program for printing device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a printing device and a control program for the printing device.

Conventionally, a printing apparatus that prints on a print medium having elasticity is known. For example, the printing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 prints while transporting a tube, which is a printing medium, by a roller. The rollers are rotated by the drive of a stepping motor. When the user attaches the tube to the transport path, the tube is attached in a bent state. When the transfer of the tube is started, the tube is pulled by the roller, and the bent tube is stretched according to the elasticity. As the tube stretches, the actual transport volume of the tube decreases. The printing apparatus stores the corrected transport value according to the type of tube and the like. The printing apparatus corrects the deviation of the printing position by controlling the stepping motor based on the corrected transport value and correcting the amount of the tube conveyed by the rollers.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-187470

More specifically, in the printing apparatus, the number of pulses of the stepping motor stored in the transport amount correction table is added to correct the transport amount before and after or between characters printed on the tube. That is, although the margins before and after the characters and the balance between the characters due to the elasticity of the print medium are improved, it is difficult to improve the correction accuracy of the deviation of the printing position.

An object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus capable of accurately correcting a deviation of a printing position due to elasticity of a printing medium, and a control program for the printing apparatus.

The printing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a transport means for transporting a long stretchable printing medium, a printing means for printing on the print medium transported by the transport means, and the transport means. In a printing apparatus provided with control means for controlling the operation of each of the printing means, the printing medium has at least elasticity and elasticity of the printing medium represented by parameters including an elastic coefficient depending on the material of the printing medium. The printing with respect to the reference time corresponding to the reference transport amount from the start of transport by the transport means, based on the reference transport amount which is the transport amount from the start of transport of the virtual print medium by the transport means. By correcting the printing timing by the means, a correction means for correcting the deviation of the print position on the print medium due to the elasticity of the print medium is provided, and the control means is the printing corrected by the correction means. It is characterized in that printing is performed on the printing medium by the printing means at the timing.

The printing apparatus corrects the printing timing with respect to the reference time corresponding to the reference transfer amount from the start of transfer based on the elasticity of the print medium and the reference transfer amount. Even if the actual transfer amount of the print medium deviates from the reference transfer amount due to the elasticity of the print medium, the printing apparatus prints at the corrected printing timing to bring the actual transfer amount of the print medium to the actual transfer amount. The actual print position can be corrected to the theoretical print position accordingly. Therefore, the printing apparatus can accurately correct the deviation of the printing position due to the elasticity of the printing medium.

In the printing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the printing means has a plurality of heat generating elements arranged side by side in parallel with the transport direction of the printing medium by the transporting means, and the plurality of heat generating elements are lined up. It is a thermal head that prints on the print medium for each print line, the correction means makes a correction for delaying the print timing with respect to the reference time for each print line, and the control means is the print line. The thermal head may be controlled at the printing timing corrected by the correction means each time. When a printed medium in a bent state is conveyed and stretched, printing is performed with a deviation from the theoretical printing position on the downstream side in the conveying direction. The printing apparatus can correct the actual printing position to the theoretical printing position by making a correction that delays the printing timing with respect to the reference time. Since printing is performed at the printing timing corrected for each print line, the printing apparatus can make the distance between adjacent print lines uniform.

（但し、前記補正量をＹとし、前記基準搬送量をＸとし、前記二つの定数を、夫々、ｋ，ｒとする。）前記補正手段は、前記近似式によって求められる前記補正量と、前記印刷媒体の前記基準搬送量に対応した搬送速度とに基づいて、前記基準時間に対して前記印刷タイミングを遅らせる遅延時間を算出してもよい。この場合、印刷装置は、チューブの伸縮性に基づいて二つの定数ｋ，ｒを決定するだけで、基準搬送量に基づいて近似式を用いて補正量を容易に算出できる。印刷装置は、補正量を搬送速度で除算することで、遅延時間を容易に算出できる。よって、印刷装置は、印刷タイミングを容易に算出できる。 In the printing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the correction amount, which is the difference between the transfer amount from the start of transfer when the print medium is actually conveyed by the transfer means and the reference transfer amount, is the reference transfer amount. , And two constants based on the elasticity of the print medium, expressed by the following approximate expression.

(However, the correction amount is Y, the reference transport amount is X, and the two constants are k and r, respectively.) The correction means is the correction amount obtained by the approximation formula and the correction amount. The delay time for delaying the printing timing with respect to the reference time may be calculated based on the transfer speed corresponding to the reference transfer amount of the print medium. In this case, the printing apparatus can easily calculate the correction amount by using an approximate expression based on the reference transfer amount only by determining the two constants k and r based on the elasticity of the tube. The printing apparatus can easily calculate the delay time by dividing the correction amount by the transport speed. Therefore, the printing apparatus can easily calculate the printing timing.

