JPH0224171A - Brake controller in printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enhance a substantial printing speed without deteriorating the printing quality of a printer by a method wherein at the interruption of the data supplied from a host system a braking processing is suitably applied to a thermal head according to the interruption timing. CONSTITUTION:Data transferred from a host system is supplied to a CPU 9 through an interface 8, thereafter being issued to a line-type thermal head 3. A platen 7 is rotatively driven by a DC motor 1, whereby the feed of thermosensible paper 2 is executed and a predetermined printing processing is conducted. The DC motor 1 is driven under control by an applied voltage control circuit 10 based on the instruction of the CPU 9, and a forward rotation voltage or a reverse rotation voltage is selected to be applied to the DC motor 1. Here, for example, a busy signal outputted from the CPU 9 to the host system becomes high level when the printer side fails to accept the data (under busy indication) and becomes low level when a data transfer from the host system to the printer side is allowed.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Summary] This invention relates to a brake control device for a printer that uses a DC motor to control the feed of printing paper, and aims to improve the substantial printing speed without impairing the printing quality of the printer. , a brake control device for a printer in which a DC motor controls the feeding of printing paper, and a line-type head prints on the printing paper according to data supplied from a host system, the brake control device comprising: a first braking means for applying a voltage in the reverse rotation direction to the DC motor for a first period of time to decelerate the feeding of the printing paper; After applying a voltage in the reverse rotation direction for a time of 1,
data transfer determining means for determining whether or not the next data has been transferred during a certain period of time; and second braking means for applying a voltage in the reverse rotation direction for a second longer period of time to stop the feeding of the printing paper.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a brake control device for a printer, and in particular, to a brake control device for a printer.
The present invention relates to a brake control device for a printer that controls the feeding of printing paper using a C motor.

[Conventional technology]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the spread of combination coaters, word processors, data terminal devices, etc., thermal printers using line-type heads, which have the characteristics of clear printing and low noise due to fixed heads, have been widely used. Conventionally, in order to feed printing paper (thermal paper) in such thermal printers, those using a DC motor have been widely used.

FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a line type thermal head of a printer, and reference numeral 101 is a DC motor;
02 is thermal paper, 103 is a line type thermal head, and 107 is a platen. As shown in the figure, in a thermal printer using a line-type thermal head 103, for example, a DC motor 101 is used to drive a platen 107 in order to feed thermal paper 102 in the main scanning direction. being done.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining braking control in a conventional printer. As shown in the figure, for example, in the above-mentioned thermal printer, when the printer stops printing, the DC motor 101 also stops, but simply stopping the DC motor 101 will cause the rotating platen 107, etc. Thermal paper 102
This results in the machine being moved too far from the position where it is originally intended to be stopped.

That is, regarding the line spacing between characters printed on the thermal paper 102, the spacing when the paper is stopped is wider than when it is not stopping. As a result, when printing of the next line is started, the gap between the next line and the previous line becomes too large, resulting in a deterioration in print quality.

Therefore, conventionally, when stopping the DC motor 101, a voltage in the reverse rotation direction is applied (braking) to the DC motor 101 for a certain period of time to rapidly stop the platen 107 and prevent the thermal paper 103 from being fed too much. A technique has been proposed. Here, the time to stop the DC motor 101 is the time when the transfer of data supplied from the host system is interrupted, for example, on the order of several hundred μsec. Further, it takes a period of time, for example, on the order of several tens of m5ec, to apply a voltage in the reverse rotation direction to the DC motor 10.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

As mentioned above, conventional printer brake control devices transfer data supplied from the host system over hundreds of μm.
If the time of sec is interrupted, the printer will take tens of m5ec,
Braking is performed by applying a voltage in the reverse rotation direction to the DC motor 101 for a certain amount of time (5).

During this braking, the printer cannot accept data from the host stem.

FIG. 8 is an essential timing diagram for explaining the problems in the conventional printer brake control device.

As shown in FIG. 5A, in the conventional printer brake control device, if the data transfer is interrupted for several hundred microseconds after the first data d from the host system is transferred, As shown in FIG. 5B, on the printer side, braking is performed for several tens of m5ec, for example. Therefore, the first data d
If the second data d2a is transferred several hundred μsec after the transfer of , the second data d2a cannot be received immediately because the printer is braking. First, the second data d2b is transferred after braking, for example, several tens of meters5ec, is completed. In this way, the brake control device of a conventional printer is such that, for example, if data transfer is interrupted for a period of several hundred microseconds, the printer will not be able to receive data from the host system during braking for a period of several tens of milliseconds. Data could not be received, and this was an issue that needed to be resolved in order to improve the printer's printing speed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the problems of the prior art described above, an object of the present invention is to improve the substantial printing speed of a printer without impairing the printing quality.

