JPH04255370A - Printing region enlarging apparatus of printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enlarge a printing region while achieving the miniaturization of an apparatus by separately performing the printing of a certain range and the printing of an acceleration range at a constant speed by a printing head. CONSTITUTION:A printing signal is transmitted to a printing head 21 from a control means 20 and the initial position of the rotation of a timing belt 22 or the movement of the head 21 is detected by a sensor 25 and grasped on the basis of the number of the driving pulses generated by a control means 20. The motion range of the head 21 drawn on printing paper 28 is set so that the left end 1 thereof is a stop position and a next position 6 is a deceleration start position at the time of backward movement and a next position 2 is an acceleration completion position and symmetric to those positions on the right end side thereof. At the time of printing, the acceleration of the forward movement of the head 21 is started from the stop position of the left end and printing is started at the position 2 where the head reaches a definite speed range to perform printing operation up to the right side deceleration start position 3. The head 21 is reversely moved rearwardly without performing line feed and the printing within the left side acceleration range (positions 2-6) is performed before line feed.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing area enlarging method for enlarging the printing area of a printer in the direction of the number of printing digits.

The printer device to which the present invention is applied is a serial printer that performs printing while reciprocating a print head such as a thermal type, wire dot type, or ink jet type in the printing line direction.

In this type of printer device, there is a demand for printing on paper of a predetermined size while minimizing the external size of the device. For example, when built into various small devices such as word processors and facsimile machines, or when used in combination with notebook or book-type control devices, printer devices should be made as small and lightweight as possible. It is desirable that the Even in this case, the minimum requirement of printing with a predetermined number of digits and character spacing on paper of a predetermined size must be met.

The print area of a serial printer is determined by the range of movement of the print head. Therefore, in order to expand the print area, it is necessary to expand the movable range of the print head, contrary to the demand for miniaturization.

[0005]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 5 shows the configuration of a printer device. The print head 1 is supported by a carriage 3 attached to a timing belt 2. The timing belt 2 is driven by a stepping motor 4 that rotates in accordance with the number of applied pulses. In order to print with accurate character spacing in such printer devices,
It is necessary to perform a printing operation while the print head 1 moves at a constant speed.

However, the carriage 3 containing the print head 1
has a considerable mass, and its speed of movement is affected by inertia. The relationship between the movement range and speed of the print head 1 in forward movement is shown in FIG. 6(A). For convenience of explanation, the movement of the print head 1 from the left end to the right end in the drawing is referred to as forward movement, and the movement of the print head 1 from the right end to the left end in the drawing is referred to as backward movement. An acceleration range R1 is required until the constant speed S is reached after the start of movement,
The range of constant speed S is R2. Note that R3 is the deceleration range. The entire movement range of carriage 3 is R1 +R
2 +R3.

Therefore, even if the print head 1 starts moving, actual printing cannot be started during the acceleration range R1. If printing is attempted, the character spacing will be uneven and sufficient printing quality cannot be maintained.

Therefore, in a printer device that only performs forward printing, a constant speed range R2 is obtained by excluding the acceleration range R1 and the deceleration range R3 from the entire movement range of the print head 1.
A print head movement mechanism was used to ensure that only the desired printing range was achieved.

Furthermore, the relationship between the moving range and speed of the print head 1 in the case of double movement is shown in FIG. 6 (B).
The relationship is the reverse of (A). Here, acceleration range R
1', constant speed S range R2', deceleration range R3'
It is. Therefore, in a printer device that performs printing while reciprocating, it becomes difficult to print in the areas belonging to the acceleration ranges R1 and R1' on both sides in order to align the line start and line end positions, and the printable area becomes even narrower.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a reciprocating printing operation in the printer device as shown in FIG. Assuming that a printing command is received when the print head 1 is at the left end stop position ■ in FIG. 6 during printing operation, the print head 1 starts forward movement.
Acceleration operation is performed to position ■ (step S1). The print head moves at a constant speed from the position (2) to the position (2), but the printing operation continues until the acceleration end position (2) during the backward movement (step S2).

[0011] Next, the print head is moved at a constant speed until the deceleration position ■ without printing (step S3).
. Next, perform deceleration operation from the deceleration position ■, and move to the right end position ■
It stops at (step S4). Then, printing of one line is finished and a new line is started (step S5).

Next, the print head 1 shifts to a double printing operation. That is, as in step S6, the print head 1 reverses and moves back from the right end stop position (2). Then, it accelerates, reaches a constant speed at position (2), and executes the necessary printing operation until position (2). From the position ■ to the deceleration start point ■, the print head is moved at a constant speed without printing for the same reason as described above (step S8). Next, as in step S9, the vehicle is decelerated from the position ■ to the left end position ■, and then stopped (step S9). In this way, the printing of the second line is completed, and a changeover operation is performed (step S10). Thereafter, the same operation is repeated.