The control program of the printing apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention includes a transport means for transporting a long stretchable printing medium and a printing means for printing on the print medium conveyed by the transport means. A computer of the printing apparatus provided with a control step for controlling the operation of each of the transport means and the printing means, and elasticity of the printing medium represented by a parameter including at least an elastic coefficient depending on the material of the printing medium. Corresponds to the reference transport amount from the start of transport by the transport means, based on the reference transport amount which is the transport amount from the start of transport when the virtual print medium having no elasticity is transported by the transport means. By correcting the printing timing by the printing means with respect to the reference time, a correction step of correcting the deviation of the printing position on the printing medium due to the elasticity of the printing medium is executed. By executing the control program, the printing apparatus can achieve the same effect as that of the first aspect.

It is a perspective view which looked at the printing apparatus 1 from the front right upper side. It is a top view of the main body case 11. It is a block diagram which shows the electrical structure of the printing apparatus 1. It is a figure explaining the correction of the print position deviation and the print timing T. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the reference transport amount X and the correction amount Y. It is a figure which shows an example of a constant determination table. It is a flowchart of a main process.

The printing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following, the upper, lower, lower left, upper right, lower right, and upper left of FIG. 1 will be defined as upper, lower, front, rear, right, and left of the printing apparatus 1, respectively. .. The printing device 1 can print a character on a long print medium having elasticity based on the print data. The print medium is, for example, a tubular tube 9. The character is at least one such as a character, a character string, a number, a symbol, a figure, and an illustration.

As shown in FIG. 1, the printing apparatus 1 includes a housing 10. The housing 10 includes a main body case 11 and a cover 12. The main body case 11 is a rectangular parallelepiped box-shaped member that is long in the left-right direction. The cover 12 is a plate-shaped member arranged on the upper side of the main body case 11. A keyboard 13 is provided on the upper surface of the cover 12. The keyboard 13 is connected to the main body case 11 via the USB cable 79. The keyboard 13 includes an input unit 13A and a display unit 13B. The input unit 13A inputs various information to the printing device 1 according to the operation of the user. The display unit 13B is, for example, a liquid crystal display and displays various information. The rear end portion of the cover 12 is rotatably supported on the upper side of the rear end portion of the main body case 11. When the cover 12 is closed with respect to the body case 11, the cover 12 covers the mounting surface 11A (see FIG. 2) (see FIG. 1). When the cover 12 is opened with respect to the main body case 11, the mounting surface 11A is exposed upward (see FIG. 2).

A tube insertion port 15, a tube discharge port 16 (see FIG. 2), and an operation unit 17 are provided on the side surface of the housing 10. The tube insertion port 15 is provided on the right side of the housing 10. The tube insertion port 15 is an opening for guiding the tube 9 into the housing 10. The tube discharge port 16 is provided on the left surface of the housing 10. The tube discharge port 16 is an opening for discharging the tube 9 to the outside of the housing 10. The operation unit 17 includes a plurality of LEDs indicating the operating state of the printing device 1 and a plurality of operation buttons including a power button and a start button.

As shown in FIG. 2, the mounting surface 11A is provided with a ribbon mounting portion 30, a tube mounting portion 40, a cutter 64, and the like. The ribbon mounting portion 30 is on the left portion of the mounting surface 11A. The ribbon mounting portion 30 is a recess that opens upward. A ribbon cassette 90 can be attached to and detached from the ribbon mounting portion 30. The ribbon cassette 90 is a box-shaped body containing an unused ink ribbon 90A, a ribbon take-up spool 91, and the like. The user can attach / detach the ribbon cassette 90 to / from the ribbon mounting portion 30 from above with the cover 12 opened.

The tube mounting portion 40 extends substantially in the left-right direction from the tube insertion port 15 to the tube discharge port 16. Hereinafter, the direction in which the tube mounting portion 40 extends from the tube insertion port 15 toward the tube discharge port 16 is referred to as a transport direction. The tube mounting portion 40 passes behind the ribbon mounting portion 30 and communicates with the rear end portion of the ribbon mounting portion 30. The tube mounting portion 40 is a groove portion that opens upward. A tube 9 can be attached to and detached from the tube mounting portion 40. The user can attach / detach the tube 9 to / from the tube mounting portion 40 from above with the cover 12 opened. The tube 9 is attached to the tube mounting portion 40 so as to extend from the tube insertion port 15 to the tube discharge port 16.

The cutter 64 is provided on the right side of the tube discharge port 16. The cutter 64 can cut the printed tube 9 in the radial direction thereof.

