JPH032083A - Recording device and its printing - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate color detection error by measuring ON or OFF time for bar code corresponding to each color ink provided on an ink sheet, then specifying color inks and recording using specified colors. CONSTITUTION:Bar code signals lA, lB, lC are arranged in a section to detect the heads of colors A to C of multicolor ink ribbons. Then ON time t1 and OFF time t 1' for bar code detection signals lA1, lB1, lC1 detected by a color sensor are measured using CPU, and color inks are specified based on the measurement results. After this, recording is performed using colors specified from among colors A to C. In addition, it is possible to control the travel speed of an ink sheet in accordance with the measured ON time t1 for the bar code. Thus error in the detection of colors of a multicolor ink sheet can be eliminated.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a recording device used in a recording section of an electronic typewriter, facsimile, personal computer, word processor, etc. The present invention relates to a recording apparatus and a method thereof that can obtain recording output of .

[Prior Art] Conventionally, in this type of apparatus, when a barcode of a multicolor ink ribbon as shown in FIG. 1 is detected by a color sensor,
The multi-color ink ribbon is wound up with the recording head down (pressed against the platen) (the ink ribbon is pulled out), and the ribbon is transported at a constant speed regardless of the beginning and end of the ribbon (the color sensor is configured to detect barcodes (pass through).

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the conventional example described above, in order to keep the speed at which the ribbon passes through the color sensor constant, although winding can be performed at high speed depending on the winding radius of the ribbon, the recording head may be down. Winding was performed at a constant speed. Therefore, in order to perform high-speed winding processing, it has been considered to wind the ribbon while the recording head remains up. However, in order to perform this direct winding, as shown in Fig. 2 (a)
As shown in FIG. 2(b), the running speed of the multicolor ink ribbon changes at the beginning and end of ribbon winding, and the ON/OFF timing (period) of the barcode changes.
This has the disadvantage that the color is not constant and the color sensor cannot detect the color, resulting in an error.

It is also possible to widen the width of the barcode so as not to cause a detection error of the color sensor, but in this case there is a drawback that the recordable range is shortened.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a recording apparatus and method thereof that eliminates barcode sense errors and color detection errors of multicolor ink sheets.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, a recording device of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, in a recording apparatus that arranges a barcode corresponding to each color ink on an ink sheet having multiple colors of ink, and records with a desired color ink by detecting the barcode, the barcode is turned on or off. The apparatus includes a clock means for counting off time, a specifying means for specifying the colored ink based on the on or off time of the time measuring means, and a recording means for recording with the colored ink by the specifying means.

Further, a recording device according to another invention has the following configuration. Namely.

In a recording device that arranges a barcode corresponding to each color of ink on an ink sheet having multiple colors of ink, and records with a desired color ink by detecting the barcode, the ON time of the barcode is measured. a timekeeping means for
A control means for controlling the traveling speed of the ink sheet according to the on-time of the timer; a specifying means for specifying a colored ink based on the speed of the controlling means; and a recording means for performing recording with the colored ink in the specifying means. Equipped with.

[Operation] In the above configuration, the ON or OFF time of the barcode is measured, and the color ink is specified based on the ON or OFF time. Then, it operates to perform recording using the specified color ink.

In another configuration, the on-time of the barcode is measured, and the running speed of the ink sheet is controlled according to the on-time. Then, the color ink is specified based on the speed, and the printing is performed using the specified color ink.

[Embodiment] Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First Embodiment> FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention, and is a plan view of a multicolor ink ribbon. ρ is a barcode indicating color A, β
6 is a barcode indicating B color, ρ.

is a barcode indicating 0 color, and its color detection is performed based on the ON/OFF timing of the barcode. Further, β is the width of the barcode, and β' is the gap (blank) between the barcodes.

FIG. 2(a) is a timing diagram showing the ON-OFF state of the color sensor when winding of the multicolor ink ribbon has started, and FIG. 2(b) is a timing chart showing the 8th winding of the multicolor ink ribbon. FIG. 6 is a timing diagram showing ON-OFF of the color sensor at the end of the process. If the color sensor ON time at the start of winding of the multicolor ink ribbon is tl, and its interval □ is t+', and the color sensor ON time at the end of winding of the multicolor ink ribbon is tl, and its interval is tz', then t+ > t 2 and t + > j 2 hold true.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the winding diameter of the multicolor ink ribbon and the ON time of the color sensor.