The printable area in this case is as shown in FIG.
R2, which has a constant speed during both forward and backward movements in (B)
The overlapping region between R2' and R2' is only from position ■ to position ■, and is much narrower. This situation has been an obstacle to device miniaturization.

[0014]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and provides a printer device that can expand the printable area in the direction of the number of print digits as much as possible and achieve miniaturization of the device external size. The purpose of this invention is to provide a method for enlarging the printing area.

[0015]

[Means for Solving the Problems] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the principle configuration for implementing a printing area enlarging method of a printer device according to the present invention. In the figure, 21 is a print head, which performs printing operations under the control of the control means 20. 2
A stepping motor 4 rotates in response to drive pulses generated by the control means 20, and moves the print head 21 over its entire movement range through a synchronous transmission mechanism (not shown). A sensor 25 detects the position of the print head 21.

In the present invention, the output of the sensor 25 of the print head 21 is used as a reference, and the output of the stepping motor 24 is
In combination with the number of driving pulses applied to the print head 2,
1 is accurately controlled by control means 20. Therefore, the control means 20 also detects the acceleration range and constant speed range of the print head 21.

The present invention is characterized by a method of expanding the printable area by separately performing printing in a range where the print head 21 is at a constant speed and printing in an acceleration range. Printing in the constant speed range is performed during forward movement, and printing in the acceleration range is performed when the print head 21 is at a constant speed during backward movement. Note that it is possible to appropriately select which printing is performed first.

[0018]

[Operation] The print area enlarging method of the printer device according to the present invention prints in a range where at least a constant speed is reached when the print head 21 moves forward. The portion corresponding to the acceleration range during the forward movement, that is, the portion not printed during the forward movement, is controlled to be printed within a constant speed range during the backward movement of the print head 21. As a result, it becomes possible to print in the area within the acceleration range of the print head 21, which has been difficult in the past, and the printable area is expanded.

In this method, it is also possible to perform printing within a constant speed range during forward movement, perform backward movement from the line end position without starting a line, and print the remaining portion in the process. In addition, when starting printing, a non-printing forward movement of about 2 to 3 times the acceleration range, that is, an empty forward movement is performed, and in the process of reversing after stopping and returning, the acceleration range during the forward movement is printed in advance, It is also possible to perform printing within a constant speed range during forward movement by reversing the line without starting a line at the end of the line. In the case of the latter control, reciprocating printing can be performed by this method by performing similar control at the opposite row end.

[0020]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration for implementing the printable area expansion method of a printer device according to the present invention. In the figure, the control means 20 applies a drive pulse to the stepping motor 24 via the motor drive 26 to cause it to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise. The stepping motor 24 drives the print head 21 via the timing belt 22 to move the print head 21 along the arrow 29 on the print paper 28.
Make it reciprocate like this. During this time, signals necessary for printing are transmitted to the print head 21 from the control means 20. The rotation of the timing belt 22 or the movement of the print head 21 is
The sensor 25 detects the initial position. These amounts of rotation or movement can be reliably determined by the number of drive pulses generated by the control means 20.

In the range of movement of the print head 21 drawn on the print paper 28, the left end ■ is the stop position, the next position ■ is the deceleration start position during the backward movement, and the next position ■ is the acceleration end position. The rightmost side is also the same as these. Note that the deceleration range (position
~■) depends on the weight of the print head 21 and the structure of the carriage, but generally it is 1/3 to 1/3 of the acceleration range (position ■~■).
It's only about 4.

The conventional printable area is shown in FIG.
There was only an overlap between constant speed range R2 or R2 and R2' in the speed--travel range curve. In the present invention, the printable area is enlarged by controlling printing on areas belonging to the acceleration range in addition to the constant speed range so that the only unprintable areas are the deceleration areas R3 and R3'. It is.

In printing, the print head 21 starts forward acceleration from the left end stop position (2), starts printing at the position (2) when it reaches a certain speed range, and continues printing until it reaches the right deceleration start position (3). Then, print head 21 without line break.
is reversed, and after printing within the left acceleration range (positions ■ to ■), a line feed is performed. Thereafter, by repeating the same operation, the printable area can be expanded to include the range up to the deceleration start position (2) or (2) in addition to the constant speed range.

Further, the print head 21 is moved forward in a non-printing state from the left end stop position to about three times the acceleration range during forward movement, that is, moved forward in an empty state, and then reversed and moved back to subtract the deceleration range from the acceleration range. It is also possible to perform printing in the area (■ to ■), temporarily stop at the left end, then reverse and move forward without performing a line feed, and print from a constant speed range to the right deceleration position. After stopping at the right-hand stop position, the machine starts a reverse movement in a non-printing state with a line feed, and performs an empty return movement up to about three times the right-side acceleration range. From that point, it is reversed and moved forward to print the area (■ to ■) obtained by subtracting the deceleration range from the right acceleration range, and is stopped at the right stop position. Thereafter, the printing operation shifts to reverse and backward motion without line feed, and print operation is executed from the constant speed range to the left deceleration start position.