The ribbon mounting portion 30 is provided with a ribbon winding shaft 63, a print head 61, and a plurality of transport rollers 65 to 69. The ribbon winding shaft 63 engages with a through hole (not shown) at the center of the ribbon winding spool 91. The print head 61 is a thermal head having a plurality of heat generating elements. The plurality of heat generating elements are arranged side by side in the vertical direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the tube 9, and correspond to the plurality of dots indicated by the print data. The print head 61 prints for each print line in which a plurality of heat generating elements are lined up.

The print head 61 is driven by the head motor 97 (see FIG. 3) to move between the print position and the non-print position. In FIG. 2, the print head 61 at the non-printing position is indicated by a solid line, and the print head 61 at the printing position is indicated by a chain double-dashed line. The print head 61 at the print position sandwiches the tube 9 with the transfer roller 65 described later. The print head 61 in the non-printing position is separated from the transfer roller 65 to the front side.

Each transport roller 65-69 transports the tube 9 mounted on the tube mounting portion 40 along the transport direction. The transfer roller 65 is provided on the rear side of the print head 61. The transport roller 65 faces the print head 61 with the tube mounting portion 40 interposed therebetween. The transfer roller 66 is provided on the rear side of the tube mounting portion 40 and on the upstream side in the transfer direction with respect to the transfer roller 65. The transfer roller 67 is provided on the rear side of the tube mounting portion 40 and on the downstream side in the transfer direction from the transfer roller 65. Each of the transport rollers 65 to 67 can rotate clockwise in a plan view.

The transfer roller 68 is provided on the front side of the transfer roller 66. The transfer roller 68 faces the transfer roller 66 with the tube mounting portion 40 interposed therebetween. The transfer roller 69 is provided on the front side of the transfer roller 67. The transfer roller 69 faces the transfer roller 67 with the tube mounting portion 40 interposed therebetween. Each of the transport rollers 68 and 69 can rotate counterclockwise in a plan view.

The transport rollers 68 and 69 can be moved between the printed position and the non-printed position, respectively. In FIG. 2, the conveying rollers 68 and 69 at the non-printing position are shown by solid lines, and the conveying rollers 68 and 69 at the printing position are shown by the alternate long and short dash lines. The transport rollers 68 and 69 at the printing position are respectively urged in a direction close to the transport rollers 66 and 67 with the tube 9 mounted on the tube mounting portion 40 interposed therebetween. The transport rollers 68, 69 in the non-printing position are separated from the transport rollers 66, 67 to the front side, respectively. The user can switch the transport rollers 68 and 69 between the printed position and the non-printed position by operating the release lever 70 provided at the rear portion of the mounting surface 11A.

The electrical configuration of the printing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The printing device 1 includes a control board 19. The control board 19 includes a CPU 41, a ROM 42, a CGROM 43, a RAM 44, a flash memory 45, and an input / output interface 49. The CPU 41 is connected to the ROM 42, the CGROM 43, the RAM 44, the flash memory 45, and the input / output interface 49. The ROM 42 stores a program executed by the CPU 41 to control the printing device 1. The CGROM 43 stores print dot pattern data for printing characters. The RAM 44 temporarily stores print data and the like. The flash memory 45 stores a constant determination table (see FIG. 6) and the like, which will be described later.

The operation unit 17, the built-in battery 18, and the drive circuits 73, 74, 75, 76 are connected to the input / output interface 49. The operation unit 17 accepts input of various information by the user. The built-in battery 18 supplies electric power to the entire printing device 1. The drive circuit 73 is an electronic circuit for driving the print head 61. The drive circuit 74 is an electronic circuit for driving the head motor 97. The drive circuit 75 is an electronic circuit for driving the transfer motor 98. The transfer motor 98 is a stepping motor. By driving the transfer motor 98, the transfer rollers 65-67 and the ribbon take-up shaft 63 are rotated. The drive circuit 76 is an electronic circuit for driving the cut motor 99. The cutter 64 operates by driving the cut motor 99.

The printing operation by the printing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The user mounts the ribbon cassette 90 on the ribbon mounting portion 30 with the cover 12 open. When the ribbon cassette 90 is mounted on the ribbon mounting portion 30, the ribbon winding shaft 63 is inserted into the through hole of the ribbon winding spool 91. The user mounts the tube 9 on the tube mounting portion 40 in a state where the print head 61 and the transfer rollers 68 and 69 are in the non-printing position. The user operates the release lever 70 to move the transfer rollers 68 and 69 to the printing position and closes the cover 12. The user operates the input unit 13A and inputs a print instruction to start printing to the printing device 1.

