JPH03101982A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To make the weight and cost adaptable to a portable printer by equipping the printer with a plurality of friction rollers holding paper so that the paper may move through a paper guide slot, a web receiving member extending almost parallel to the paper guide slot and pin drive members provided for a feeding roller. CONSTITUTION: A feeding drive motor 42 of a feeding system 38 drives a feeding roller 46 through the intermediary of a drive belt 44 and a web 48 is sent between the feeding roller 46 and a paper guide member 50. The paper being sent is brought into pressure contact with the feeding roller 46 by friction rollers 52 and bail rollers 54. As for a sheet, it is inserted into a printer 20 through a paper supply slot 32 of a case frame 30 of the printer 20 and then it passes a dancer spring 74, passes the friction roller 52 and further the bail roller 54 fitted to a bail 82, via a paper guide slot 76, advances upward and outward and is led outside the printer 20 from a paper discharge slot 34 of the case frame 30. The feeding roller 46 is equipped with a pair of pin drive members 96 and 98 disposed apart from each other.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Application] The present invention generally relates to a printer that can be operated in cooperation with a processor such as a terminal device or a computer.
More specifically, but not exclusively, the present invention relates to an improved, lightweight, portable printer that can be used in conjunction with a portable computer or terminal device. With the advent of portable computers such as laptop computers and portable terminal devices, small and portable computers for use in conjunction with computers and terminal devices have been developed. Printers are in great demand. Of course, since these printers are intended to be portable, it is highly desirable for these printers to be as small and lightweight as possible. Furthermore, since the computer industry is an extremely competitive industry, reducing the selling price, which depends on reducing the manufacturing cost of printers, is of great significance. In addition to the above, technological advancements have been made in printer technology, which not only improve the accuracy of printers and improve character quality, but also ensure that the line drawings produced by printers are of extremely high clarity. is required. Portable printers are often of the dot matrix type. Mechanical pin type printers and dot matrix printers include mechanical pin type printers,
There are thermal printers and inkjet printers. Among these types of printers, Hewlett-Baccardo's "Think Jet"
The inkjet printer, designated J.J., has proven to be extremely useful because it is lightweight, relatively inexpensive, and generally easy to carry. In inkjet printers, characters and line drawings are formed by depositing ink on the paper that is jetted or ejected toward the paper. Therefore, the mechanical shock that is said to apply to mechanical pin type printers does not apply to inkjet printers. Therefore, inkjet printers require heavy and bulky platens to absorb the mechanical shock that occurs when printing onto paper in mechanical pin-type printers.
It can be removed. Problems to be Solved by the Invention Due to the required accuracy, printers suffer from common problems. For example, printers require precision and reproducibility in paper feeding operations when advancing paper. The accuracy of paper feeding operations is affected by the presence of pack rush in the mechanism that drives paper through the printer. Another issue that should be taken into consideration when designing such a printer is that the printer head must be positioned vertically with respect to the paper feeding direction. For example, where the printer head is positioned vertically to avoid printing on the top and bottom margins of the paper, or to avoid printing on the perforations of continuous slip paper. This information allows the printer to skip to the next page or start printing at the appropriate location. Another problem encountered when manufacturing portable printers is the weight of the printer itself. By the way, it is highly desirable to reduce any stress that occurs on the printer. This provides a large, rigid chassis to support the paper itself, the mechanism that drives the paper forward, and the printer head, and to maintain the relative position of these devices to ensure printing accuracy. The number of structural members required for this can be reduced by m. In addition to the problems discussed above, it would be particularly desirable for a portable printer to be able to print on individual sheets, rolls, or continuous forms. Obviously, it is possible to provide a portable printer with such a structure, but in this case the mechanical complexity, weight, and cost of such a structure are not suitable for portable printer applications. Must. Modern printers include a data processor and a data storage device for storing large numbers of characters. Printers developed in the past are known to store data regarding multiple font types and multiple character pitches, including separate storage devices for each font or character pitch. was set up. For example, for each font, 258 characters of data are stored for each font in the four storage areas required to store data for four different fonts (or pitches). It was something that existed. For this reason, such printers developed in the past were required to have fairly large storage capacities. Furthermore, this has led to large printer costs and large dimensions due to the large RAM or ROM storage capacity of past printers. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one aspect, the present invention seeks to provide an improved paper feeding device for a processor-driven printer. The paper feeder includes a drive motor responsive to a processor and further includes a case frame with a paper feed slot and a paper ejection throat for aligning the paper therein. The paper feeder includes a cylindrical paper feed roller operatively connected to a drive motor and a paper guide slot juxtaposed to a lower portion of the paper feed roller to form a paper guide slot therebetween. a paper guiding member elongated such that the paper guide member has a plurality of friction rollers that firmly engage the paper against the paper feed roller and hold the paper moving through the paper guide slot; A roll paper receiving member extending generally parallel to the paper guide slot and a paper roll receiving member provided on the paper feed roller and driven together with the paper feed roller so as to hold the paper roll so as to be fed into the guide slot. , and a pin drive member spaced from the paper feed roller. Each of these pin drive members is
It has multiple pins that are spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction and protrude in the radial direction. These pins fit into holes drilled along each edge of the continuous form, thereby
This printer can use roll paper, sheet paper, and continuous slip paper. Another feature of the present invention is that it contemplates a backlash-free paper drive system for paper feeding. This paper drive system includes a toothed drive pulley that is attached to the drive shaft of the stepping motor and can rotate integrally with the drive shaft, and a cylindrical paper feed roller that is attached to the drive pulley that is integrally rotatable with the drive shaft. a toothed follower pulley rotatable and positionally aligned with the toothed drive boob; and a resilient, continuous drive belt having internal teeth and a smooth outer surface. There is. This drive belt is
A toothed drive pulley and a toothed follower boot are arranged so as to be drivably connected. The paper feeding device of the present invention includes:
It also has an elastic play pulley. The idler pulley is mounted on the printer chassis and is positioned between the toothed drive pulley and the toothed slave pulley so that its outer circumferential surface rests against the smooth outer surface of the drive belt. By increasing the deflection of the drive belt, the driving engagement between the drive belt and the driven pulley is strengthened, thus eliminating slack in the drive system. According to yet another feature of the present invention, a plurality of different character pitches can be printed using current printers, and in this case, for example, character block data of different groups by font can be selectively printed. By using this, storage of only a single set of character segments is required. Due to the phase information system incorporated in the printer of the present invention, the physical position of any movable element is phased synchronized with respect to its respective drive motor and processor prior to the start of a printing operation. TECHNICAL ADVANTAGES One of the technical advantages of the present invention is that it provides a portable printer with an improved paper feed system that avoids pack rush problems in paper drive systems. be. Another technical advantage of the present invention is that it provides a printer that can feed three different forms of paper without making any changes to the printer. Yet another technical advantage of the present invention is that during a predetermined period of time,
A phase information system has been built into the printer to improve the quality of the sea bream in the first row after the printer is stopped. Yet another technical advantage of the present invention is that it reduces storage requirements by requiring only a single font to be stored. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the system drawings, and in particular to FIG. 1, it will be apparent that there is shown a portable link constructed in accordance with the present invention, designated by the reference numeral 20! It is displayed comprehensively. This printer 2
0 is connected to the processor 24 via a suitable cable 22. Processor 24 is shown to include a keyboard 26 and a monitor 28. Obviously, processor 24 may be a computer itself or a terminal device, as long as it is equipped with appropriate software to drive printer 20. The printer 20 includes a case frame 30, in which a paper supply slot 32 and a paper ejection slot 34 are formed. Next, refer to the $2 diagram. In the same figure, case frame 30
However, 20 printers have been removed, and as a result,
A printer chassis, indicated generally by reference numeral 3B, a printer paper feeder (system), indicated generally by reference numeral 38, and a printer head assembly, indicated generally by reference numeral 40, are visible. It is shown as follows. Paper feed system 38 includes a paper feed drive motor 42. A paper feed drive motor 42 drives a paper feed roller 48 via a drive belt 44. As shown in FIG. 2, the roll paper 48 is fed between the paper feed roller 0 and the paper guide member 50. The paper fed in this manner is pressed against the paper feed roller 48 by the friction roller 52 and the pail roller 54. As will be explained in more detail below, the printer 20 can handle sheet-fed as well as drag-fed or pin-fed paper. On the other hand, the printer head assembly 40 includes a carriage 5B, and the carriage 5B is a carriage bar or carriage rod 5 extending across the width of the printer 20.
It is possible to move above 8. The carriage 5B carries an ink cartridge 60. Ink cartridge B
O is properly positioned so that motor B2 drives the printer head assembly 40 across the width of the printer 20, which jets ink onto the surface of the paper to form the desired characters. The toothed pelt 84 attached to one end and supporting the printer head assembly 40 is driven, thereby driving the printer head assembly 40 left and right in the width direction of the printer 20. Information for directing printer head assembly 40 to the proper location on the paper and for determining the characters to be printed is transmitted via cable 22. Predetermined signals are transmitted through conductor strip 66 to determine which characters are to be formed by printer head assembly 40. Conductor band 8
B connects cable 2 via appropriate control circuitry (not shown).
2 to ensure the specified operation. The operation of the printer 20 for printing on sheets of paper, roll paper, continuous slip paper, etc. will be more easily understood by referring to FIGS. 3 through 6. 3 and 4 illustrate mechanisms for handling roll paper as it is fed through printer 20. FIGS. As shown in both cases, the roll paper 48 is placed within the roll paper receiving member 70. The roll paper receiving member 70 is disposed coexisting with the rotating vehicle 72, thereby rotatably supporting the roll paper 48, and supporting the roll paper receiving member 7.
This makes it possible to supply paper from scratch. The paper fed out from the roll paper 0 passes over a mechanism called a dancer spring 74, and then passes through the paper feed roller 46 and the paper guide member 50.
The paper enters into the paper guide slot 76 formed between the two. The paper then continues upwardly past the tension spring 80. A tension spring 80 holds the paper on the feed roller 4e and keeps it in the position where it is to be printed. The paper is further
It continues further upwards past the bail 82 with the rollers 54. The paper is then ejected out of the case frame 30 of the printer 20 through the paper ejection slot 34. As can be seen more clearly in FIG. 4, the sheet guiding member 50 has openings 84 formed therein, spaced apart from each other. Opening 84 receives friction roller 52 therein;
This firmly presses the paper against the paper feed roller 46 when the paper is fed through the paper guide slot 78. A driven booby 88 is attached to one end of the paper feed roller 4B. The driven pulley 88 is connected via a belt 90 to
It is driven by a paper feed drive motor 42 (Fig. 2). The feed drive motor 42 for driving the roller mechanism will be described in more detail below in conjunction with FIGS. 7-9. The dancer spring 74 is a generally U-shaped elongated plastic member that is fitted onto the upper edge of the paper guide member 50. It should be noted here that the dancer spring 74 has an inner dimension that is larger than the thickness of the paper guide member 50, so that as the paper is pulled over the dancer spring 74,
This means that the dancer spring 74 can be moved in perspective relative to the roll paper. This configuration of the dancer spring 74 allows the tension of the roll paper 48 to be kept constant, thereby making the paper feeding operation from the roll paper 48 extremely easy and smooth.
There is no possibility of undesired slack in the paper pulled out from the paper. If the use of roll paper 48 is desired, roll paper 48
is placed in the roll paper receiving member 70, and the pivot shaft 72
This allows it to rotate. Then,
One end of the roll paper 48 is pulled out from there and the dancer
It is inserted over the spring 74 into the paper guide slot 7B. One end of the paper roll 48 then passes upwardly and outwardly past a friction roller 52 and a bail roller 54 attached to a bail 82 to exit the printer via the paper ejection slot 34 in the case frame 30 of the printer 20. Pulled out of 20. In this case, when the paper feed roller 4B is rotationally driven by the paper feed drive motor 42, one end of the roll paper 48 is held between the friction roller 52 and the paper feed roller 4B, and the paper is pulled out from the roll paper 48. ．． When it is desired to feed a sheet through the printer 20, the sheet is inserted into the printer 20 through the paper feed slot 32 in the case frame 30 of the printer 20, as shown in FIG. , then dancer spring 7
4 and the friction roller 52 via the paper guide slot 7B.