Here, the diameter (
Similarly, if the diameter (maximum diameter) of the multicolor ink ribbon at the end of winding is D2, and the winding angular velocity of the multicolor ink ribbon is W regardless of the diameter, then the barcode The longest sense time tl and the shortest sense time t2 are tl = I2/ (CDI /2) ・W)tz =
i/ ((D2 /2) ・W), and tl /l
a = D2 /D+.

Therefore, the relationship is (inversely proportional).

Similarly, the longest OFF time t+' and the shortest OFF time t2' of the barcode are t+'=4'/((D,/2)・W)tl
=4' / ((D, /2) ・W), and t l
'/12'==D2/DI.

Therefore, the relationship is (inversely proportional).

In other words, when performing color detection with a color sensor, the ON timing is in the following range, il/ ((D, /2) ・W) ~ ρ/ ((D, /2) ・W) and the OFF timing is as follows. The timing is in the following range.

ρ' / ((D, /2) ·W) ~ρ' / ((D, /2) ·W) FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the recording section of the recording apparatus in this embodiment. In the figure, a recording sheet 60 is backed up by a platen 61 and is pressed against the rubber portion of a sheet feed roller 62 by a pinch roller. This sheet feed roller 62
A gear 65 is attached to the shaft 64, and is connected to a sheet feed motor M1 via a reduction gear 66. Rotation of the sheet feed motor M1 rotates the sheet feed roller 62, and the recording sheet 60 is conveyed. Therefore, when a thermal head 76 (described later) contacts the recording sheet 60 to perform recording, the platen 61 maintains the position of the recording sheet 60.

Next, the reciprocating motion of the carriage 69 will be explained.

A shaft 67 is fixed in parallel to the front side of the platen 61, and a rack 68 is fixed to the opposite side of the carriage 69, and the carriage 69 can be moved in the direction of arrow B using the upper guide surfaces of the shaft 67 and rack 68. Guidance is supported.

That is, the carriage 69 can reciprocate in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance path A of the recording sheet 60.

A portion of the belt 70 is fixed to the carriage 69 and stretched by a pulley gear 71 and a pulley 72. The above-mentioned pulley gear 71 is a reduction gear 73.74
It is connected to the carriage motor M2 via. The rotation of the carriage motor M2 rotates the above-mentioned pulley gear 71 and pulley 72, thereby driving the belt 70, and the carriage 69 reciprocates along the shaft 67 (in the direction of arrow B).

Further, a head holder (not shown) is guided and supported on the carriage 69 so as to be rotatable around a head holder axis. A thermal head 76 is attached to this head holder, which also serves as a heat sink.

The carriage 69 also includes an ink ribbon cassette 5.
A carriage table 75 is provided for mounting the items in two stacks. This carriage table 75 is provided with color detection means (color sensor) S3 for color identification of the multicolor ribbon 6, and the carriage table 75 described above also has a
9 is provided with a ribbon sensor S2 for detecting the presence or absence of the ink ribbon cassette 5, the type thereof, and the end of the ink ribbon 6.

Next, a case will be described in which the ink ribbon cassette 5 is mountably loaded onto the carriage table 75 described above.

Ink ribbon cassettes 5 can be mounted on this carriage table 75 in two stages, upper and lower, and bins 75a and 7 are mounted on the upper surface of this carriage table 75.
5b and hooks 75C, 575d, and 75e, respectively.

First, when installing the ink ribbon cassette 5 in the lower stage, the ink ribbon cassette 5 (Fig. 4, Fig. 5) described later
openings 20.21 provided in the upper and lower cases of;
into the bins 75a and 75b, and lock the locking portion 31 of the lower case.
By elastically coupling the hook 75c to the
The ink ribbon cassette 5 can be removably mounted on the carriage table 75. Similarly, when installing the ink ribbon cassette 5 on the upper stage, the bin 75
The ink ribbon is mounted on the carriage table 75 via the lower ink ribbon cassette 5 by fitting the openings 20.21 into the ink ribbon cassettes 5a and 75b and elastically engaging the hooks 75d and 75e with the engaging portions 3o and 32 of the lower case. .