When the CPU 41 acquires a print instruction, it drives the head motor 97 to move the print head 61 from the non-print position to the print position. The print head 61 is arranged inside the tube mounting portion 40 and is close to the transport roller 65. At this time, the print head 61 superimposes the tube 9 mounted on the tube mounting portion 40 and the ink ribbon 90A and urges them toward the transport roller 65. As a result, the printing device 1 is ready to print the character on the tube 9 using the ink ribbon 90A.

The printing device 1 drives the transfer motor 98 at a rotation speed α [r / sec] by transmitting a pulse signal to the transfer motor 98 at regular intervals. As a result, each of the transport rollers 65 to 69 is rotated to transport the tube 9, and the ribbon take-up shaft 63 is rotated to rotate the ribbon take-up spool 91. As the ribbon take-up spool 91 rotates, the unused ink ribbon 90A in the ribbon cassette 90 is pulled out. The drawn ink ribbon 90A is conveyed between the print head 61 and the transfer roller 65.

In the following, when any of the transfer rollers 65 to 69 is not specified, it is referred to as a transfer roller. The speed at which the transport roller rotates and the tube 9 is transported is defined as the transport speed V. The transfer speed V is obtained from the rotation speed of the transfer roller.

For example, suppose that when the transfer motor 98 rotates at a rotation speed α [r / sec], the transfer roller rotates at a rotation speed β [r / sec]. The transfer speed V [mm / sec] of the tube 9 by the transfer roller is calculated by multiplying the rotation speed β [r / sec] of the transfer roller by the circumference 2πR [mm] of the transfer roller. However, R [mm] is the radius of the transport roller.

Strictly speaking, the rotation speeds of the transport rollers 65, 66, and 67 are set to be slightly different from each other. Specifically, the transfer speed V3 by the pair of transfer rollers 66 and 68, the transfer speed V2 by the transfer roller 65, and the transfer speed V1 by the pair of transfer rollers 67 and 69 are slightly different from each other, and the transfer rollers 65, 66, 67 are different from each other. The rotation speed of is set so that V1> V2> V3. In this way, by making the transfer speed of the transfer rollers arranged on the downstream side in the transfer direction faster than the transfer speed of the transfer rollers arranged on the upstream side of the transfer direction, the printing apparatus 1 has an appropriate tension on the tube 9. The tube 9 is conveyed while applying the above. Therefore, the transfer speed V1 by the pair of transfer rollers 67 and 69 becomes the transfer speed V of the tube 9.

The CPU 41 controls the print head 61 to perform printing for each print line corresponding to the plurality of heat generating elements. Specifically, the CPU 41 corresponds to the Nth (N = 1, 2, 3 ...) Print line, which is the print target print line, among the print data, based on the print dot pattern data of the CGROM 43. The image data to be printed is stored in the RAM 44. The CPU 41 reads out the image data corresponding to the Nth print line stored in the RAM 44. The print head 61 prints a character on the tube 9 using the ink ribbon 90A based on the image data corresponding to the Nth print line read from the RAM 44.

The used ink ribbon 90A is wound around the ribbon winding spool 91. The printed tube 9 is conveyed to the downstream side of the print head 61 by the transfer roller 65. The printed tube 9 is cut by the cutter 64. The cut and printed tube 9 is discharged from the tube discharge port 16 to complete printing.

Here, since the tube 9 is made of a soft resin material or the like and has elasticity, a virtual tube having no elasticity (hereinafter referred to as a virtual tube) is assumed. Hereinafter, the transfer amount from the start of transfer in which the virtual tube is conveyed by the pair of transfer rollers 67 and 69 is referred to as a reference transfer amount X [mm]. The time calculated by dividing the reference transfer amount X [mm] by the transfer speed V1 [mm / sec] by the pair of transfer rollers 67 and 69 is referred to as the reference time T0 [sec]. The distance between dots of adjacent printing lines when printing at a predetermined resolution (dpi) is referred to as a unit reference transport amount D [mm]. The reference time T0 corresponds to the reference transport amount X.

For example, when printing at a resolution of 300 dpi, the unit reference transport amount D is 25.4 / 300 [mm]. Therefore, the reference transport amount X when printing the Nth print line is N × 25.4 / 300 [mm]. Theoretically, by printing each print line at the timing of the reference time T0, the distance between the centers of the dots of the adjacent print lines that are actually printed is 25.4 / 300, which is the unit reference transfer amount D. It becomes [mm].

