JPH01278384A - Printer control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To realize a lower production cost and an easy operation by operators without using a latch-type switch, by a method wherein, a flag signal is generated by an arithmetic means, and a printer action is controlled according to an output from a detection means, detecting the open/close state of a cover, and the state of the flag signal. CONSTITUTION:The open/close state of a cover 64 is detected by a switch 65. According to the detection signal of the switch 65 and the state of a FLG obtained by a logical operation in a CPU 55 the actions of a space motor 52 and a line feed motor 53 are controlled, and a printing action is conducted. For the maintenance or measurement of a printer 60 by an operator, a power is thrown-in with the cover 64 of the printer 60 open, whereby the printer 60 conducts a normal printing action. If the cover 64 is closed thereafter, the printer 60 continues the action. In another case that the cover 64 is closed when a power is thrown in, the printer 60 conducts a normal action as long as the cover 64 is closed. But, if the cover 64 is opened during the actuation of the printer 60, the printer 60 stops actuating and issues an alarm.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Field of Industrial Application> The present invention relates to a printer control method for controlling printer operations, particularly printer operations associated with opening and closing of a cover.

<Prior Art> FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of an example of a conventionally used printer. In FIG. is provided. In addition, the printer 20
A switch 25 is provided at one corner of the printer 2o to detect whether the cover 24 of the printer 2o is open or closed. The switch 2
Reference numeral 5 uses a latch type three-stage switch as shown in FIG. 3, for example.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of a conventional circuit configuration for controlling the operation of such a printer.

In FIG. 4, the control circuit unit 40 includes a central processing unit (hereinafter abbreviated as rcPUJ) 45 and a CPU
Programmable read-only memory (hereinafter referred to as rRO) that inputs and outputs signals and data programmed in
It consists of a random access memory (hereinafter abbreviated as rRAMJ) 47, a random access memory (hereinafter abbreviated as rRAMJ) 48, and an input/output boat (hereinafter abbreviated as "10 boat") 46 for inputting and outputting signals to and from external circuits. The I10 boat 46 is connected to the switch 25, a space motor 42 for horizontally moving the carriage 23, and a line feed motor 43.

A signal indicating the open/closed state of the cover from the switch 25 (hereinafter abbreviated as "cover signal") is input to the CPU 45 via the I10 boat 46. In the CPU 45, R
OM47. The cover signal is processed based on the control signal programmed in the RAM 48. Based on this calculation result, a control signal for controlling the operation of each motor 42, 43 is again applied to each motor 42, 43 via the I10 boat 46.

In the operation of such a conventional printer 20, if the operator opens the cover 24 during the printing operation of the printer 20, and the carriage 23 moves,
Danger to the operator. Therefore, cover 24
When the cover 24 is opened, the movement of the carriage 23 and the like is temporarily stopped, and after the operator closes the cover 24, the operation of the printer 20 is resumed.

Further, when maintaining the printer 20 or measuring its internal operation, the printer 20 is controlled to operate even when the cover 24 is open by operating a switch 25 shown in FIG.

That is, during normal operation, when the cover 24 is closed, the switch lever 31 of the switch 25 is in the position shown in FIG.
), the switch circuit enters the state 3b shown in FIG. 3(B), the 00M terminal and the NC terminal are connected, and the printer 20 operates normally.

In addition, when the cover 24 is opened, the switch lever 3
1 is in state 38 in FIG. 3(A), the switch circuit is in state 3 in FIG. 3(B), the 00M terminal and the NC terminal are connected, and the operation of the printer 20 is stopped.

Furthermore, when performing maintenance or measuring internal operations of the printer 20, pull up the switch lever 31 and switch to the position shown in FIG. 3(A).
If the switch circuit is set to the 30 position in the figure (B), the 00M terminal and the No terminal of the switch circuit are connected, and the printer 20 becomes operational. Maintenance and measurements were performed in this way.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> In the conventional printer control method described above, in order to operate the printer with the cover open during maintenance or measurement, a latch type switch is used to detect the open/closed state of the cover. I had to use a switch. For that reason,
This has disadvantages in that the area occupied by the detection mechanism section that detects the state of the cover becomes large, and there are large constraints on the cover design, including the mounting method, and the external design is also restricted.

Furthermore, the degree of freedom in selecting switches was also restricted, leading to an increase in costs.