By controlling in this manner, the method according to the present invention can be adopted even in reciprocating printing, and the printable area can be expanded. In this case, if there are no characters to be printed in the right end range, the operation on the right side is simplified.

Each of these control methods can be controlled so that normal printing operations are performed only within a constant speed range, and are executed only when it is particularly necessary to enlarge the printing area. This can be easily carried out by controlling the control means 20 to operate only when the printing range expansion mode is set.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the first embodiment of the control method according to the present invention. When a printing start command is received while the print head is stopped at the left end position ■, the print head 21 starts moving and accelerates to position ■ (
Step S11). Next, constant speed forward movement and printing operation are performed from position ■ to position ■ (step S12
).

[0028] Next, the speed is decelerated from the position ■, and the right end position ■
The process stops at step S13. Next, reversal/backward movement is started without line feed (step S14). After reaching a certain speed, it moves to position ■ without printing on the line that was used when it moved forward, and from position ■ to position ■, it moves at a constant speed and characters that were not printed during the previous forward movement. (Step S)
15). Then, it decelerates from the position ■ and stops at the left end position ■ (step S16). Then, printing of one line is finished, a new line is started (step S17), and the same operation is repeated.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the second embodiment of the control method according to the present invention. The print head at the leftmost stop position (■) is idle-fed by about three times the acceleration distance (step S21). From that position, the printer is reversed and moved back and forth, and printing is performed from position (2) to position (2) at a constant speed (step S22). Next, the vehicle is decelerated and stopped from position ① to position ② (step S23).

Next, it is reversed at the left end position (3) and moves forward, and printing is performed between position (2) and (2) (step S24). Next, the vehicle is decelerated and stopped from position ① to position ② (step S25).

Next, printing of the first line is finished, and a line feed is performed (step S26). Then, the backward motion is started from position ■, and the blank feed is performed by about three times the acceleration distance (step S2
7). From that position, it is reversed and moved forward, and printing is performed at a constant speed from position (2) to position (2) (step S28). After that, it decelerates and stops at the right end position (step S29).

Next, the backward motion is started at the right end, and the speed is accelerated from position 2 to 2. When a constant speed is reached, printing is performed from position 2 to 2 (step S30). Next, position■
It decelerates from then on, stops at the left end position (■), and finishes printing the second line (step S31). Next, a change operation is performed prior to the subsequent printing operation (step S32), and the same operation is repeated thereafter.

[0033]

As described above, according to the printing area enlarging method of the printer device according to the present invention, the printable area can be expanded while using the same print head feeding mechanism as in the conventional printer. This printing area enlarging method can be operated in this manner all the time, or can be configured to be selectable between the normal printing area mode and the enlarged printing area mode. In the latter case, it is also possible to perform printing in the normal printing area mode with emphasis on printing speed, and to select an enlargement mode as necessary.

According to the printing area enlarging method of the printer device according to the present invention, it is possible to achieve a more enlarged printing area even if the external dimensions and the print head moving mechanism are maintained as in the conventional structure. Therefore, it can be advantageously applied when built into various small devices, when configuring a small portable printer device, etc.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the principle configuration of a system that executes a print area expansion method for a printer device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment suitable for implementing the print area enlarging method according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the first embodiment of the print area enlarging method according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of a second embodiment of the print area enlarging method according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a printer device for explaining a print area of a printer device according to the prior art.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the moving range and moving speed of the print head of the printer device.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a printing operation according to the prior art.

[Explanation of symbols]

20 Control means 21 Print head 24 Stepping motor 25 Position sensor

Claims (4)

[Claims] Claim 1: In a printing area expansion method of a printer device for expanding the printing area in the printing digit direction of the printer, a range in which the printing head accelerates from the start of movement to a constant speed, and a range in which the printing head reaches a certain speed. A printing area enlarging method for a printer device, characterized in that a printing operation is performed by dividing into a second area and a second area. 2. When the print head moves forward, printing is performed in the range after reaching a certain speed, and when the print head moves backward, printing is performed in the range of the unprinted portion during the printing operation. A printing area enlarging method for a printer device according to claim 1. [Claim 3] After the print head is moved forward for a predetermined number of digits in a non-printing state, it is reversed and the acceleration range during forward movement is printed within a constant range of backward movement speed, and the acceleration range during the forward movement is constant during subsequent reverse movement. Claim 1 characterized in that printing is performed in a speed range.
The printing area expansion method of the described printer device. 4. A print head (21) and a detection means (21) for detecting that the print head (21) has reached a certain position.
25); and control means (20) for starting a printing operation in either reciprocating motion of the print head (21) in response to the output of the detection means (25).