JPH0214435Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Technical field] The present invention relates to an improvement of a printer that prints computer output, and more specifically, to a printer that can print on paper of any width according to the width of the paper. It is something.

[Background technology]

Conventionally, various types of printers have been used to print computer output, but all of them now use paper that is sized to fit the maximum number of characters that can be typed in one line.
Special paper with a predetermined width is usually used.

Also, if you print on paper of an arbitrary (narrow) width, the print will extend beyond the paper, so
If the protruding part of the print head (for example, the tip of a dot printer) is damaged in the area where there is no paper,
Platen (usually a cylindrical receiving plate of a keying machine)
When printing on narrow paper, it is necessary to send data carefully so that the print head travel range does not extend beyond the width of the paper.

Recently, with the spread of office automation (OA) equipment and personal computers, we have been hearing various requests from users one after another, and the need for printers that can freely select paper types has increased. There is.

[Disclosure of invention]

The purpose of this invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, to enable the use of paper of any width, to automatically determine the maximum number of characters that can be printed in one line according to the width of the paper, and to enable the print head to To provide a printer in which a line feed is performed when a predetermined position at the end is reached.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the printer of the present invention includes a paper width detection section that has a light emitting device that illuminates the surface of the paper and the platen, and a light receiver that detects the reflected light in the printing mechanism (print head portion). (optical sensor section) is installed to detect changes in the amount of reflected light at the edges of the paper (platens are usually made of rubber and have a black color, which reduces the amount of reflected light), and from this detection output, the paper size is sensed. The configuration includes a print control mechanism that determines the print width (number of characters in one line).

With this configuration, even if paper of any desired width is used, when printing progresses to a predetermined position at the edge of the paper, a changeover operation is automatically performed, and printing is performed according to the width of the paper. This improves printer performance (ease of use).

[Best form for implementing the idea]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the main configuration of the printing mechanism section of the printer of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is the platen, 2
is the paper, and 3 is the print head. Reference numerals 4 and 5 are a light emitter and a light receiver respectively provided at the ends of the print head. Similarly, the light emitter 5 uses a semiconductor light receiving element (for example, a photodiode, a phototransistor, CdS). Note that these elements may be provided on a member (not shown) that interlocks with the print head. The symbols are exchanged with the control board (printed board; not shown) using, for example, a printed cable (flat cable).

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the main structure of the printer of the present invention. In the figure, 6 is a computer that generates an output signal to be printed, and is connected via an interface 7 to a printer 8 equipped with an automatic print width setting device of the present invention.

The internal configuration and operation of the printer 8 will be described below. Reference numeral 9 denotes a print control section that performs a central function of automatically setting the print width, and is constructed using a microprocessor. 10 is a bus that connects the input/output ports and each part. Reference numeral 11 denotes an optical sensor section, which includes a light emitter 4 that illuminates the surface of the platen 1 and paper 2, and a light receiver 5 that detects reflected light. Although this portion is provided in the printing mechanism section as described above, it is shown separately for convenience of explanation. 12 is an input/output interface including a detection amplifier, an A/D converter, etc. Reference numeral 13 denotes an oscillator, which causes the light emitter 4 to emit pulsed light and generates a signal serving as a calculation reference. Reference numeral 14 denotes an interface which performs signal conversion such as decreasing the oscillation frequency to a desired frequency. 15 is a counter that counts the number of pulses detected by the light receiver 5 due to reflection from the paper surface;
Reference numeral 16 denotes a memory in which the printing speed (characters/second) of the print head and character width are stored in advance. Based on the information from the counter 15 and the memory 16, the print control section 9 calculates and sets the maximum number of characters that can be printed in one line according to the width of the paper. Reference numeral 17 is a drive control unit that performs printing and line feed (reset) according to the maximum number of characters that can be printed according to commands (print data) from the print control unit 9, and is a receiving unit for converting print data into a print pattern. It has a buffer memory and a buffer memory (line memory) for one line, and serves as an input/output interface that sends drive signals to the printing mechanism 18 (by performing a printing operation for one line, the line memory is cleared and the line memory address is restored). do.)
to play.

Each of the parts constituting the automatic printing width setting device exchanges signals with the printing control unit 9 via the bus 10, and the printing mechanism 18 operates according to the commands from the printing control unit 9, thereby achieving the desired print width. A desired pattern is printed on the paper.

As explained above, the printer of the present invention is equipped with an automatic print width setting device, and when the user inserts paper of any desired size, the paper width is automatically sensed and the maximum number of characters per line is determined accordingly. Therefore, there is no need to put any restrictions on the print data, making it extremely easy to use. Moreover, since the printing does not extend beyond the paper, damage to the print head and platen is prevented. Further, since the print head for detecting the paper width is equipped with paper width detection means consisting of an optical sensor section, a transmitter, a counter, a memory, and a print control section, accurate paper width detection can be performed. It goes without saying that the technical idea of the present invention can also be applied to electric typewriters and the like.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the printing mechanism section of the printer of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the main parts of the printer equipped with the automatic printing width setting device of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Platen, 2... Paper, 3... Print head, 4... Light emitter, 5... Light receiver, 8... Printer equipped with an automatic print width setting device, 9... Print control unit, 10... ...Bus, 11...Light sensor section, 13...
...oscillator, 15...counter, 16...memory,
17... Drive control unit, 18... Printing mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A printer equipped with a printing mechanism having a platen, a paper feeding mechanism for feeding paper onto the platen, and a printing head for printing on the paper, an end of the printing head or a printing head for printing on the paper. A light sensor unit is formed by providing a light emitting device that irradiates the paper and platen onto the paper and a light receiver that detects the reflected light, and an oscillator that causes the light emitting device to emit pulsed light, and A counter that counts the number of pulses detected by the light emitter, a memory that stores the printing speed and character width of the print head in advance, and a maximum printable line according to the width of the paper based on the information from the counter and memory. It is characterized by being equipped with an automatic print width setting device including a print control unit that calculates and sets the number of characters, and a drive control unit that performs printing and line breaks according to the maximum number of characters that can be printed according to commands from the print control unit. printer.