Furthermore, if you want to operate the printer with the cover open, you have to lift the aforementioned latch type switch lever one by one, which is a hassle.

The present invention has been made to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional printer control method, and does not use a latch type switch, allowing greater freedom in design, lower production costs, and improved operator control. The object of the present invention is to provide a printer control method that is easy to operate.

<Means for Solving the Problems> A method for controlling a printer according to the present invention is a method for controlling a printer in which the operation of the printer is controlled by detecting the opening/closing state of a cover by a detection means, the printer controlling the operation of the printer in cooperation with the detection means. further comprising a calculation means for generating a beacon signal for controlling the operation of the beacon, and in an initial state, the beacon signal is set to a first state, and when the beacon signal is in the first state, the cover is open. If the cover is closed, the indicator signal is switched to a second state, and if the cover is open, the printer is operated. This feature is characterized in that it prohibits printing, issues an alarm if the cover is open, and controls the printer to operate if the cover is closed.

<Operation> In the printer control method of the present invention, an indicator signal is generated by the calculation means, and the operation of the printer is controlled based on the output of the detection means for detecting the open/closed state of the cover and the state of the indicator signal. Therefore, there is no need to provide a latch type switch, and the above-described drawbacks caused by providing the latch type switch can be avoided.

That is, in the initial state, the indicator signal is set to the first state, and the printer is operated only when the cover is open in this state, that is, when the power is turned on with the cover open. Enables maintenance and measurement of internal operations.

If the cover is closed when the power is turned on, or if the cover is closed after the power is turned on with the cover open, the indicator signal is switched to the second state. In this state, the printer operates normally as long as the cover remains closed. Furthermore, if the operator opens the cover while the indicator signal is in the second state, that is, the operator did not intentionally turn on the power with the cover open, but the cover was opened, the operation of the printer is prohibited and the cover is closed. Issues an alarm when the door is open. If the operator closes the cover in this state, the printer will operate normally again.

In the control method of the present invention described above, switching of the state of the beacon signal is automatically performed by the arithmetic circuit. This eliminates the need for the operator to operate each latch-type switch lever for maintenance and measurements.

<Example) Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of the printer control method of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of a circuit configuration for realizing the present control method. Also,
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an example of a printer controlled by the printer control method of the present invention.

First, in FIG. 0 illustrating the configuration of the printer shown in FIG. 6, a carriage 63 is provided inside the printer 60 on which a head 62 that reciprocates along a platen 61 is mounted. Further, in one corner of the printer 60, there is a switch 6 for detecting the open/closed state of the cover 64 of the printer 60.
5 is provided. The switch 65 has a Hall IC incorporated therein, and the Hall IC is covered with a cover 6.
A magnet 66 is embedded in the cover 64 at a position corresponding to the Hall IC.

Next, the configuration of the control circuit shown in FIG. 5 will be explained. In the figure, a control circuit unit 50 includes a cpuss and a cpuss
RO that inputs and outputs signals and data programmed in s.
It consists of an M 57, a RAM 58, and an I10 port 56 that inputs and outputs signals to and from external circuits. The I10 boat 56 includes the switch 65 and a space motor 5 for horizontally moving the carriage 63.
2, and a line feed motor 53 are connected.

A cover signal indicating the open/closed state of the cover from the switch 65 is input to the CPU 55 via the I10 boat 56. In the cpuss, ROM57. The cover signal is processed based on the control signal programmed in the RAM 58. Then, based on this calculation result, a control signal for controlling the operation of each motor 52, 53 is applied to each of the motors 52, 53 via the I10 boat 56 again.

An example of a method for controlling the printer 60 described above using the control circuit 50 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, when the power is turned on, an initial process is performed to set the state of each part of the control circuit 50 to an initial state (step II).

Next, a cover flag (hereinafter abbreviated as rFLGJ), which is an indicator signal that controls the operation of the printer 60 in cooperation with the cover signal input from the switch 65, is set to O (step 12). Thus, when the power is turned on, the FLG
will be set to O.

Next, it is determined whether FLG is 1 (step 1
3). In the current state, FLG is set to O, so the result of this judgment is NO.

Next, it is determined whether the cover 64 is opened (step 14).

Here, if the cover 64 is opened, that is, if the operator turns on the power with the cover 64 open, the printer 60 starts its original printing operation (
Step 16). Therefore, the operator can check the operation of the printer 60 and perform maintenance and measurements while keeping the cover 64 open.