In this way, a plurality of (two stages) ink sheet (including ink ribbon) mounting sections are configured.

Next, the ink ribbon cassette will be explained with reference to FIG. 4 (perspective view) and FIG. 5 (plan view).

4 and 5, the ink ribbon cassette 5 is formed of an upper case 6 and a lower case 7, and is removably mounted on a carriage table 75 with the ink ribbon 8 stored in the cassette 5.

The ink ribbon 8 is wound around a supply core 9, passes through rollers 13 rotatably attached to the protrusions 11 and 12 of the lower case 7, and partially passes through the cassette 5 at the opening 22 of the lower case.
After being exposed to the outside, it enters into the cassette 5 again through the lower case opening 23, and furthermore, after being exposed to the outside of the cassette 5 again at the lower case opening 24, it enters into the cassette 5 through the lower case opening 25, It is wound up on a winding core 1o.

Note that when the cassette 5 is installed at a predetermined position on the carriage table 75, the ink ribbon 8 exposed from the openings 22 and 23 of the cassette 5 is positioned facing the head 76 on the main body side, and the ink ribbon 8 is exposed from the openings 22 and 23 of the cassette 5. 8 can be heated by a thermal head 76 that generates heat according to recorded information.

Furthermore, the above-mentioned ink ribbon 8 is connected to the protrusion 16 of the lower case 7 by the press spring 14.15 provided in the lower case 7.
．． 17, respectively.

Note that the above-mentioned pressure springs 14.15 are provided with felt 18.
19 is attached to prevent the ink ribbon 8 from being damaged by pressure contact.

Further, the tension spring 26 urges the ink ribbon 8 in the direction of the arrow, and works together with the pressure contact springs 14 and 15 described above to remove slack in the ink ribbon 8.

Further, a part of the ink ribbon 8 is exposed from the opening 27 of the lower case 7, and when this cassette 5 is installed at a predetermined position on the carriage table 75, the ribbon sensor S2 on the main body side (see FIG. ) is located at the opening 27 of the cassette 5, and the ribbon sensor S2 detects the ribbon end of the ink ribbon 8. Further, the color sensor S3 on the main body side faces the position of the ink ribbon 8 exposed from the opening 24, 25 of the lower case 7, and detects the bar code of the ink ribbon 8 passing through.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the recording apparatus in this embodiment.

As shown in the figure, the CPU 41 is a central processing unit,
It reads programs and various data from the ROM 42, FD03, etc., which will be described later, performs necessary calculations and judgments, and performs various controls. Further, the CPU 41 can also be configured with a plurality of units. ROM42 is a read-only memory,
Various programs for the CPU 41 to operate, character code dot patterns (character generator; CG), and various data necessary for printing are stored.

The RAM 43 is a read/write memory, and has a working area where the CPU 41 temporarily stores data or calculation results during commands, and an interface section 44. Keyboard 1. It consists of a buffer area for storing various data input manually from the floppy disk FDD3, etc., a text area for holding documents, and the like.

The CPU unit 40 also includes a thermal head driver 45. Motor driver 46. It is connected to the printer unit 4 via a detector 47 that is a detection section of a thermistor or various sensors. And the thermal head driver 45
is the printer unit 4 described above under the control of the CPU 41.
drive the thermal head 16 provided in the. Further, the motor driver 46 drives the paper feed motor M1 and the carriage motor M2 under the control of the CPU 41.

The detector 47 reads various sensors such as the thermistor S1 and a paper sensor (not shown) and a ribbon sensor (not shown) provided in the printer unit 4.

Next, the power source 48 is a power source V for driving the thermal head 16.
H, power supply VM for driving the paper feed motor M1 and carriage motor M2, power supply VFflO+ for driving the floppy disk FDD3, and power supply Vc for other logic circuits.
supply e.

