JPH02277671A - Controlling method of printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the front and rear surfaces of a paper from being turned upside down in printing without increasing a printing buffer by a method whereby said paper is inversed after printing of the front surface is finished, and the printing mechanism is let to pass in a reverse direction to that in printing of the front surface, and then printing is done in a similar manner to the printing of the front surface. CONSTITUTION:A paper feed roller 4 is rotated, and the number of pulses supplied after a paper 9 passes a paper detecting sensor 3 is started to be counted by a paper- present count accommodated in a data storing RAM 23. Printing and changing of a line are repeated alternately. Counting is continued until the paper 9 is not present on the paper detecting sensor 3. The result is stored in the data storing RAM 23. The paper 9 the front surface of which finishes being printed is inversed at a reversing section B and the paper is supplied until a rear end thereof is detected by the paper detecting sensor 3. When the rear end is detected, the feeding direction of the paper 9 is inversed. Then, printing on the rear surface of the paper is conducted in the same manner as in printing on the front surface. When the counting number reaches the number stored in the data storing RAM 23 when printing on the front surface is done, printing on the rear surface is terminated.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Summary] A paper feeding mechanism, a paper reversing mechanism, and a printing mechanism are provided, and after printing on the surface of the paper fed by the feeding mechanism, the paper is reversed by the reversing mechanism. Regarding a printer control method that allows the front side printing mode and the back side printing mode to be upside down in a printer configured to print on the back side, the paper feed control method can be controlled without increasing the print buffer. By doing this appropriately, it is possible to make the front/back side of a top-stitched paper, vertically written postcard, etc. print in the desired printing mode, that is, to prevent the characters on the front/back side from being upside down and difficult to read. The paper detection means detects the paper sent to the printing mechanism by the paper feeding mechanism, and the paper detection means detects the leading edge of the paper sent in the forward direction with respect to the printing mechanism. After that, there is a front side printing control mode in which the printing mechanism prints from the first line to the last line, and the paper after the front side printing is reversed by the reversing mechanism in the opposite direction to the front side printing control mode. back side printing control for causing the sheet to pass through the printing mechanism, and after the trailing edge of the sheet after the passage is detected by the sheet detecting means, the sheet is sent in the forward direction and the same control as the front side printing control mode is performed. It is configured to have a mode.

[Industrial application field]

This invention relates to a printer control method for making the front side printing mode and the back side printing mode upside down in a printer equipped with a paper feeding mechanism and configured to be able to perform continuous double-sided printing on the front side and the back side.

In recent years, various printers have been developed that are capable of printing continuously on the front and back sides of paper.

The present invention can achieve a desired printing mode, for example, front/back side printing on top-stitched paper, vertically written postcards, etc., by appropriately controlling paper feed without increasing the print buffer. To provide a printer control method capable of preventing characters from being upside down and difficult to read.

[Conventional technology]

A conventional printer that continuously prints on the front and back sides of paper will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the mechanism of a conventional printer, and FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the conventional printer shown in FIG.

In FIG. 6, reference numeral 1 is a print head, 2 is a platen, and a sheet of paper and an ink ribbon (not shown) are inserted between the platen 2 and the print head 1, and in accordance with instructions from a CPU (also not shown). The print head 1 is driven to print.

3 is a paper detection sensor that detects the leading and trailing edges of the paper when printing the front surface of the paper, and controls the presence count and the paper out count that measure the number of feed pulses during the presence and absence of paper, respectively. do.

4 is a paper feed roller, 5 is a paper intake/discharge port, 6 is a paper guide, and 7 is a guide drum, which together with the paper guide 6 serves as a guide when reversing the paper.

A paper detection sensor 8 detects the leading and trailing edges of the paper when the paper is reversed, and similarly to the paper detection sensor 3, controls the paper presence count and the paper out count.

Reference numeral A denotes a printing section, which is composed of a print head 1, a platen 2, a paper detection sensor 3, a paper feed roller 4, and a paper detection sensor 8.