By the way, when the user attaches the tube 9 to the tube attachment portion 40, the tube 9 has elasticity and is therefore attached in a bent state. When the bent tube 9 is conveyed while being tensioned by a pair of conveying rollers 67, 69, the tube 9 is stretched according to its elasticity. As the tube 9 stretches, the transport amount (hereinafter referred to as the actual transport amount Z) from the start of transport when the tube 9 is actually transported by the pair of transport rollers 67 and 69 becomes smaller than the reference transport amount X. That is, when printing is performed on the tube 9 at the timing when the reference time T0 elapses from the start of transportation, the printing position where printing is actually performed on the tube 9 (hereinafter referred to as the actual printing position) is the theoretical printing position. That is, it shifts to the downstream side in the transport direction from the print position (hereinafter referred to as the theoretical print position) where printing is performed when the virtual tube is transported.

As will be described below, the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment prints at the reference time T0 corresponding to the reference transfer amount X from the start of transfer based on the elasticity of the tube 9 and the reference transfer amount X. (Hereinafter referred to as print timing T) is corrected. As a result, the printing device 1 corrects the deviation of the actual printing position from the theoretical printing position due to the elasticity of the tube 9.

A method of correcting the print timing T will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for simplifying the description, and illustrates a case where a pair of transport rollers 67 and 69 are driven at a transport speed of 10 mm / sec and a print line is printed every 1 sec. Hereinafter, one point of the printing line is referred to as a feature point. As shown in FIG. 4A, theoretically, the tube 9 is conveyed by 10 mm every 1 sec, so that the print lines are printed at intervals of 10 mm. That is, in theory, the feature point is printed at the position of the point R. However, in reality, since the tube 9 has elasticity, the tube 9 stretches according to the elasticity, so that the actual printing position of the printing line on the tube 9 shifts from the theoretical printing position to the downstream side in the transport direction. That is, in reality, the feature point is printed at the position of the point P on the downstream side of the point R in the transport direction.

Assuming that the number of print lines is N, when N = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, the reference transfer amount X is 10 mm, 20 mm, 30 mm, 40 mm, and 50 mm. On the other hand, the actual transport amount Z is 9.0 mm, 18.3 mm, 28.0 mm, 38.0 mm, and 48.0 mm. Therefore, the difference between the actual transport amount Z and the reference transport amount X (hereinafter referred to as the correction amount Y) is 1.0 mm, 1.7 mm, 2.0 mm, 2.0 mm, and 2.0 mm. The amount of increase in the correction amount Y gradually decreases as N increases, and gradually approaches "0". Therefore, when N is a predetermined specified number C or more, the correction amount Y can be approximated to a predetermined value (hereinafter referred to as a specific value). In the example of FIG. 4, since N is 3 or more and the correction amount Y is constant at 2.0 mm, the specified number C is 3, and the specific value is 2.0 mm.

The magnitude of the correction amount Y and the amount of increase in the correction amount Y change according to the elasticity of the tube 9. The elasticity of the tube 9 changes depending on the material of the tube 9 (particularly, elastic modulus), outer diameter, thickness (that is, the difference between the outer diameter and the inner diameter), air temperature, humidity, and the like. For example, the elasticity of the tube 9 increases as the temperature rises. The elasticity of the tube 9 increases as the outer diameter of the tube 9 decreases. The elasticity of the tube 9 increases as the elastic modulus of the tube 9 decreases.

As shown in FIG. 5, for example, when printing at a resolution of 300 dpi, the relationship between the reference transport amount X and the correction amount Y is indicated by an exponential function. FIG. 5 shows the relationship between the reference transport amount X and the correction amount Y when the temperature is 25 ° C. and the outer diameter of the tube 9 is 6.5 mm in each of the cases where the elastic modulus of the tube 9 is small, medium, and large. According to the graph shown in FIG. 5, the correction amount Y is represented by the approximate expression of Equation 1 using the reference transfer amount X and the two constants k and r based on the elasticity of the tube 9.

The two constants k and r are determined based on the elasticity of the tube 9. Specifically, the constant k is determined by the correction amount Y when the reference transport amount X is 1 mm. That is, the constant k defines the magnitude of the correction amount Y. The constant r is determined by the amount of increase (that is, the slope) of the correction amount Y with respect to the reference transport amount X. The constant r defines the reference transport amount X (that is, the specified number C) required for the correction amount Y to reach a specific value. However, 0 <r <1. As the elasticity of the tube 9 increases, the correction amount Y increases, so that the two constants k and r also increase. The greater the elasticity of the tube 9, the larger the value of the reference transport amount X at which the correction amount Y approaches a specific value. Therefore, it is preferable to set the specified number C to a larger value as the elasticity of the tube 9 increases. The printing apparatus 1 can easily calculate the correction amount Y by using the approximate expression of Equation 1.