Further, the controller 49 performs various controls such as transferring print data to the thermal head 16 described above, changing the voltage and current of the drive power source 8, and changing the heat time and duty under the control of the CPU 41. A keyboard 1 is connected to the CPU unit 40 via a keyboard connector 50 for inputting various data necessary for printing, editing, etc. In addition, the CPU unit 40 includes
A CRT 2 is connected via a CRT connector 51 for displaying data and various information input from a keyboard l. Note that other display devices such as a liquid crystal display may be used instead of the CRT 2. Further, a floppy disk FDD 3 is connected to the CPU unit 40 via an FDD connector 52 . In addition, a hard disk, external RAM or external RO can be used instead of FDD3.
It is also possible to connect M, etc.

The CPU unit 40 has an interface connector 53.
R3232C allows an external control device to control this recording device and communicate with external devices.

It is also possible to connect an external interface such as Centronics or MODEM. A timer 54 measures time according to instructions from the CPU 41, and in this embodiment measures the ON/OFF time of the barcode described above.

Next, the barcode detection process in this embodiment will be explained below according to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, in step S1, the counter Z for counting the number of barcodes is cleared to "0°", and then continued (in step S2, the detection unit 4 is cleared by the ink ribbon winding operation).
Wait until the color sensor No. 7 detects the ON state of the barcode. After that, when the barcode is detected to be ON, the CPU
41 advances the process to step S3 and starts the timer 54 to measure the ON time. And step S4
Then, it waits for OFF to be detected within the maximum time t of the barcode described above, and if it is OFF, the process advances to step S7, where the timer 54 value is read and a stop command is output. However, if it is in the ON state, it is checked in step S5 whether the timer 54 value satisfies the maximum time t1 of the barcode mentioned above, and if No, step S6
The timer 54 is stopped and error processing is executed. As a result of the determination in step S5, if the time is within, the process returns to step S4 and the barcode OFF detection is continued.

On the other hand, when the process proceeds from step S4 to step S7, in the next step S8, it is checked whether the timer 54 value satisfies the above-mentioned barcode minimum time t2. If the result is No, error processing is executed, but Y
If it is ES, the process advances to step S9, and the timer 54 is activated to measure the OFF time of the barcode. Then, in step SIO, it is waited for ON to be detected within the longest interval 1' of the above-mentioned barcode, and when detected, the process advances to step S15. However, if it is in the OFF state, it is checked in step S11 whether the timer 54 value exceeds tI'.
If there is no next barcode, the process advances to step SL2 and the timer 54 is stopped. Next, in step S13, it is checked by the value of counter 2 whether or not a barcode corresponding to the desired color has been detected. If the barcode is not the desired number, the process returns to step S1 to continue detection. However, if detected, the process advances to step S14, and color recording processing is executed using the counter value as a parameter.

In the above step SIO, the next O within j+' time
If N is detected, the timer S4 is stopped in step S15, and in step S16 it is checked whether the OFF time of the detected barcode is longer than the above-mentioned minimum time t2'. Here, if the barcode number is not satisfied, an error process is executed, and if it is within the range, the process proceeds to step S17, a counter Z for counting the number of barcodes is incremented, and the process returns to step S3. Then, when the above-described process is repeated and continuous barcode detection is completed, color recording can be performed in the desired color as described above.

Although the first embodiment has been described using a multicolor ink ribbon, similar effects can be obtained by using an ink sheet of a line printer as shown in FIG. Also, barcodes are the same as ink ribbons in serial printers.

Second Example> FIG. 10 is a plan view of a multicolor ink ribbon in a second example. In this embodiment, the width β'' of the first barcode of each color is set to a length that can be sensed both at the start of ribbon winding and at the end of ribbon winding.

FIG. 11(a) is a timing chart of ON/OFF of the color sensor at the start of ribbon winding, and FIG. 11(b) is a timing chart of ON/OFF of the color sensor at the end of ribbon winding.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure in the second embodiment.

First, in step S20, a barcode number counter Z is set to "1", and in the next step S21, turning on of the barcode due to the ink ribbon winding operation is detected. When ON is detected, the process advances to step S22, and the ON time (timing) of the barcode is measured. The process here is to set the timer mentioned above and
This process measures the time until F. Next, step S
In step 23, the ribbon winding speed is determined based on the measured ON time of the barcode.