, furthermore, the bail roller 54 attached to the bail 82
through the paper exit slot 34 of the case frame 30 and out of the printer 20. During this time, the roll paper 48 is placed in the roll paper receiver member 70 in a stationary state. Thus, sheet feeding operations are accomplished simply by rotating the paper feed roller 48. On the other hand, if you want to use continuous slip paper, as explained for sheet paper in FIG. Although it is necessary to increase the width of the slot 34, one end of the paper is inserted into the paper supply slot 32 of the case frame 30. Continuous slip paper is
Traditionally, it has a number of holes 92 spaced apart from each other. These holes 92 are aligned along both paper edges just outside the perforations 84 for defining the tear edges of the continuous form. As shown in FIG. 4 and more clearly in FIG. 10, feed roller 4B includes a pair of pin drive members 98, 38 spaced apart from each other. The pin drive member 9B is fixed to the shaft of the paper feed roller 4B, and rotates together with the paper feed roller 4B, but does not move along the axis of the paper feed roller 46 in a direction transverse to the paper feed roller 4B. On the other hand, the other pin driving member 88 is attached to the shaft of the paper feed roller 48 and rotates together with the paper feed roller 4B, but is configured to be movable in the lateral direction with respect to the axis of the paper feed roller 46. There is. In conventional equipment, printers for feeding continuous slip forms, sometimes referred to as tractor-feed systems, are
A wide variety of pins 100 are used. These pins
oo protrudes radially outward from the pin drive members 8B, 98 through the holes 32 in the paper, thereby driving the printer 2.
It is now possible to drive continuous slip paper that passes through 0. In the printer 20, since the friction roller 52 and the paper feed roller 46 work to drive the paper passing through the printer 20 by frictional force, the two pin drive members 9B and 88 are mainly used to align the positions of continuous slip paper. used. This printer 20 can employ a thermal type, inkjet type, or mechanical dot matrix type printer head, but the present invention intends to adopt an inkjet type printer head. It has been done. Therefore, the paper feed roller 46 is provided with a felt washer 102. This felt washer 102 is provided at a position adjacent to the pin drive member 96, that is, the pin drive wheel. felt washer 10
2 is located along one side of the edge of sheets or rolls of paper, when these papers are used, and is the ink ejected from the inkjet printer head prior to the start of the printing operation. It serves the purpose of absorbing the ejected liquid. This jetting of ink prior to the start of a printing operation is undoubtedly an operation for cleaning the ink jetting orifices of the printer head. When using continuous slip paper, the felt washer 102 is placed behind the continuous slip paper (on the paper feed roller 4B side), but since it is located outside the perforation 94, the felt washer 102 is sprayed onto the paper at that position. This ink is removed when the perforated edges of the paper are removed. As previously mentioned, FIGS. 7-9 illustrate the paper drive mechanism used to advance paper through printer 20. As shown in FIG. 7, the paper feed drive motor 42 includes a toothed drive pulley 104 mounted on its shaft. The toothed drive pulley 104 meshes with the toothed bell}90,
A toothed driven pulley 88 arranged at one end of the paper feed roller 0
Drive. The toothed belt 80 has teeth arranged on its inner surface.
, and engages with toothed pulleys 88 and 104 via these teeth. The outer surface of the toothed bell}90 is generally smooth. As expected, the toothed pelt 90 is made of an elastic material and, especially due to the increased temperature,
It's like being stretched. Also, although it is not absolutely necessary, it is most preferable to avoid loosening or buff crush that may cause deviation during positioning of the roll paper 48 or paper feed roller 4B. This means that it does not exist in belt 90. It is understood that it is difficult to avoid backlash if the toothed belt 90 becomes slack. That is, the toothed pulley 88
．． 104, the manufacturing tolerance regarding the length of the toothed belt 80, the paper feed drive motor 42 and the paper feed roller 4.
Due to the existence of tolerances during assembly regarding the distance between B,
Considering that the required substantial length of the toothed belt 80 varies considerably, it is difficult to remove slack and pack lash from the toothed belt 80 in advance. Therefore, if left as is, a considerable amount of slack may occur in the toothed belt 90, which may reduce the performance of the printer. In order to ease the loosening of the toothed belt 80 that occurs due to the existence of the above-mentioned tolerance, and to facilitate the adjustment and readjustment of the tension of the toothed belt 80, an idler 1 is provided.
0fi is the end frame member 10 of the case frame 30 of the printer 20
It is rotatably mounted on the top of 8. In this case, the outer peripheral surface of the idler l06 in its natural state is
8, 104 Enter the area defined by the common tangent between each other. In response to this situation, the idler 106 is made of an extremely flexible material with a Durometer (Shore) hardness of C. Therefore, the idler 106 is elastically deformed at the position where it interferes with the toothed belt 90, and elastically pushes and drives the toothed belt 80 in a direction to remove slack. FIG. 9 shows the outline of the idler 106 when the length of the toothed belt 90 has increased or has not been properly adjusted. As shown in FIG. 9, even in this state, the idler 106 continues to press and drive the toothed belt 90 inward, so that the toothed belt 90
The tension is maintained at 0. The use of idler 106 eliminates the need for spring loaded arms or other devices to maintain tension in toothed bell 90. Use of the idler 106 also eliminates the need to carefully adjust the tension of the toothed belt 90 and maintain tension within extremely narrow tolerances, which is necessary to ensure printing accuracy. Moreover, by using the idler 106, not only the manufacturing cost of the idler itself can be considerably reduced, but also the paper feed drive motor 42 and the paper feed roller 46
This will also considerably shorten the assembly time required for assembly work that involves adjusting the relative positions between the parts. It is clear from the above that by employing such a paper feed drive system in the printer 20, the weight and cost of the printer 20 are reduced, and the accuracy and durability of the printer 20 are increased. Although not shown, the printer 20 includes a data storage element, which may be RO)I,
It may be RAM or other conventional type of storage element. The present invention is. By providing a system that reduces the storage capacity required in RAM or ROM, both the equipment cost and equipment size required for the printer are minimized. According to the invention, for a single font, only one storage element is required, so that the dot pattern is manipulated by the system of the invention and stored in the storage element. Several different densities of character information are generated from a single pattern. Thus, according to the invention, a single 12X
From the 12 storage elements, for example, 5cpj (characters per
inch: character/inch), 8cpi, 10cp
i. It can generate 12cpi. Figure 11 shows a character block having a 12X12 matrix configuration. This character block includes 12 vertical columns of trees arranged horizontally adjacent to each other and 12 horizontal lines. The data corresponding to the 12x12 character block is stored in a suitable memory in the printer's storage device. It is stored in the area. As will be readily understood, data can be stored in the above-mentioned storage devices in any desired form, including RAM or ROM (where these storage elements can store data in the matrix form shown). ) as long as it is readable. As for the character sections shown in FIG. 11, it will be understood that each desired character is stored. However, as will be explained below, the data for a single character block can be manipulated to print the corresponding character at several mutually different character pitches. For example, in the case of a sheet of paper with dimensions of approximately 218 x 278 mm (81/2 x 11 inches), if letters need to be printed at a pitch of 10 characters per inch, then There will be 10 characters printed per inch across the width of the paper. The horizontal width of the sheet is approximately 203
In the case of millimeters (8 inches), the number! In a character block of the type shown in the figure, 80 characters would be used. In operation of embodiments of the present invention, when characters are printed at a lO pitch, i.e., when a character pitch of 10 characters per inch is used, the data stored for the desired character segment is is read from the printer 20
is used to control the operation of the printer 20 so that the desired characters are printed on the printer 20. In the case of such a pitch of 10 characters, all the data stored corresponding to the character section are printed, and in the end, 80 characters are printed in the width direction of the sheet. An important feature of the invention is that the last three vertical columns of each character section are blank, as shown in FIG.