Reference numeral B denotes a paper reversing section, which is composed of a paper feed roller 4, a paper guide 6, and a guide drum 7.

The operation of the printer shown in FIG.
The description will be made in conjunction with the illustrated flowchart.

Line feed (LF) from the main unit (not shown)
An execution command is issued (71).

Based on this execution command, the excitation phase of the pulse motor for feeding the paper is switched and feeding of the paper is started (72).

When the leading edge of the paper is detected by the paper detection sensor 3, the first paper is read from that position according to the format set by the main unit.
When the paper is fed to the line printing position, printing of the first line is started (73).

The paper out count is cleared by the ON signal of the paper detection sensor 3 (74).

When the paper cannot be detected by the paper detection sensor 3,
The paper out count is counted up (75).

A comparison is made to see if the out-of-paper count is greater than a specified out-of-paper count (76).

If the paper out count is greater than the specified paper out count, paper out processing is performed (77).

Clear the out-of-paper count (74) and if the out-of-paper count is not greater than the specified out-of-paper count, return to the original and repeat the new next run (78).

After printing on the front surface of the paper, the paper is reversed by the reversing unit B, and the leading edge of the paper is detected by the paper detection sensor 8.

The subsequent operation is similar to the above-described paper surface printing.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) FIG. 8 shows a printing mode when the above-described conventional printer prints on the front/back sides of top-stitched paper, vertically written postcards, etc.

Figure 8 (A) shows the printing mode when front/back side printing is performed on paper 9 for top binding, and Figure 8 (B) shows front/back side printing on paper 9 for sewing postcards. This shows the printing mode for the case. Note that the illustrated arrow (a) is on the front surface, and the illustrated arrow (b) is on the front side.
) represents the back side.

As is clear from FIG. 8, with the conventional printer,
When printing on the front/back side of top-stitched paper, vertically written postcards, etc., the printing mode is as follows: In this case, there was also an undesirable problem in that the characters were upside down on the front side (a) and the back side (b).

As mentioned above, in order to prevent characters from being upside down, it is considered to print from the last line to the first line. However, in order to do this, a large-capacity printing buffer capable of storing printing information for 1 page is required, which poses the problem of being uneconomical in terms of cost.

The present invention provides a printing mode in which printing is desired on the front/back side of top-stitched paper, vertically written postcards, etc., by appropriately performing paper feed control B without increasing the print buffer. To provide a printer control method capable of preventing characters on the back side from being upside down and difficult to read.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a paper detecting means for detecting the paper sent to the printing mechanism by the paper feeding mechanism, and the paper detecting means detects the paper sent to the printing mechanism in the forward direction with respect to the printing mechanism. After the leading edge of the paper being sent to is detected, the printing mechanism prints from the first line to the last line, and the paper is reversed by the reversing mechanism after the front printing is completed. The paper is passed through the printing mechanism in the opposite direction to that in the front surface printing control mode, and after the trailing edge of the paper after passing is detected by the paper detection means, the paper is sent in the forward direction and the front surface printing control is performed. It has a back printing control mode that performs the same control as the printing mode.

[For production]

With the above configuration, by appropriately controlling the paper feed without increasing the print buffer, it is possible to achieve the desired printing mode such as front/back side printing on top bound paper, vertically written postcards, etc. It is possible to prevent the characters on the back side from being upside down and difficult to read.

(Embodiment) An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

FIG. 1 is a mechanical explanatory diagram of an embodiment of a printer according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a printer according to the present invention, and FIGS. 3A to 3C are according to embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the print control process according to the present invention, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the printing mode according to the present invention.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is the same as the conventional example shown in FIG. 6, except that the sheet detection sensor 8 is removed, and the other horizontal configurations are basically the same as the conventional example shown in FIG. 6.

