JPH04208486A - Apparatus for detecting life of printing ribbon - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To quantitatively replace a printing ribbon by an operator by counting the driving number of times of a printing head as the use quantity of the printing ribbon and emitting an alarm when the cumulated driving number of times exceeds prescribed quantity. CONSTITUTION:The driving number of times of the printing head wires in a printing head 3 is automatically monitored while it is counted as the use quantity of a printing ribbon. When the driving number of times reaches prescribed use quantity, a ribbon replacement alarm lamp 8 as an information means is allowed to light not only to prohibit printing operation but also to urge an operator to replace the printing ribbon.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a method for detecting the life of a printing ribbon in a printer.

<Prior Art> Conventionally, serial printers and the printing ribbons used in these printers have not been provided with means for detecting the lifespan of the printing ribbons. Therefore, the decision as to whether or not to replace the printing ribbon is made by the operator and others who visually judge the density of the characters, codes, etc. printed on the medium, and if this judgment determines that the density is too light. Ta.

<Problem to be solved by the invention> Therefore, in the conventional method, the replacement period varies depending on the operator's subjective opinion, and the lifespan of the ribbon cannot be determined quantitatively.For this reason, printed characters, codes, etc. There is a problem in that if a reading device uses an ink density lower than the specified value, it may be judged as a reading error or unreadable.

In addition, the printing ribbon itself may wear out and become loose due to repeated use, but if you do not notice this, the wire of the print head may get caught on the printing ribbon and break, causing a malfunction. there were.

Furthermore, if there is a significant delay in replacing the printing ribbon, there will be a large difference between the density of the printing ribbon and the density immediately after the printing ribbon is replaced, resulting in problems such as poor appearance when printed media is later bound into one file. There was a point.

In addition, there is another troublesome problem in that the operator must constantly be aware of whether or not the printing ribbon is due for replacement.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its purpose is to automatically detect the lifespan of the printing ribbon and to detect the lifespan of the printing ribbon so that the operator can quantitatively replace the printing ribbon. The goal is to provide a method.

Means for Solving the Problems〉 To achieve the above objects, the printing ribbon life detection method according to the present invention is a means for counting and accumulating the number of times the print head is driven as the amount of printing ribbon used. , means for notifying when the accumulated number of drives exceeds a specified amount is provided.

<Operation> According to this method, the number of times the print head is driven is automatically counted and monitored as the amount of printing ribbon used, and when the specified amount of usage is reached, the notification means notifies the operator to replace the ribbon. This allows the printing ribbon to be replaced quantitatively. Therefore, it is possible to judge not only the density of the print ribbon but also its wear. Also,
Since the print density will never fall below the specified level, devices that optically read printed characters, codes, etc., will be able to read media printed in the correct format without erroneously determining that it is an error or unrecognizable. There will be no more.

<Example> Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail using the drawings.

Figure 1 shows a wire dot type Siriano 1 to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 1 is a circuit block diagram showing an example of a printer.

In the figure, this printer includes a control unit (CPU) 1, a print head wire drive circuit 2. Counting circuit 4. Memory (C-MOS)5. Lamp drive circuit7. Life setting switch 9, ribbon replacement switch 10
It consists of etc.

More specifically, the print head wire drive circuit 2 includes:
A general print head 3 in which wires (not shown) are arranged in one vertical row (or two rows) is connected. In addition, this print head wire drive circuit has a signal A for selecting each wire for printing and 3, and a wire selection signal A.
A signal B that prints a pattern for one vertical column on a print medium (not shown) by driving only the wire specified by the control unit 1
are input respectively. Then, when the setting of the wire drive signal B and the drive of the wire selection signal A are repeated at a constant cycle under the control of the control unit 1, printing is performed via the print head wire drive circuit 2 and the print head 3. Characters, codes, etc. are printed on the medium.

The counting circuit 4 is a circuit for counting the number of times the wire is driven in the print head 3, and is set to count up every time the wire drive signal B is turned on.
The memory 5 is used to store and hold the number of times the wire is driven in the print head 3, and is backed up by a battery 6 so that the data will not be lost even when the printer is powered off.

A ribbon replacement warning lamp 8 as a notification means is connected to the lamp drive circuit 7 via a resistor 11.The lamp drive circuit 7 is switched on when a lamp drive signal J is supplied from the control section 1. During this time, the ribbon replacement warning lamp 8 is set to be lit.

The life setting switch 9 is a switch for setting the life of the printing ribbon. Since the life of the printing ribbon is determined by the number of times the wire is driven in the print head, this setting converts the maximum allowable number of times the wire is driven, which is obtained in advance through counting and continuous evaluation tests, into a binary signal. This signal is then set on the data bus and via the signal line.