It exists in that no corresponding data is stored at all. In the case of a 10-character pitch, this missing portion of data makes it possible to ensure an appropriate gap between adjacent characters. Another important feature of the invention is that the character sections shown in FIG. It exists in that it is possible to print characters with . If l
When it is desired to print characters by changing from an O character pitch to a 12 character pitch, the system of the present invention prints the last two vertical columns of each of the five character blocks, i.e. the corresponding data.
Do not throw away the columns and use them when printing. Since these last two tree data columns, that is, the vertical columns, are both blank, the spacing between adjacent characters is reduced, although the inter-character resolution in character printing is not degraded. Character pitch is secured,
More characters can be printed across the width of the paper,
With a pitch of 12 characters, since the third vertical column from the end is blank, there is still sufficient space between adjacent characters according to the technique of the present invention. If it is necessary to print characters at a pitch of 6 characters, the last two vertical columns of the tree will not be used again, but
The 10 vertical columns from the beginning are used redundantly twice in the second time, assuming that they do not contain data. In this case, the first vertical column is printed first.
The printer head then moves to the second character position where the first data column is again printed as the first vertical column of the second character. The printer head then moves to the next position, the third character position, where the data associated with the second data column is printed. The printer head then moves to the fourth character position, at which point the data in the second data column is again imprinted. In this way, by printing the data stored as vertical columns, that is, data columns, twice each time, it is also possible to discard the data stored as the last two data columns so that they are no longer used. This allows the same motor rotation speed and the same control algorithm to be used even though the printer prints characters at a six-character pitch. By using the present invention, when it is desired to print characters at a pitch of five characters, all two vertical columns or data columns are utilized, but in this case, all data columns overlap twice. will be printed. In this way, the amount of letter spacing used is doubled.
Therefore, the character spacing doubled in size in this way is
This is twice the space between characters when printing characters at a pitch of 10 characters as described above. In the above-described embodiment of the invention, at least one vertical column used during printing is left blank, thereby providing an appropriately sized gap between printed characters. If you want to mark a figure such as a line, use the data stored in the storage device regarding the character section shown in Figure 11.
Only two data columns of the columns are left blank. That is, sometimes it is desired to join lines together, and in this case there is no need for gaps between printed characters, here between symbols. Thus, the present invention provides the following advantages in relation to different character pitches:
This is an advantage because the impression of characters at different character pitches can be achieved at the same motor rotation speed without using a storage device with a large storage capacity required to store various data. Another technical advantage of the printer constructed according to the technique of the present invention resides in the incorporation of a phase information system into the printer 20. This phase information system improves the quality of the first line of printing after the printer 20 has stopped for a predetermined period of time. Both the paper feed drive motor 42 and the carriage drive motor 82 are constituted by stepping motors, and these stepping motors are controlled by the processor 24 by being sent a phase signal. As described above, the paper feed drive motor 42 operates to advance the paper feed roller 4B at extremely small steps. Similarly, carriage drive motor 62 operates to advance printer head assembly 40 in also very small steps. Both of these drive motors 42 and Ei2 are, for example,
It consists of a 4-phase stepping motor. Incidentally, the motor 42 moves by receiving two types of transmitted phase signals, and its walking is performed by phases A, B, C, and D positioned as shown in FIG. Phase A, B. Each of C and B corresponds to an individual signal sent from the processor 24. Separate signals from the processor 24 are connected to electromagnets in the feed drive motor 42, which are used to advance the feed rollers 46.
Similarly, the printer head assembly 40 is connected to the processor 2.
4 to the carriage drive motor 82. However, a problem arises when either the paper feed roller 4B or the printer head assembly 40 is moved manually. If the physical positions of these manually operated movable elements do not correspond to the proper phasing previously transmitted from the processor 24, the first character subsequently stamped will be distorted. ．． This problem is best understood by referring to the phase chart during printing operations shown in FIG. FIG. 12 shows a diagram 302 which shows the phases of a four-phase stepping motor, generally indicated by the reference numeral 304. In diagram 302, the four physical locations of the movable element are each designated by reference numeral 30.
It is represented by nine points marked 8, 308, 310, and 312. Arrows 314, 318, 318
, 320 represent phase signals sent from the processor 24, which initiate movement of the printer's movable elements. This problem caused by manually moving the movable elements of a printer is best understood by considering a specific example with reference to FIG. For example, in a normal marking S operation, the physical position and phase of the paper feed roller 48 are correctly correlated with each other. For example, when paper feed roller 4B is located at physical position M306, processor 24 sends a phase signal corresponding to phase A represented by arrow 314. Next, processor 2
4 sends a phase signal corresponding to the operational phase B represented by arrow 31B. Then, the physical position of the paper feed roller 4B changes to a physical position 308. In this manner, processor 24 follows arrows 314, 316, 3
At 18,320. With the phase dependence expressed respectively,
By moving the paper feed roller 4B back and forth, the movement of the paper feed roller 48 can be continuously controlled in any direction. Similarly, the processor 24 controls the carriage drive motor B2.
By sending a phase signal to the printer head assembly 40, the movement of the other movable element, the printer head assembly 40, can also be controlled. However, a problem arises when manually operated movements are introduced into the system of the present invention. For example, while the processor 24 is at rest, the position of the paper feed roller 46 may be manually changed to a physical position. This problem occurs if you move to 1310. In this case, when the processor 24 attempts to start a print job in response to a print command,
Regarding the previous physical position of the paper feed roller 4B, the processor 24 estimates that this was the physical position corresponding to the phase A indicated by the arrow 314, and sends a phase signal corresponding to the phase B. Then, the paper feed roller 4B will be moved forward. As a result, the paper feed roller 4B remains in the physical position 310 and the paper feed drive motor 42
The phase signal sent to corresponds to arrow 3111. Therefore, in this case, the physical position and the phase signal become out of synchronization. As a result, paper feed roller 0 is at the physical position!