The paper feed control operation in the printer according to the present invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. In addition, the code|symbol 9 in a figure is paper, 10 is a paper discharge roller, 11 is a paper discharge port,
Reference numeral 12 denotes a paper switching guide, which is rotatably provided in the reversing section B by, for example, a solenoid drive, and is configured to switch between reversing and discharging the paper; 20 is a CPU;
1 is a main unit; 22 is an interface for connecting the CPU 20 and the main unit 21; 23 is a data storage RAM having a paper count and a paper out count; 24 is a program storage ROM for storing printer control programs or characters; 25 is a line buffer that can store one line of printing; 26 is a sensor driver that drives the paper detection sensor 3 and other sensors (not shown); 27 is a hammer driver that drives the hammer of the print head 1; 28 is a carrier , 29 is a carrier motor for driving the carrier 28, 3
0 represents an LF (line feed) motor, 31 represents a reversing unit motor, 32 represents a motor driver for driving each of the morphs 29 to 31, and other symbols correspond to those in FIG.

First, the paper feed control operation in the present invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

Body packaging? In response to the execution command from 1F21, the CPU 20 rotates the paper feed roller 4 and sends the paper 9 sucked in from the paper suction port 5 to the printing section A (the illustrated arrow indicates the feeding direction of the paper 9). The number of pulses fed after the paper 9 passes through the paper detection sensor 3 is counted by the paper presence count built in the data storage RAM 23. The paper 9 is fed to the first line printing position while counting the number of feeding pulses (see FIG. 3A).

By the mechanism shown in FIG. 2, printing and line feed are repeated on the paper 9, and counting continues until the paper 9 is no longer present on the paper detection sensor 3, and the result is stored in the data storage RAM 23.
(See Figure 3 A).

The printing on the paper 9 continues until the last line of the paper 9, and the front surface printing is completed (see A-2 in FIG. 3).

The sheet 9 on which the front surface printing has been completed is reversed by the reversing section B (see FIG. 3B), and enters the printing section A again from the opposite direction (see FIG. 3B).

, the paper 9 passes through the print head 1 and is fed until the trailing edge of the paper 9 is detected by the paper detection sensor 3 (
(See Figure 3B■).

After the trailing edge of the paper 9 is detected by the paper detection sensor 3, the feeding direction of the paper 9 is reversed, and back side printing is performed in the same manner as the front side printing described above in connection with FIG. 3
(See Figure C).

Using the mechanism shown in FIG. 2, the paper 9 is fed in the same manner as the surface printing described above in connection with FIG. The position where the count number stored in the data storage RAM 23 is reached during the front side printing described above in connection with Figure 3A■ is the position of the last line on the back side, and when printing of the last line is completed, the back side printing starts. is completed (see Figure 3 C■).

The paper 9 that has been printed on the back side is fed in the direction of the reversing section B, and is ejected from the paper ejection port II by switching the paper switching guide 12 to the ejection side and driving the paper ejection roller 10 ( (See Figure 3 C■).

By the printer control method of the present invention explained above, the surface/
FIG. 5 shows a printing mode in which printing was performed on the back side. In addition, Fig. 5 (A) shows the printing mode when front/back side printing is performed on paper 9 for top binding, and Fig. 5 (B) shows the printing mode when front/back side printing is performed on paper 9 for vertical writing postcards. This shows the printing mode when this is done.

Note that the illustrated arrow (a) represents the front surface, and the illustrated arrow (b) represents the back surface.

As is clear from FIG. 5, according to the present invention, printing is possible for Mr. B who desires printing on the front/back side of top-bound paper, vertically written postcards, etc., that is, the characters on the front/back side are readable upside down. You can make it less difficult.

The printer control method of the present invention has been explained above.
The present invention is not limited to this, and as will be described later with reference to FIG. 4, printing on only one side, or printing using the conventional method described at the beginning of this specification (printing mode shown in FIG. 8).
can also be done.

Hereinafter, the process will be explained according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 while referring to FIGS. 3 to 3 described above.

(41) ``Paper suction from the front'' Paper 9 is sucked into the paper suction port 5 and sent to the printing section A.