In this embodiment, the two constants k and r are determined by the elastic modulus of the tube 9, the outer diameter of the tube 9, and the air temperature. Hereinafter, when any of the elastic modulus of the tube 9, the outer diameter of the tube 9, and the air temperature is not specified, it is referred to as a parameter. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, two constants k and r are determined based on the constant determination table. The constant determination table is referred to according to each parameter when determining two constants k and r. In the present embodiment, a plurality of (for example, three) constant determination tables are stored in the flash memory 45 according to the outer diameter of the tube 9 (for example, 2.5 mm, 4.5 mm, 6.5 mm). FIG. 6 shows a constant determination table referred to when the outer diameter of the tube 9 is 6.5 mm.

In the constant determination table, two constants k and r are set according to the air temperature (5 ° C, 25 ° C, 40 ° C) and the elastic modulus (small, medium, large) of the tube 9. The elastic modulus of the tube 9 increases in the order of small, medium, and large. The configuration of the constant determination table referred to when the outer diameter of the tube 9 is other than 6.5 mm is the same as the configuration of the constant determination table referenced when the outer diameter of the tube 9 is 6.5 mm. Omit.

In the printing device 1, the input unit 13A is operated by the user, and each parameter is input in advance. The CPU 41 determines two constants k and r by referring to the constant determination table based on each input parameter.

The CPU 41 calculates the correction amount Y [mm] for each print line based on the approximate expression of Equation 1. The CPU 41 calculates the delay time T1 [sec] by dividing the correction amount Y [mm] by the transfer speed V1 [mm / sec] by the pair of transfer rollers 67 and 69. The delay time T1 is a time for delaying the print timing T with respect to the reference time T0. That is, the CPU 41 corrects the print timing T by adding the delay time T1 to the reference time T0. The tube 9 is conveyed by the actual transfer amount Z during the reference time T0, and is conveyed by the correction amount Y during the delay time T1.

For example, in the example of FIG. 4, the tube 9 is conveyed from the position where the transfer start point is arranged at the print position to the position where the point P is arranged at the print position during the reference time T0, and the point P is transferred to the print position. The point R is transported from the arranged position to the position where the point R is arranged at the print position during the delay time T1. As shown in FIG. 4B, the actual transfer amount Z when printed at the corrected print timing T (that is, the timing of the reference time T0 + the delay time T1) is the print timing T before the correction (that is, the reference). It matches the reference transport amount X when printed at the timing of time T0). That is, by correcting the print timing T, the feature points are printed at the position of the point Q, which is the same as the position of the point R in the transport direction. In this way, the CPU 41 prints the print line at the print timing T delayed by the delay time T1 with respect to the reference time T0, thereby correcting the actual print position to the theoretical transfer position according to the actual transfer amount Z of the tube 9. can. Therefore, the printing device 1 can accurately correct the deviation of the actual printing position from the theoretical printing position due to the elasticity of the tube 9. Since the printing device 1 prints at the printing timing corrected for each print line, the distance between the centers of the dots of the adjacent print lines actually printed (that is, the distance between the adjacent points Q) is made uniform. can.

The main process executed by the CPU 41 of the printing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 7. The user attaches the tube 9 to the tube attachment portion 40. The user operates the release lever 70 to move the transfer rollers 68 and 69 to the printing position and closes the cover 12. The user operates the power button of the operation unit 17 to turn on the power of the printing device 1. When the power of the printing device 1 is turned on, the CPU 41 starts the main process by executing the program stored in the ROM 42.

The user operates the input unit 13A to operate the elastic modulus of the tube 9 (small, medium, large), the outer diameter of the tube 9 (2.5 mm, 4.5 mm, 6.5 mm), and the air temperature (5 ° C, 25). Each parameter is input to the printing apparatus 1 by selecting from (° C. and 40 ° C.), respectively. The CPU 41 acquires each parameter input by the user (S1).

The CPU 41 refers to a constant determination table (see FIG. 6) according to each input parameter, and determines two constants k and r (S2). After inputting each parameter, the user inputs a print instruction to start the printing operation to the printing device 1 by operating the input unit 13A. The CPU 41 acquires the print instruction input by the user (S3).

The CPU 41 drives the head motor 97 (S4). As a result, the print head 61 moves from the non-printing position to the printing position. The CPU 41 transmits a pulse signal to the transfer motor 98 at a constant cycle, and drives the transfer motor 98 at a rotation speed α [r / sec] (S5). As a result, the transfer of the tube 9 is started by each transfer roller 65-69.