Then, while the cover 64 is open, FLG is kept at 0, and the printer 60 continues to perform its original operation. That is, after the main routine (step 16) is finished, the FL
It is determined whether G is 0 or 1 (step 17), and if FLG is O, the process returns to step 14 to determine whether the cover 64 is opened or closed, and the main routine is further continued (step 16).

If the operator closes the cam 64 during this process, the determination result in step 14 becomes NO, FLG is set to 1 (step 15), and the process returns to step 13. Note that even if the cover 64 is closed from the beginning, the determination result in step 14 is No, and 1 is set in FLG. That is, during normal use of the printer 60, not for maintenance or measurement, the cover 64 is closed from the beginning, so 1 is set in FLG immediately after the power is turned on.

In step 13, since FLG is 1 this time, the determination result is Yes, and the process proceeds to the next step I8.

In step 18, it is determined again whether the cover 64 is opened. Immediately, if the operator accidentally opens the cover 64 while the printer 50 is operating,
This is to stop the operation of the printer 6G and issue an alarm.

Therefore, if the determination result in step 18 is Yes, the operation of the printer 60 is prohibited and an alarm is issued indicating that the cover 64 is open (step 19).

Moreover, if the determination result of this step 18 is No,
That is, when the cover 64 is closed, the printer 60 performs the normal printing operation (step 16), and unless the FLG becomes O due to the power being turned off or the like, the cover 64 is closed again via the next step 17. 64 is opened and closed (step 18), and the printing operation is repeated.

As described above, in this embodiment, the open/closed state of the cover 64 is detected by the switch 65, and the space motor 52. The operation of the line feed motor 53 is controlled to perform the printing operation.

Then, in order for the operator to perform maintenance or measurement on the printer 60, it is sufficient to turn on the power with the cover 64 of the printer 60 open.In this case, the printer 60 performs normal printing operation, and then the cover 64 The printer 60 continues its operation even when the printer 60 is closed.

In other cases, that is, if the cover 64 is closed when the power is turned on, the printer 60 operates normally as long as the cover 64 is closed, and if the cover 64 is opened while the printer 60 is in operation. At that time, printer 60 stops its operation and issues an alarm.

Note that although a Hall IC was used as the switch 65 of the printer 60 to which the printer control method of this embodiment is applied,
The switch 65 is not limited to this, and it goes without saying that it may be a normal micro switch, optical switch, or the like.

<Effects of the Invention> In the printer control method of the present invention, a beacon signal is provided in the calculation means, and the operation of the printer is controlled in cooperation with the detection means for detecting the open/closed state of the cover. It is no longer necessary to use a switch, which increases the degree of freedom in design and reduces production costs. In addition, when performing maintenance or measurement, when an operator wants to print with the cover open, or when performing similar operations at a retail store, turn on the power with the cover open. All you have to do is do it, and the operation is extremely easy.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of the printer control method of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional printer, and FIG. 3 is a latch type switch used in a conventional printer. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of a control circuit for realizing the conventional printer control method; FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of the switch; FIG. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of a control circuit for realizing the present invention, and is a perspective view showing an example of a printer to which the printer control method of the present invention is applied. 20, 60...Printer, 21.61...Platen. 22, 62...head, 23.63...carriage. 24.64...Cover, 25.65...Switch. 31...Switch lever. 40.50...Control circuit unit. 42.52... Space motor. 4], 5:l... Line feed motor, 45.55-C
PU. 46.56...I10 boat, 47.57-...
ROM. 48.58...RAM. Patent Applicant Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. Figure 1 Figure 2 (A) CB) 2 Rare lzri Nome Decoration Shi 9 years old Gushikun 8 Figure 3 F0 Kuntacy) f-y'M a Figure 6

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A printer control method in which the operation of the printer is controlled by detecting the open/closed state of a cover by a detection means, comprising: arithmetic means for generating an indicator signal for controlling the operation of the printer in cooperation with the detection means; and in an initial state, the indicator signal is set to a first state, and when the indicator signal is in the first state, the printer is operated if the cover is open, and the printer is operated when the cover is closed. If the indicator signal is in the second state, the indicator signal is switched to a second state, and if the cover is open, the operation of the printer is prohibited and a warning is issued when the cover is open. A method for controlling a printer, characterized in that the printer is controlled to emit a message and to cause the printer to operate when the cover is closed.