(42) rPrinting on the surface" Printing on the surface is performed by operations corresponding to Figure 3 (■) to (3).

(43) rDouble-sided printing specified? ” Determine whether the print mode specification is double-sided printing or single-sided printing.

In the case of single-sided printing, the operation corresponding to Figure 3 ■
Immediately move to (49) r Paper ejection.

In the case of double-sided printing, the process moves to (44).

(44) r Reversing the paper with the reversing mechanism and feeding the paper from the rear" Figure 3 ■ and the operation corresponding to Figure 3 ■, the paper 9 is reversed, and the tip of the back side of the paper 9 (the tip of the front side) ) is sent backwards to the printing section A until the paper is detected by the paper detection sensor 3.

(45) rWhat is the printing method on the back side? ” The designation of the printing method on the back side is “Upside down (Printing B as shown in Figure 5)”
(Printing format shown in Figure 8)
”.

If the printing method on the back side is set to "Normal", (4
8) After printing on the back side in the same way as the push-in continuous book,
Paper 9 is ejected (49). Note that "printing on the back side in the same manner as the push-in continuous book" refers to printing on the back side using the conventional printer shown in FIG. Therefore, the printing mode shown in FIG. 8 is obtained.

If the printing method on the back side is specified as “upside down”, the third
One sheet of paper is produced through the steps of (46) "Feed the paper from the back to the front," (47) "Print the back side in the same way as the front side," and (49) "eject the paper," which corresponds to the operations shown in Figures ■ to ■. The printing operation for 9 is completed. The printing mode in this case is as shown in FIG.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, by appropriately controlling paper feed without increasing the printing buffer, the front/back sides of, for example, top-stitched paper or vertically written postcards can be adjusted. It is possible to provide a printer control method that makes it possible to print in a desired printing manner, that is, to prevent characters on the front/back side from being upside down and difficult to read.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a mechanical explanatory diagram of an embodiment of a printer according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a printer according to the present invention, and FIGS. 3 to 3C are paper feeding diagrams according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a flowchart of the printing control process according to the present invention, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the printing mode according to the present invention, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the mechanism of the printer in the conventional example. 7 is a flow chart for explaining the operation in the conventional example shown in FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the printing mode by the conventional printer. In the figure, 1 is a print head, 2 is a platen, 3 is a paper detection sensor, 4 is a paper feed roller, 5 is a paper intake port, 6 is a paper guide, 7 is a drum guide, 9 is paper, 10 is a paper ejection roller, 11 is the paper output port, 12 is the paper switching guide,
20 is a CPU, 21 is a main unit, 22 is an interface, 23 is a data storage RAM, 24 is a program storage R
OM, 25 is a line buffer, 26 is a sensor driver,
27 is a hammer driver, 28 is a carrier, 29 is a carrier motor, 30 is an LF (line feed) motor,
31 represents a reversing part motor, and 32 represents a motor driver. Patent Applicant Pfn Co., Ltd. Agent Patent Attorney Hiroshi Morita (2 others) Flowchart of printing control processing according to the present invention Figure 4 (C) (A) CB) How to brighten your eyes with a broom Figure S (B) It's 41 years old, 1 year old, 100 years old
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Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A paper feeding mechanism, a paper reversing mechanism, and a printing mechanism are provided, and after performing printing on the front side of the paper fed by the feeding mechanism, the paper is reversed by the reversing mechanism and printing is performed on the back side. The printer configured as described above includes a paper detection means for detecting the paper sent to the printing mechanism by the paper feeding mechanism, and a paper detection means for detecting the paper sent in the forward direction to the printing mechanism by the paper detection means. After the leading edge of the paper is detected, the printing mechanism prints from the first line to the last line, and the front side printing control mode involves inverting the paper using the reversing mechanism after the front side printing is completed. The paper is passed through the printing mechanism in the opposite direction, and after the trailing edge of the paper is detected by the paper detection means, the paper is sent in the forward direction and controlled in the same manner as the front surface printing control mode. A printer control method characterized by having a back side printing control mode.