You will be returned to 308. Thus, if a printing operation is started while the paper feed roller 4B is returning to its physical position @ 308, the quality of the print will be degraded. Prior art printers solve this problem by keeping both the processor 24 and the paper feed drive motor 42 operating not only during printing operations but also during downtime between printing operations. It's resolved. Thus, in conventional printers, any physical movement of the printer's moving elements automatically changes the phase of the drive motor. This method is effective in keeping the printer's moving elements and drive motors synchronized. However, with this prior art, power must continue to be supplied to the drive motor even when the printer is not operating. Therefore, considering that the drive motor is the element that consumes the largest amount of power in the printer 20, the prior art is extremely inefficient. The printer 20 constructed according to the present invention incorporates a printer phase information system. This printer phase information system eliminates the need to supply power to the drive motors 42, 82 while the printer is at rest.
In the first embodiment of the printer phase information system of the present invention, a phase signal is sent to the drive motor during a predetermined period of time prior to the start of the printing operation. For example, referring to FIG. 12, assume that the physical position of paper feed roller 46 has settled down to physical position 5l 308 due to some physical movement during the pause period of printer 20. In this case, according to a first embodiment of the invention, the processor 24, prior to the start of the printing operation,
Sends out a phase signal corresponding to . In this way, paper feed roller 0 moves from physical position 308 to physical position it 30
B, thereby synchronizing it with the phase signal sent from the processor 24. Thus, the paper feed roller 46
The printing process is started only after the physical position of the printer has been changed, so the quality of the print does not deteriorate. In a second embodiment of the printer phase information system of the present invention, more complex operations are performed prior to the start of the sea bream operation. According to a second embodiment of the invention, the processor 2
4 uses all possible phase signals to move the paper feed roller 46 forward and backward by the required amount prior to the start of the printing operation. #! In other words, processor 24 first sends a phase signal corresponding to physical location A or arrow 314, then to physical location B or arrow 31B, then to physical location C or arrow 318, and then to physical location C or arrow 318. Further, the corresponding phase signals are sequentially transmitted to the physical position D, that is, the arrow 320. Thereafter, processor 24 sends a phase signal corresponding to physical location C, arrow 318, then to physical location B, arrow 31B, followed by physical location 11A, arrow 314, respectively. Send them in that order. All of these phase signals are sent before the printing process begins. In this manner, processor 2l detects the physical position of a movable element of the printer at some point during the initialization operating procedure prior to a printing operation, returns the element to its initial physical position 306, and outputs a phase signal. is also restored to its initial value of 314. Although the more complex initialization operating procedure in the second embodiment of the invention requires slightly more operating time than that in the first embodiment of the invention, This greatly facilitates the movement of the printer's movable elements. This is noticeable when the stepping motor has multiple phases. For example, if each drive motor 42, 62 is an 8-phase stepping motor, the initial setting operation procedure in the first embodiment of the present invention is equivalent to a 4-step jump. In contrast, the more complex initialization procedure in the second embodiment of the present invention allows the physical position of the eight-phase drive motor to be detected very smoothly. In operation, if printer 20 has previously been idle for a predetermined period of time, processor 24:
Execute the initial setting operation procedure processing using the phase information system. For example, if the predetermined pause period of the printer 20 is 5
If it is for a second, the drive motors 42, 82
If there is any physical movement in processor 2,
4 initializes the phases of these drive motors 42, 62. In this way, the first character printed after a period of inactivity of printer 24 is printed correctly without distortion. In this case, the continuous supply of power to the drive motors 42 and B2 becomes unnecessary during the period when the printer 20 is inactive. Moreover, during the predetermined period, the printer 20
If the processor 24 is not inactive, the processor 24 does not perform the initialization procedure described above. If such an operation causes multiple print commands to be issued in rapid succession at such short intervals that no physical movement can occur in any of the printer's movable elements, the phase initialization operating procedure may fail. This saves time. In summary, the phase information system incorporated into the printer 20 of the present invention ensures that the physical position of the paper feed roller 48, or the physical position of the printer head assembly 40, is synchronized with the processor 24 prior to the start of a printing operation. Becomes a state. This operation of the invention prevents print distortion. Such printing distortions occur while the drive motor is at rest.