[Means to solve the problem]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the principle of a brake control device for a printer according to the present invention.

According to the present invention, there is provided a brake control device for a printer in which the feed of printing paper is controlled by a DC motor, and a line-type head prints on the printing paper according to data supplied from a host system, the brake control device comprising: a first braking means 4 that applies a voltage in a reverse rotation direction to the DC motor for a first period of time to decelerate the feeding of the printing paper when the data supplied from the host system is interrupted; data transfer determining means 5 for determining whether or not the next data has been transferred during a certain period of time after applying a voltage in the reverse rotation direction to the DC motor for a first period of time; When the data of D is not transferred,
A second braking means 6 applies a voltage in the reverse rotation direction to the C motor for a second time longer than the first time to stop the feeding of the printing paper. A brake control device for a printer is provided.

[For production]

According to the printer brake control device of the present invention having the above-described configuration, when the data supplied from the host system is interrupted by the first braking means 4, the DC motor is rotated in the reverse direction for a first period of time. voltage is applied to slow down the feeding of the printing paper. Further, after the data transfer determining means 5 applies a voltage in the reverse rotation direction to the DC motor for a first period of time, it is determined whether or not the next data has been transferred within a certain period of time. and,
If the next data is transferred during the above-mentioned fixed time, the data is received and printed, and when the next data is not transferred during the above-mentioned fixed time, the second braking means 6 is activated. A voltage in the reverse rotation direction is applied to the DC motor for a second time period that is longer than the first time period to stop feeding the printing paper.

Next, braking control in the brake control device for a printer according to the present invention will be explained with reference to the timing diagram of FIG. In the printer brake control device of the present invention,
After the first data D1 is transferred from the host system,
If the data transfer from the host system is interrupted, the same figure (
b) As shown in FIG.
A voltage in the reverse rotation direction is applied for a period of 5 ec, and the feeding of the printing paper is decelerated. Furthermore, after the data transfer determining means 5 applies a voltage in the reverse rotation direction to the DC motor for a first period of time, the voltage is applied to the DC motor for a certain period of time (for example, several meters).
It is determined whether or not the second data D2 was transferred during the time period c. If the next second data D2 is transferred during this certain period of time, for example, if the second data D2 is transferred several hundred μsec after the first data D1 is transferred, , the second data D2 is received and the next printing is performed. Further, when the second data D2 is not transferred during the above-mentioned certain period of time, the second braking means 6 controls the DC motor for a second period of time longer than the first period of time (for example, several tens of rnsec, approximately time) to completely stop the feeding of the printing paper by applying a voltage in the reverse rotation direction.

In this way, the printer brake control device of the present invention has the following features:
By identifying short and long interruptions in data transfer from the host system and performing two-step braking in response to these interruptions, it is possible to effectively print without compromising the print quality of the printer. Speed can be improved.

〔Example〕

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a brake control device for a printer according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the printer brake control device of the present invention, which uses a parallel system for the interface between the printer and the host system, and is configured to perform a handshake in response to a busy signal. It is something. In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a DC motor, and 2 is printing paper (thermal paper).

3 is a line type thermal head, 7 is a platen, 8 is an interface, 9 is a CPU (central processing unit), and 10 is an applied voltage control circuit.

Data transferred from the host system is supplied to the CPU 9 via the interface 8, and then sent to the line type thermal head 3. The platen 7 is rotationally driven by the DC motor 1, thereby feeding the thermal paper 2 and performing a predetermined printing process. [ ] The C motor 1 is driven and controlled by an applied voltage control circuit 10 based on commands from the CPU 9, and is configured to be able to select a forward rotation voltage or a reverse rotation voltage and apply it to the DC motor 1. Here, the busy signal output from the CPU 9 to the host system is, for example, at a high level when the printer side does not accept data (in a busy state), and at a low level when data transfer from the host system is possible. It is made to be.

FIG. 4 is a timing chart for explaining braking control in the brake control device of the printer shown in FIG. 3. In the brake control device of the printer shown in Fig. 3, the fourth
When data D is transferred from the host system to the CPU 9 via the interface 8, as shown in FIG.
1, it changes corresponding to each character data of data D. Here, it is assumed that a line feed command always exists at the end of the transfer data D, that is, before the data D is interrupted.