Note that the ON time of the barcode is different at the beginning and end of the ink ribbon winding, and if the ribbon winding speed is determined by the ON time (timing) of the barcode as shown in Figure 13, The ON time can be made constant regardless of the ribbon winding diameter.

Next, in step S24, wait for the OFF time (predetermined time) of the barcode to elapse, and then proceed to the next step S24.
In step 25, it is checked whether the ON state of the barcode is detected continuously. Here, if the barcode area has ended, the process advances to step S29, but if it is continuous, a counter for counting the number of barcodes is incremented in step S26. Then, in step S27, it waits for the ON time (predetermined time) of the barcode to elapse, and when the time has elapsed, it is checked in step S28 whether or not the barcode is detected to be OFF, and if it is not OFF, error processing is executed. .

However, if it is OFF, the process returns to step S24 to continue detection.

On the other hand, if NO in step S25, it is determined in step S29 whether or not the desired color has been detected based on the count number, and if the count number is not the desired number, the process returns to step S20 and the above-mentioned detection is performed. Repeat the process. However, if the counted number is a barcode corresponding to the desired color, the process advances to step S30, the counted number is set as a parameter, and color recording processing is performed.

According to the second embodiment, by measuring the first ○N time and changing the ribbon winding speed according to that time, it is possible to keep the ON time of the barcode constant thereafter.

Furthermore, by keeping the time constant, the width of the barcode can be narrowed, and the recordable range of the cassette can be lengthened.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, it is possible to eliminate barcode sense errors and color detection errors of multicolor ink sheets.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the barcode in the first embodiment, Fig. 2 (a) and (b) is a diagram showing the timing of the color sensor in the first embodiment, and Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the winding diameter and detection. Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the multicolor ink ribbon cassette; Figure 5 is a plan view showing the structure of the multicolor ink ribbon cassette; Figure 6 is a printer mechanism in which the multicolor ink ribbon cassette is installed. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the recording device in the embodiment, FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure in the first embodiment, and FIG. 9 is a modification of the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the barcode in the second embodiment. FIGS. 11(a) and (b) are diagrams showing the timing of the color sensor in the second embodiment. FIG. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure in the second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the relationship between winding speed and detection timing. In the figure, 1...Keyboard, 2...CRT, 3...
FDD, 4... Printer unit, 5... Ink ribbon cassette, 8... Color ribbon, 41... CP
U, 42...ROM, 43...RAM, 47...
Detection unit 54 is a timer. 3rd 4th, 7th figure 12th figure

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) In a recording device that arranges a barcode corresponding to each color of ink on an ink sheet having multiple colors of ink, and records with a desired color ink by detecting the barcode, the barcode is turned on. Alternatively, the method may include a timer for measuring off time, a specifying means for specifying a color ink based on the on or off time of the timer, and a recording means for recording with the colored ink by the specifying means. A recording device characterized by: (2) In a recording device that arranges a barcode corresponding to each color of ink on an ink sheet having multiple colors of ink, and records with a desired color ink by detecting the barcode, the barcode is turned on. A clock means for counting time; a control means for controlling the traveling speed of the ink sheet according to the on time of the clock means; a specifying means for specifying a color ink based on the speed of the control means; and a color in the specifying means. 1. A recording device comprising a recording means for recording with ink. (3) In a recording method of a recording device, in which a bar code corresponding to each color ink is arranged on an ink sheet having inks of a plurality of colors, and recording is performed with a desired color ink by detecting the bar code, the bar code is A timing step of measuring the ON or OFF time of the code, a specifying step of specifying the color ink based on the ON or OFF time in the timing step, and a recording step of recording with the colored ink in the specifying step. A recording method for a recording device, characterized by comprising the following steps. (4) In a recording method of a recording device, a bar code corresponding to each color ink is arranged on an ink sheet having a plurality of color inks, and recording is performed using a desired color ink by detecting the bar code. a timing step of measuring the ON time of the code; a control step of controlling the running speed of the ink sheet according to the ON time in the timing step; a specifying step of specifying the color ink based on the speed in the controlling step; and the specifying step. A recording method for a recording apparatus, comprising a recording step of recording with colored ink.