This occurs when the phase of the drive motor is brought out of synchronization with the processor 24 by manually changing the physical position of the printer's movable elements. In the present invention, an initial phase signal is sent to the drive motors 42, 62 for a predetermined period before the start of the printing operation, or
By sequentially sending all possible phase signals to the drive motors 42, 62 before the start of the printing operation,
The phase of the drive motor 42, θ2 is synchronized with the processor 24, thereby preventing printing distortion. That is,
Such operation causes all of the printer's movable elements to be synchronized with the drive motors 42, 82 and the processor 24 so that the first character subsequently printed will include:
No distortion occurs. Various important features of the preferred embodiment of the present invention are summarized below. An improved paper feed device for a processor-driven printer, the paper feed device including a paper feed drive motor responsive to the processor. The printer has a case frame having a paper feed slot and a paper ejection slot, and shown with the paper feeder includes a paper feed roller operatively coupled to the drive motor. and a paper guide member juxtaposed to and extending between the lower part of the paper feed roller to form a paper guide slot; a friction device for holding the paper snugly on the paper feed roller; and a friction device extending generally parallel to and positioned adjacent to the paper guide slot so that the free end of the roll paper is , a roll paper receiving member for holding the roll paper so as to be carried into the paper guide slot;
a pin driving member attached to the paper feed roller so as to be rotatable integrally with the paper feed roller, and separated from the paper feed roller; However, each of the pin driving members has a plurality of pins, the pins being spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction of the pin driving member and projecting in the radial direction, and extending along each edge of the continuous form. Fits into the provided hole, thereby
The printer allows the use of roll paper, sheet paper, and continuous slip paper. It is further shown in the above paper feeding device of the present invention that the guide member has mutually spaced openings therein, that the friction device includes an idler roller located in each of the openings; It also includes a bail that is rotatably disposed on the printer in order to hold the paper on the paper feed roller. An improved paper feed device for a processor-driven printer, the paper feed device including a paper feed drive motor responsive to the processor, the printer having a case frame and a paper feed drive motor responsive to the processor; has a paper feed slot and a paper ejection slot, and shown with the paper feeder includes a paper feed roller operatively coupled to the drive motor and a paper feed roller connected to the paper feed drive motor. a continuous flexible drive member operatively coupled thereto; and a continuous flexible drive member mounted in a fixed position and rotatably mounted between the paper feed drive motor and the paper feed roller coupled by the drive member. A flexible idler member that applies a biasing force to the drive member and removes slack in the drive member by engaging with the drive member. Also, one of the pin drive members is fixed to the paper feed roller, while the other one is movable along the paper feed roller, so that
The alignment operation between the pin of the pin driving member and the hole of the continuous slip form is facilitated. Furthermore, the paper feed slot has a first part for receiving sheets of paper and a part wider than the first part for receiving the continuous form. This facilitates the feeding operation of sheets of different widths into the sheet guide slot by properly aligning the positions of sheets of paper of different widths. The printer is of an inkjet type and includes an inkjet cartridge. On the other hand, the paper feed roller includes an absorbent washer. The washer is located adjacent to one of the pin drive members. An improved paper feed device for a processor-driven printer, the paper feed device including a paper feed drive motor responsive to the processor, the printer having a case frame, the case frame has a paper feed slot and a paper ejection slot, and shown with the paper feeder includes a paper feed roller operatively connected to the drive motor, and a drive mounted on the drive shaft of the drive motor. a continuous flexible drive belt operatively connecting the driven pulley and the driven pulley; The drive pulley and the driven pulley, which are connected by the drive belt, are rotatably engaged with the drive belt, thereby imparting a biasing force to the drive belt and causing the drive. It has a flexible idler member that removes belt slack. As shown in the drawings, both the drive pulley and the driven pulley have drive teeth. Meanwhile, the drive belt has teeth on its inner surface that mesh with the drive teeth, and has a flat surface on its outer surface, and engages with the idler member via the flat surface. do. An improved paper feed device for a processor-driven printer, the paper feed device including a paper feed drive motor responsive to the processor, the printer having a case frame, the case frame has a paper feed slot and a paper ejection slot, and is shown with the paper feeder includes a paper feed roller operatively coupled to the drive motor and for holding the paper snugly against the paper feed roller. and further a pin drive member mounted on and rotatable with the paper feed roller and spaced apart from each other, in the paper feeder, the pin drive members are spaced apart from each other. Separately, it has a plurality of pins protruding in the radial direction, and the pins fit into holes provided at the edges of the continuous slip form to facilitate alignment of the position of the continuous slip form. This allows the printer to use all five-sheet sheets, roll paper, or continuous slip paper. All of these sheets, rolls or continuous forms can be used in the printer as they engage the feed roller and the friction device. Furthermore, the paper guide member is juxtaposed to the paper feed roller to form a paper guide slot therebetween. The paper guide member is
It has openings separated from each other. The friction device includes an idler roller positioned in alignment with each of the openings. The improved paper feeding device of the present invention further includes a paper feeding roller operatively coupled to the drive motor.
A drive pulley attached to the drive shaft of the drive motor, a driven pulley attached to the paper feed roller, and a continuous and flexible drive pulley that operatively connects the drive pulley and the driven pulley. a drive belt, and is further mounted in a fixed position and rotatably engaged with the drive belt between the drive pulley and the driven pulley, thereby imparting a biasing force to the drive belt; and a suitable idler member adapted to take up slack in the drive belt. Both the drive pulley and the driven pulley have drive teeth. On the other hand, the drive belt meshes with the drive teeth by placing the teeth on its inner surface. The outer surface of the drive belt defines a generally flat surface into which the idler member engages. Additionally, the idler member is extremely flexible and has a durometer (Shore) hardness of C. The printer is an inkjet printer and includes an inkjet cartridge. On the other hand, the paper feed roller includes an absorbent washer. The washer is located adjacent to one of the pin drive members. Shown together with an apparatus for selecting and printing different character pitches is a storage apparatus for storing character data in a plurality of data columns and for each desired character pitch different groups of characters. a processor for selecting data columns; and an operative printer head for printing characters at the character pitch determined by the data columns of the group selected by the processor; It is possible to select and print with different character pitches. Multiple selectable data columns are defined as blank. These blank data columns are defined as the last print data columns, and some of them are used redundantly to print characters. The steps required for the method of selectively printing different character pitches include: for each of a plurality of desired character pitches;
storing character data as a plurality of data columns; selecting the data columns in different groups; and controlling a printer head to adjust the selected character pitch according to the data columns in the selected group. This is the process of printing at one of the character pitches. The printer head is controlled under the same motor rotation speed to print at each of different character pitches. Furthermore, selecting the group includes deleting one of the data columns. The method of the present invention also includes defining a predetermined number of the data columns as blank, and redundantly using some of these data columns defined as blank for a selected character pitch. By doing this, the characters are printed. The steps required by the method for selectively printing different character pitches are to provide data defining the characters to be read,
storing as a plurality of data columns; and for each of the plurality of character pitches, the last of the data columns to be read;
defining a plurality of columns as blank; selecting a different group of the data columns; and controlling the printer head by one group of the data columns to print characters at the selected character pitch. and printing, in which the stored data can be used to print characters at any one of the character pitches. The step of selecting the data columns described above includes the step of deleting at least one of the blank data columns. Some of the data columns are read out redundantly for the selected character pitch. A method of operating a printer comprising a drive motor actively coupled to a movable element of the printer, the drive motor being passively coupled to a processor, requires the steps of: a step of stopping the supply of power to the drive motor during a period when the drive motor is not in use; a step of starting the supply of power to the drive motor in response to the printing command prior to the start of the printing operation; and an initial phase signal. and further synchronizing the phase of the drive motor with that of the processor in response to the initial phase signal to synchronize the movable elements of the printer with the drive motor and the processor in response to the initial phase signal. This is the process of synchronizing it with the processor. the initial phase signals are generated sequentially in a first direction and a first series of phase signals corresponding to all possible phases of the drive motor; and a first series of phase signals in a direction opposite to the first direction. a second series of phase signals generated sequentially and corresponding to all possible phases of the drive motor. The initial phase signal corresponds to the phase of the drive motor selected by the phase signal. The drive motor includes a stepping motor. The movable elements of the printer include a feed roller passively coupled to the stepper motor, and a printer also passively coupled to the stepper motor.