The CPU 41 adds "1" to the value of the N counter stored in the RAM 44 (S6). The value of the N counter indicates that the print line to be printed is the Nth print line. The initial value of the N counter is cleared at the start of the main process and becomes "0". The CPU 41 determines whether or not the value of the N counter stored in the RAM 44 in S6 is equal to or less than the specified number C (S7). When the value of the N counter is equal to or less than the specified number C (S7: YES), the CPU 41 substitutes “N × D” for the reference transport amount X (S8). For example, when printing at a resolution of 300 dpi, the unit reference transport amount D = 25.4 / 300 [mm]. The CPU 41 calculates the correction amount Y based on the approximate expression of Equation 1 (S9). The CPU 41 calculates the delay time T1 by dividing the correction amount Y by the transfer speed V1 by the pair of transfer rollers 67 and 69 (S10). The CPU 41 shifts the process to S11.

When the value of the N counter exceeds the specified number C (S7: NO), the CPU 41 shifts the process to S11 without executing S8 to S10. In the present embodiment, when N exceeds the specified number C, it is considered that the correction amount Y is constant with the correction amount Y when N is the specified number C. That is, when N exceeds the specified number C, the delay time T1 becomes constant at the delay time T1 when N is the specified number C. The printing device 1 can suppress an increase in the control load on the CPU 41 by not executing S8 to S10 when the increase amount of the correction amount Y becomes small.

The CPU 41 updates the print timing T stored in the RAM 44 by adding the delay time T1 calculated in S10 to the reference time T0 (S11). The CPU 41 determines whether or not the print timing T updated in S11 has arrived (S12). If the print timing T has not yet arrived (S12: NO), the CPU 41 repeats S12 until the print timing T arrives. When the print timing T arrives (S12: YES), the CPU 41 refers to the value of the N counter stored in the RAM 44 and drives the print head 61 to print the Nth print line (S13).

The CPU 41 determines whether or not to end printing (S14). If a print line that has not been printed remains in the print data, printing is not terminated (S14: NO), and the CPU 41 returns the process to S6. When all the print lines including the print data have been printed, the CPU 41 ends printing (S14: YES). The CPU 41 ends the rotation control of the transfer motor 98 (S15), and stops the transfer of the tube 9. The CPU 41 drives the cut motor 99 (S16) and cuts the printed tube 9 by the cutter 64. The cut printed tube 9 is discharged from the tube discharge port 16. The CPU 41 ends the main process.

As described above, the printing apparatus 1 corrects the printing timing T with respect to the reference time T0 corresponding to the reference transfer amount X from the start of transfer based on the elasticity of the tube 9 and the reference transfer amount X (S8). ~ S11). Even if the actual transfer amount Z of the tube 9 deviates from the reference transfer amount X due to the elasticity of the tube 9, the printing apparatus 1 prints at the corrected printing timing T (S12: YES). (S13), the actual print position can be corrected to the theoretical print position according to the actual transfer amount Z of the tube 9. Therefore, the printing device 1 can accurately correct the deviation of the printing position due to the elasticity of the tube 9.

When the bent tube 9 is conveyed and stretched, printing is performed with the tube 9 shifted to the downstream side in the conveying direction from the theoretical printing position. The printing device 1 can correct the actual printing position to the theoretical printing position by making a correction that delays the printing timing T with respect to the reference time T0. Since printing is performed at the print timing T corrected for each print line, the printing device 1 can make the distance between adjacent print lines actually printed uniform.

The printing apparatus 1 can easily calculate the correction amount Y based on the reference transfer amount X by using the approximate expression of Equation 1 only by determining the two constants k and r based on the elasticity of the tube 9. The printing apparatus 1 can easily calculate the delay time T1 by dividing the correction amount Y by the transfer speed V1 by the pair of transfer rollers 67 and 69. Therefore, the printing device 1 can easily calculate the printing timing T.

In the above embodiment, the transport rollers 67 and 69 correspond to the "transport means" of the present invention. The print head 61 corresponds to the "printing means" of the present invention. The CPU 41 that executes S5 and S13 of FIG. 7 corresponds to the "control means" of the present invention. The CPU 41 that executes S8 to S11 of FIG. 7 corresponds to the "correction means" of the present invention. The transport speed V1 corresponds to the "transport speed" of the present invention. S5 and S13 of FIG. 7 correspond to the "control step" of the present invention. S8 to S11 in FIG. 7 correspond to the "correction step" of the present invention.

The present invention can be variously modified from the above embodiments. In the above embodiment, the two constants k and r are determined by the elastic modulus of the tube 9, the outer diameter of the tube 9, and the air temperature. On the other hand, the two constants k and r may be determined by other parameters that affect the elasticity of the tube 9, for example, the thickness of the tube 9, the humidity, and the like.