The ribbon exchange switch 10 inputs a signal to the control section 1 that the printing ribbon has been exchanged, and is pressed by the operator.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a control procedure for detecting the lifespan of the printing ribbon in the printer of this embodiment. Therefore, the operation of the circuit configuration shown in FIG. 1 will be explained below together with the flowchart shown in FIG. 2.

First, a wire selection signal A is sent to the print head wire drive circuit 2.
When the wire drive signal B is supplied from the controller 1 and printing is started (step 5T1), the counting circuit 4 also counts the number of wire drives n1 using the wire drive signal B (step 5T2). When the printing operation is completed (step 5T3), the signal E is output from the control unit 1, and the number of wire drives stored in the counting circuit 4 is read out via the data bus C (step 5T4).Next, the signal F is turned on. state and clear the data in the counting circuit 4 via the data bus C (nl→O) L, counting circuit 4
is set to the initial state (step 5T5), and then the control section 1
turns on the signal H and reads the already accumulated cumulative number of wire drives N from the memory 5 via the data bus G (step 5T6), and adds the current count to this cumulative number of wire drives N. Add the number of wire drives n1 and find the value (nl+N) (step 5T7) 0
Next, the value (nl+
N) is compared with the value n2 set via the life setting switch 9 (step S'!"8), and here the value (
If n, 1+N) is equal to or smaller than the set value n2, that is, if (nl+N)≦12, it is determined that the printing ribbon has not reached the end of its life and the process moves to step ST9. Then, in this step ST9, the value (,nl+N
) is stored in the memory 7 as a new cumulative number of wire drives N, and waits for the next printing to start.Meanwhile, in step ST8, the value (nl
+N) is larger than the set value n2, that is, (nl
+N)>2, it is determined that the printing ribbon has reached the end of its life, and the process moves to step 5TIO, where the lamp drive circuit 7 is driven with the signal J, the ribbon replacement warning lamp 8 is lit, and the operator is instructed to replace the printing ribbon. Warns that replacement is required.

At the same time, printing operations are also prohibited. Furthermore, the lighting of the ribbon replacement warning lamp 8 and the prohibition of the printing operation are maintained until the printing ribbon is replaced and the ribbon replacement switch 10 is pressed by the operator. When the ribbon exchange switch 10 is pressed, this is determined in step 5T11, and the control section 1 turns off the ribbon exchange warning lamp 8 (step 5T12), turns on the signal I, and switches the memory 5
Data "0" is written in the memory to clear the cumulative number of wire drives N (N→0) to set the initial state, and at the same time, the prohibition of the printing operation is canceled (step 5T13).

Therefore, according to the printer using the print ribbon life detection method according to this embodiment, the number of times the print head wire is driven in the print head 3 is automatically counted and monitored as the usage amount of the print ribbon, and the specified usage amount is maintained. When this occurs, the ribbon replacement warning lamp 8 as a notification means is lit, and the printing operation is prohibited, thereby prompting the operator to replace the printing ribbon, so that quantitative printing can be performed without relying on the operator's subjectivity. Ribbons can be replaced.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the above-mentioned embodiment, it is of course not limited to this embodiment, and various changes in design may be made.For example, in the above-mentioned embodiment,
Although a structure has been disclosed in which the ribbon replacement warning lamp 10 is turned on as a notification means, the notification may be made by sound,
It is also possible to notify by both a pleasant lamp and a sound. Although the wire dot type printer has been described, it is not limited to the wire dot type, but can be widely applied to printers that use an ink ribbon impregnated with liquid ink. <Effects of the Invention> As explained above, the present invention According to the printing ribbon life detection method according to the above, the number of times the print head is driven is automatically monitored while being counted as the amount of printing ribbon used, and when the specified amount of usage is reached, a notification is sent to the operator by a notification means. Since the ribbon replacement is encouraged, the printing ribbon can be replaced quantitatively, that is, not only the density of the printing ribbon.

Since wear can be included in the determination, it is possible to not only improve the appearance of the print, but also to prevent secondary problems such as breakage of the print head due to print ribbon wear, thereby reducing failures. In addition, since the print density will not fall below the specified level, devices that optically read printed characters, codes, etc. will not be able to mistakenly judge that media printed in the correct format is a reading error or unrecognizable. This eliminates the problem and improves reading accuracy.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a circuit block diagram showing an embodiment of a wire dot type serial printer to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a control procedure for detecting the life of a print ribbon in the printer shown in FIG. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Control part, 2... Print head wire drive circuit, 3... Printing exhaust, 4... Counting circuit, 8... Ribbon replacement warning lamp (notification means), 9... Life setting switch.

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a print ribbon life detection method in a printer that drives a print head to transfer ink on the print ribbon onto a medium, the number of times the print head is driven is counted and accumulated as the amount of use of the print ribbon. and means for notifying when the accumulated number of drives exceeds a specified amount.