Including Hesid Carriage. Furthermore, the method of the present invention requires the steps of: performing a timing step of determining the time interval between the print instructions; and a step of generating the initial phase signal; and synchronizing the phase of the drive motor to the processor in response to the timing step only if a predetermined amount of time has elapsed after the last one of the timing steps. What is shown is a circuit for operating a printer including a drive motor operatively coupled to a movable element of the printer for printing according to a printing specification, coupled to the drive motor to receive the printing instructions. a first circuit that stops supplying power to the drive motor during this time; and a second circuit coupled to the drive motor that starts supplying power to the drive motor prior to the start of the printing operation. and further coupled to the drive motor to generate an initial phase signal for the drive motor and to apply the initial phase signal to the drive motor to control the drive prior to the start of a printing operation. and a third circuit that synchronizes the motor and the printer's moving elements to the processor. The initial phase signal is generated sequentially in a first direction and includes a first series of phase signals corresponding to all possible phases of the drive motor;
and a second series of phase signals corresponding to all possible phases of the drive motor. The initial phase signal corresponds to the phase of the drive motor selected by the phase signal. The drive motor includes a stepping motor. Meanwhile, the moving elements of the printer include a feed roller passively coupled to the stepping motor. The drive motor includes a stepping motor. Additionally, the movable elements of the printer include a printer head carriage passively coupled to the stepper motor. Additionally, a timer is shown in the drawing for timing the time interval between the print commands. The timer is passively coupled to the third circuit described above so that the initial phase signal is activated when a desired amount of time has elapsed after the last of the print commands is issued. will be sent only. SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE Portable printer 20 includes a paper feed device for utilizing sheet paper, roll paper, or continuous slip paper. The paper feeding device includes a paper feeding roller 4B and a friction roller 52 that enable feeding of the above three types of paper. printer 2
0 prints by selecting different character pitches, thereby gradually reducing the amount of memory required. The method of the present invention operates the printer and synchronizes the paper feed drive motors prior to starting a print job. Other Disclosure Matters> l. a paper feed motor responsive to the processor, further comprising a case frame having a paper feed slot and a paper ejection slot, operatively coupled to the paper feed motor in a paper feed device for a printer driven by the processor; a paper guide member juxtaposed to a lower portion of the paper feed roller and extending to form a paper guide slot therebetween; and a paper guide member extending through the paper guide slot of the paper guide member. a friction roller that holds the paper snugly over the paper feed roller to allow movement of the paper; and a friction roller extending generally parallel to and positioned in close proximity to the paper guide slot of the paper guide member. , a roll paper receiving member for holding the roll paper so that the free end of the paper is carried into the paper guide slot; and a roll paper receiving member attached to the paper feed roller so as to be rotatable integrally with the paper feed roller. a plurality of pins spaced apart from the roller, each pin being circumferentially spaced from each other and projecting radially to fit into a hole provided along each edge of the continuous form; An improved paper feeding device for a printer, characterized in that it is equipped with a pin drive member, thereby making it possible to use roll paper, sheet paper and continuous slip paper in the printer. 2. 2. A paper feeding device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the paper guide members expose spaced apertures, and the friction means is located within each of the apertures of the paper guide member. A paper feeding device characterized by comprising an idler roller. 3. An improved paper feed apparatus for a printer driven by the processor, the paper feed apparatus including a paper feed motor responsive to the processor, further including a case frame having a paper receiving slot and a paper ejection slot, and comprising: a paper feed roller operably coupled to a paper feed motor; a continuous flexible drive member operably coupled to the paper feed roller and the paper feed motor; and a continuous flexible drive member mounted in a fixed position to drive the paper feed motor. an elastic idler member rotatably engaged with the drive member between the paper motor and the paper feed roller to apply a biasing force to the drive member and remove slack in the drive member; A paper feeding device characterized by: 4. An improved paper feed apparatus for a printer driven by the processor, the paper feed apparatus including a paper feed motor responsive to the processor, further including a case frame having a paper receiving slot and a paper ejection slot, and comprising: A paper feed roller operably coupled to a paper feed motor, a drive pulley attached to a drive shaft of the paper feed motor, a driven pulley attached to the paper feed roller, and the drive pulley and the driven pulley. a continuous flexible drive belt operatively coupling the drive pulley and a continuous flexible drive belt mounted in a fixed position and rotatably engaged with the drive belt between the drive pulley and the driven pulley; an elastic idler member for applying a biasing force to the drive belt and removing slack in the drive belt; 5. The paper feeding device according to claim 4, wherein the drive pulley and the driven pulley each have drive teeth, and the drive belt has a toothed inner part that meshes with the drive teeth. side and
a substantially smooth outer surface, and the idler member engages the smooth outer surface of the drive belt. 6. An improved paper feed device for a printer including a paper feed motor responsive to and driven by a processor, the paper drive including a frictional paper drive, the paper drive comprising: a paper feed roller operably coupled to the motor; a friction means for retaining the paper snugly against the paper feed roller; and a friction means mounted on and rotatable with the paper feed roller, each , aligning the position between the continuous form and the feed roller by aligning a plurality of pins that protrude radially and are located in holes provided in the edge of the continuous form; Facilitates operation, thereby allowing the use of roll paper, sheet paper or continuous slip paper in the printer, as these papers are all engaged with the paper feed roller and the friction means. A paper feeding device characterized by comprising: mutually spaced pin feeding members which are arranged to be separated from each other; 7. The paper feeding device according to claim 6, further comprising a paper guiding member juxtaposed to the paper feeding roller to form a paper guiding slot between the paper feeding roller and the paper feeding roller. A paper feeding device characterized by: 8. 8. A paper feeding device according to claim 7, wherein the paper guide member has spaced apart openings, and the friction means includes an idler roller located within each of the openings. A paper feeding device characterized by: 9. 7. A paper feeding device according to claim 1 or 6, wherein the printer is of an inkjet type and includes an inkjet cartridge, and the paper feed roller is configured to move the pin feeder. A paper feeding device characterized by including an absorbent washer located adjacent one of the members. 10. The paper feeding device according to claim 9, further comprising: a paper feeding roller operably coupled to the paper feeding motor; and a paper feeding roller attached to a drive shaft of the paper feeding motor. a drive pulley; a driven pulley attached to the feed roller; a continuous flexible drive belt operably coupling the drive pulley and the driven pulley; and a continuous flexible drive belt mounted in a fixed position. An elastic idler that rotatably engages with the drive belt between the drive pulley and the driven pulley to apply biasing force to the drive belt and remove slack in the drive belt. A paper feeding device characterized by comprising a member and . 11. The paper feeding device according to claim @10, wherein the drive pulley and the slave pulley each accommodate a drive tooth, and the drive belt has a toothed inner ring that meshes with the drive tooth. side and