Next, when the CPU 9 receives the line feed command at the end of the transfer data D, that is, when all of the transfer data D is received, the CPU 9 sets the busy signal to a high level and starts printing in section T2. At this time, at the end of section T2,
A line feed is executed in response to the last line feed command of data D. That is, the applied voltage control circuit 10 receiving a command from the CPU 9 drives and controls the DC motor 1 to control the feeding of the thermal paper 2 on the platen 7, and at the same time, the line type thermal head 3 applies the CPU 9 to the surface of the thermal paper 2. Performs predetermined printing based on print data from.

Then, when the printing is completed, the first braking is performed as shown in FIG. That is, C.P.
In response to the command from U9, the applied voltage control circuit 10 applies a voltage of several m5ec to the DC motor 1, for example.

The rotation of the platen 7 is rapidly decelerated by applying a voltage in the reverse rotation direction for a period of time.

Furthermore, for example, in interval T3 of several m5ec, the busy signal is set to a low level to wait for the next data to be transferred from the host system. If the next data is transferred during this period T3, the voltage application control circuit 10
Without applying sufficient braking to motor 1,
Continuously prints the next data. On the other hand, if the next data is not transferred during interval T3, the busy signal is set to a high level in interval T4, and the applied voltage control circuit 10 controls the DC motor 1 for several tens of m5ec, for example.
The rotation of the platen 7 is completely stopped by applying a voltage in the reverse direction for a period of time.

By using the embodiment of the printer brake control device described above, the actual printing speed can be increased by about 5% compared to the conventional printer brake control device. In other words, the first braking time is about 1/10 of the conventional one, but for example, in actual printing processing, the effective case of the first braking is about 1/10, so the actual printing speed is reduced. It improves by about 5%.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the brake control process of the printer of the present invention.

First, in step 50, data D transferred from the host system is received, and the process proceeds to step 51. Here, it is assumed that a line feed command always exists at the end of the transfer data D, that is, before the data D is interrupted. Next, in step 51, the busy signal is set to a high level so that data from the host system is not accepted, and in step 52, printing is started. Then, it is determined in step 53 whether or not the printing has been completed, and printing is continued in step 52 until the printing is completed.When it is determined in step 53 that the printing has been completed, the process proceeds to step 54, where the first braking is applied. Execute.

The process then proceeds to step 55, where the busy signal is set low to allow data to be received from the host system, and the process waits for several milliseconds at step 56. The process then proceeds to step 57, where it is determined whether data has been transferred during the waiting time. If it is determined in step 57 that data from the host system has been transferred, the process returns to step 50 to receive the data and continue printing based on the next data. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 57 that data from the host system is not transferred, the process proceeds to step 58 where the busy signal is set to high level, and in step 59 the second
Then, in step 60, the busy signal is set to a low level and the brake control process is ended. Here, the first braking, the second braking, etc. are as described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

Although the embodiments described above relate to a thermal printer having a line-type thermal head, the printer brake control device of the present invention is widely applicable to printers that feed paper using a DC motor. be able to.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above in detail, when the data supplied from the host system is interrupted, the printer brake control device according to the present invention can control the printer by appropriately performing the brake processing of the thermal head according to the interruption time. It is possible to substantially improve printing speed without compromising print quality.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the principle of a brake control device for a printer according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a timing diagram for explaining braking control in the brake control device for a printer shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. A block diagram showing one embodiment of the printer brake control device of the invention, FIG. 4 is a timing diagram for explaining braking control in the printer brake control device of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the printer brake control device of the invention. A flowchart showing an example of a normal control process, FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a line-type thermal head of a printer, FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining braking control in a conventional printer, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a timing diagram for explaining problems in a conventional printer brake control device. : Explanation of symbols] 1... DC motor, 2... Line type thermal head, 3... Print paper, 4... First braking means, 5... Data transfer determining means, 6. ...Second braking means, 7.Platen, 8.Interface, 9.CPU. 10... Applied voltage control circuit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A brake control device for a printer in which a DC motor controls the feeding of printing paper, and a line-type head prints on the printing paper according to data supplied from a host system. , when the data supplied from the host system is interrupted, a first voltage is applied to the DC motor in the reverse rotation direction for a first period of time to decelerate the feeding of the printing paper;
braking means (4); and data transfer determining means for determining whether or not the next data has been transferred within a certain period of time after applying a voltage in the reverse rotation direction to the DC motor for a first period of time. (5) When the next data is not transferred during the certain period of time, a voltage in the reverse rotation direction is applied to the DC motor for a second period of time that is longer than the first period of time, and the printing paper is transferred. A brake control device for a printer, comprising a second braking means (6) for stopping the feeding of the printer.