The printing apparatus 1 employs a thermal transfer type printing method using a thermal head and an ink ribbon 90A as the printing method on the tube 9, but a printing method other than the printing method of the above embodiment may be adopted.

The printing apparatus 1 has a configuration in which the tube 9 is conveyed by the transfer roller, but the printing device 1 is not limited to the transfer roller. For example, a transport belt may be used instead of the transport roller.

In the above embodiment, the printing apparatus 1 corrects the printing timing for each printing line. On the other hand, the printing timing may be corrected for each of a plurality of printing lines. Considering that the increase amount of the correction amount Y gradually decreases as N increases, the printing apparatus 1 may increase the number of printing lines per performing S8 to S10 once as N increases. When N is small and the amount of increase in the correction amount Y is large, the printing apparatus 1 can accurately correct the deviation of the actual printing position from the theoretical printing position by performing S8 to S10 for each small number of printing lines. On the other hand, in the printing apparatus 1, when N is large and the amount of increase in the correction amount Y is small, the increase in the control load on the CPU 41 can be suppressed by reducing the execution frequency of S8 to S10.

In the above embodiment, the CPU 41 of the printing device 1 executes the main process. On the other hand, an external device such as a PC or a tablet terminal is connected to the printing device 1, and the CPU provided in the external device executes all or part of the main processing (for example, S5 to S14 or S6 to S11). It may be configured. For example, the CPU of the external device may calculate the print timing T of each print line in advance. Further, the CPU of the external device may transmit the print timing T of each print line calculated in advance to the print device 1 together with the print data.

An identification ID that can identify the type of the tube 9 may be pre-printed on the tube 9. The printing device 1 may include a sensor capable of detecting the identification ID. In this case, the printing device 1 detects the identification ID of the tube 9 mounted on the tube mounting portion 40 with the sensor. As a result, the printing apparatus 1 may acquire the type (elastic modulus, outer diameter, etc.) of the tube 9. In this case, the printing device 1 can save the user the trouble of inputting the type of the tube 9 into the printing device 1.

1 Printing device 9 Tube 41 CPU
42 ROM
44 RAM
45 Flash memory 61 Print head 65-69 Conveying roller 98 Conveying motor

Claims (4)

A transport means for transporting a long elastic tube,
A printing means that prints on the tube conveyed by the conveying means, and
In a printing apparatus provided with a transfer means and a control means for controlling the operation of each of the printing means.
Reference carry amount is a conveyance amount from the time of conveyance start and elasticity of the tube, the virtual tube having no stretchability is conveyed by the conveying means represented by parameters including an elastic coefficient between the at least the tube based on the bets, by correcting the print timing by the printing means with respect to the reference time corresponding to the reference transport amount from the time of conveyance start by the transport means, the printing position to the tube due to the stretchability of the tube Equipped with a correction means to correct the deviation of
The control means
A printing apparatus characterized in that printing is performed on the tube by the printing means at the printing timing corrected by the correction means. The printing means is a thermal head that has a plurality of heat generating elements arranged side by side perpendicular to the transport direction of the tube by the transporting means, and prints on the tube for each printing line in which the plurality of heat generating elements are lined up. can be,
The correction means makes a correction for delaying the printing timing with respect to the reference time for each printing line.
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control means controls the thermal head at the printing timing corrected by the correction means for each printing line. The correction amount, which is the difference between the transfer amount from the start of transfer when the tube is actually conveyed by the transfer means and the reference transfer amount, is determined by using two constants based on the reference transfer amount and the elasticity of the tube. It is expressed by the following approximate expression using

(However, the correction amount is Y, the reference transfer amount is X, and the two constants are k and r, respectively.)
The correction means calculates a delay time for delaying the printing timing with respect to the reference time based on the correction amount obtained by the approximation formula and the transfer speed corresponding to the reference transfer amount of the tube. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. A transport means for transporting a long elastic tube,
To a computer of a printing apparatus provided with a printing means for printing on the tube conveyed by the conveying means.
A control step that controls the operation of each of the transport means and the printing means, and
Reference carry amount is a conveyance amount from the time of conveyance start and elasticity of the tube, the virtual tube having no stretchability is conveyed by the conveying means represented by parameters including an elastic coefficient between the at least the tube based on the bets, by correcting the print timing by the printing means with respect to the reference time corresponding to the reference transport amount from the time of conveyance start by the transport means, the printing position to the tube due to the stretchability of the tube A control program for a printing device, which comprises executing a correction step for correcting a coefficient of deviation.

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