a substantially smooth outer surface, and the idler member engages the smooth outer surface of the drive belt. 12. A printing method for selecting and printing different character pitches, comprising: storing character data in a plurality of data columns; and selecting a different group of data columns for each of a plurality of desired character pitches; controlling a printer head to print characters at a selected arbitrary character pitch in a selected group of data columns. 13. 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of controlling the printer head under the same motor rotational speed while printing with each of the character pitches. A method characterized by including . 14. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of selecting includes the step of deleting one of the columns of data. 15. 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of defining a predetermined number of data columns as blank. 1B. 13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising the step of redundantly using certain data columns of the data columns for the selected character pitch. ．． 17. A method for selectively printing with different character pitches, the method comprising: storing data defining characters to be read in a plurality of data columns; defining a plurality of data columns as blank; selecting a different group of data columns for each of the plurality of character pitches; , controlling a printer head to print characters at a selected character pitch among the character pitches, provided that the stored data is printed at any character pitch among the character pitches; A method characterized by that may be used in carrying out. 18. 18. A method according to claim 17, characterized in that the step of selecting includes the step of deleting at least one of the data columns defined as the blank. 19. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that some of the data columns are read out more than once for the selected character pitch. How to do it. 20. A method of operating a printer comprising a drive motor actively coupled to a movable element of the printer and passively coupled to a processor, the drive motor being coupled during a time interval between print commands. a step of stopping power supply to the drive motor in response to a print command prior to starting a printing operation; a step of generating an initial phase signal; and a step of generating an initial phase signal; in response, phasing the drive motor so as to synchronize the phase of the movable elements of the printer with that of the drive motor and the processor prior to the start of a printing operation. Method. 21. 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the initial phase signal comprises a first series of signals generated sequentially in a first direction and corresponding to all possible phases of the drive motor; a second series of signals generated sequentially in a direction opposite to the first direction and corresponding to all possible phases of the drive motor. 22. 21. The method of claim 20, characterized in that the initial phase signal corresponds to a selected single phase of the drive motor. 23. 21. The method of claim 20, further comprising: timing the time intervals between the print instructions; and generating the initial phase signal. synchronizing the phase of the drive motor to the processor in response to the timing step only when a predetermined amount of time has elapsed after the last sign command was issued. Method. 24. 420. The method of claim W420, wherein the drive motor includes a stepper motor, and the movable printer element includes a feed roller responsively associated with the stepper motor. A method characterized by 25. 20. The method of claim 20, wherein the drive motor includes a stepper motor, and the movable printer element includes a printer head carriage responsively associated with the stepper motor. A method characterized by including.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

In the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals represent the same elements throughout the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a computer terminal device connected to a portable printer constructed in accordance with the present invention and including a processor. FIG. 2 is an isometric view showing the internal parts of the printer of FIG. 1 removed from the case frame. Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the roll paper feeding mechanism of the printer shown in Figure 2. FIG. 4 shows a drive mechanism used for paper feeding in a printer, and is a front view of the roll paper feeding mechanism taken in a direction intersecting the cross-sectional direction of the cross-sectional view of FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 3, showing the printer when it is used to feed either sheet paper or continuous slip paper. FIG. 6 is a front view similar to FIG. 4, showing the printer's paper feeding device when used to feed continuous slip paper. FIG. 7 is an elevational view of a portion of a paper drive mechanism used to take slack out of a printer's paper drive system. FIG. 8 is a partially sectional elevational view of the paper drive mechanism taken along line 8--8 of FIG. FIG. 9 is a partially sectional elevational view similar to FIG. 8 showing a portion of the paper drive mechanism in an alternative operating position. FIG. 10 is a front view showing in more detail the structure of a feed roller used in a printer also constructed in accordance with the present invention. FIG. 11 is a schematic illustration of character sections used to enable printing at different character pitches according to the present invention. FIG. 12 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing the operation of the phase information system of the present invention. 20. ．． ．． ．． Printer 32. ．． ．． ．． Paper supply slot 3B. ．． ．． Paper feed mechanism 4 (1...Printer head assembly 4B...Paper feed roller 50...Paper guide member 54...Pail roller 70...Roll paper receiving member 7B...Paper Guide slot 88...Toothed driven pulley 90...Toothed belt ee.sa...Pin drive member 104...Toothed drive pulley 10B...Elastic 7-idler 48... .Roll paper 34....Paper ejection slot 52...Friction roller

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) a paper feed device for a printer driven by the processor, the paper feed device including a paper feed motor responsive to the processor and further including a case frame having a paper feed slot and a paper ejection slot; a paper guide member juxtaposed to a lower portion of the paper feed roller and extending to form a paper guide slot therebetween; a paper guide slot of the paper guide member; a friction roller for holding the paper snugly over the paper feed roller for movement of the paper therethrough; and a friction roller extending generally parallel to and proximate the paper guide slot of the paper guide member. a roll paper receiving member for holding the roll paper so that the free end of the paper is conveyed into the paper guide slot; and a roll paper receiving member attached to the paper feed roller and rotatable integrally with the paper feed roller. a plurality of pins spaced apart from the feed roller, each pin being circumferentially spaced from each other and projecting radially to fit into a hole provided along each edge of the continuous form; 1. An improved paper feeding device for a printer, characterized in that it has a pin drive member, thereby allowing roll paper, sheet paper and continuous slip paper to be used in the printer. (2) A printing method in which different character pitches are selected and printed includes the steps of storing character data in a plurality of data columns, and selecting a different group of data columns for each of the plurality of desired character pitches. and controlling a printer head to print characters at any selected character pitch in a selected group of data columns. (3) A method of operating a printer comprising a drive motor actively coupled to a movable element of the printer and passively coupled to a processor, during the time interval between print commands. , a step of stopping power supply to the drive motor, a step of starting power supply to the drive motor in response to a print command prior to the start of a printing operation, a step of generating an initial phase signal, and a step of generating an initial phase signal. phasing the drive motor in response to the phase signal to synchronize the phase of the movable elements of the printer with that of the drive motor and the processor prior to the start of a printing operation. How to operate the printer.