JPH0475828B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Summary] When a narrow monochrome ribbon (hereinafter referred to as monochrome ribbon) is installed in a color printer that uses color ribbons arranged in parallel in the width direction of ribbons of multiple colors, By printing with a monochrome ribbon even when a color designation signal is input, it is possible to prevent printing defects.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a color printer such as a wire dot printer that uses a color ribbon in which bands of multiple colors are arranged side by side in the width direction of the ribbon, and especially when a monochrome ribbon narrower than the color ribbon is installed, printing color information is This relates to color printers that can be disabled.

Recently, with the advancement of office automation, various computer terminals, word processors,
A variety of serial printers have been developed and put into practical use as print output machines.

Furthermore, not only characters but also graphics have been printed, and color printers equipped with ribbons of multiple colors have come into widespread use.

This color printer can be installed interchangeably with a wide color ink ribbon (hereinafter referred to as color ribbon) in which bands of multiple colors are arranged side by side in the width direction of the ribbon, and a monochrome ribbon that is narrower than the color ribbon. There is a need for a method that can prevent printing defects even if a color designation signal is sent when using a monochrome ribbon.

[Conventional technology]

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing ink ribbon shift control of the printer.

In the figure, 1 is a data reception unit that receives print information, 2 is a command discrimination unit that discriminates whether it is color or monochrome based on the color/monochrome identification signal a sent from the data reception unit 1, and 3a is the discrimination result of the command discrimination unit 2. a color recognition unit 4a that recognizes the designated color of the color signal sent from the data reception unit 1; The amount of movement L of the color ribbon 11 is calculated from the ribbon movement amount table 4b from the current color (L ₁ , L ₂ , etc. depending on the combination of the specified color and the current color)
A movement amount determination section 7 determines and sends it to the movement amount register 6, issues a shift command to the ribbon shift drive section 7, and updates the current color in the current color register 5 to a new specified color. The shift mechanism 8a is shifted by the amount of movement L sent from the amount of movement register 6.
8a is a shift mechanism that shifts the color ribbon 11 up and down.

Further, 9 is a platen, 10 is a print head, and 11 has multiple color areas on the top and bottom, and as shown in FIG. It is a color ribbon in which each color area is impregnated with a respective color ink.

Since it has such a mechanism and function, to explain the shift control method, first, the print information received by the data receiving section 1 is judged by the command judgment section 2 as to whether it is a color signal or a monochrome signal, and if it is monochrome, the ribbon Since there is no need for shifting, no signal is transmitted, and in this case, since a monochrome ribbon is normally mounted, monochrome printing is performed on printing paper (not shown).

If the determination result is color, a signal indicating color is sent to the color recognition section 3a. Color recognition section 3a
Based on this signal, it recognizes what color the designated color signal sent from the data receiving section 1 is, and sends the recognized designated signal to the movement amount determining section 4a.

The movement amount determination section 4a determines the movement amount L of the color ribbon 11 from the ribbon movement amount table 4b based on the specified color and the current color, sends it to the movement amount register 6, and issues a shift command to the ribbon shift drive section 7.

The ribbon shift drive unit 7 operates the shift mechanism 8a according to the shift command and the movement amount L from the movement amount register 6.
is driven to shift the color ribbon 11 to a designated color. Further, the movement amount determining section 4a sends the specified color to the current color register 5 to change it.

In this manner, the print head 10 prints the specified color on the printing paper under the drive control of the print control section (not shown) or the like. In this way, color printing can be performed.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

According to the above conventional method, it is determined whether the print is in color or monochrome based on the print information, and the shift control is performed when it is color, and the ink ribbon installed in the printer is shifted regardless of whether it is color or monochrome. If the ribbon is loaded and there is a color specification signal in the print information, the monochrome ribbon will be shifted, so the narrow monochrome ribbon will come off the tip of the print head, resulting in poor printing and the print information will have to be received again. Therefore, it is necessary to reprint the image, which results in the effort and time of reprinting and the waste of paper. Furthermore, even if there is a case where it is desired to print print information that includes a color designation signal using a monochrome ribbon, only color printing is possible. There is a problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a color printer that can print with a monochrome ribbon even when print information includes a color designation signal, and can prevent printing defects.

[Means for solving problems]

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of the principle of the present invention.

In the figure, 8 is a shift mechanism that shifts the multicolor ink ribbon, which is set between the platen and the print head and is arranged in parallel in the width direction of the ribbon, to a designated print color position, and 3 is print information. 4 is a movement amount determination unit that determines the shift amount of the multicolor ink ribbon from the current print color based on the print color recognized by the print color recognition unit 3. Section 14 provides print color information to the movement amount determining section 4 in response to an ink ribbon recognition signal indicating whether the loaded ink ribbon is a multicolor ink ribbon or a monochrome ink ribbon narrower in width than the multicolor ink ribbon. This is a determination unit that controls the supply of.

Therefore, when the ink ribbon identification signal indicates a multicolor ink ribbon, printing color information is supplied under the control of the determination section 14, and the multicolor ink ribbon is selected by the shift amount determined by the movement amount determination section 4. When the ink ribbon identification signal indicates a monochrome ink ribbon, the printing color information is not supplied to the movement amount determining unit 4 under the control of the determining unit 14.
It is configured to print in a specific color.

[Effect]

The print color recognition section 3 recognizes the print color from the input print information and sends the print color information to the determination section 14 . When the ink ribbon identification signal is a color ribbon identification signal, the determination unit 14 transmits the print color information to the movement amount determination unit 4.
The shift mechanism 8 is driven by determining the feed movement amount.

When the ink ribbon identification signal is a monochrome ribbon identification signal, print color information is not supplied to the movement amount determining section 4. Therefore, ribbon shift is not performed, so
Printing continues as it is, resulting in monochrome printing, which prevents printing defects and eliminates the trouble and time of reprinting and the waste of paper.

[Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the block diagram of FIG. In FIG. 2, parts corresponding to those in FIG. 1 are shown surrounded by a dashed line. Also, the same reference numerals as in FIG. 4 indicate the same objects.

In FIG. 2, a micro switch 12 is a detection means for detecting the type of ink ribbon mounted, that is, whether it is a color ribbon 11 or a monochrome ribbon.

The color/monochrome register 13 is a memory that is reset when the power is turned on and stores the results of detection by the microswitch 12.

The ribbon determination unit 14a determines whether the designated color signal sent from the color recognition unit 3a and the detection result stored in the color/monochrome register 13 match (color) or not (monochrome), and determine whether they match. It has a function of supplying a designated color signal to the movement amount determining section 4a only when the specified color signal is detected.

Since it has such a configuration and function, the shift control method will be explained using the flowchart shown in Figure 3. First, when the printer is turned on, the color/
When the monochrome register 13 is reset and either the color ribbon 11 or the monochrome ribbon is loaded, the microswitch 12 detects this and the ink ribbon detection signal and identification signal are stored in the color/monochrome register 13.

Print information is received by the data receiving section 1.

A color/monochrome identification signal a is sent from the data receiving section 1 to the command determining section 2, and it is determined whether the image is color or monochrome.

When it is determined that the image is monochrome, printing is performed without any shift operation.

When it is determined that the color is a color, the color recognition unit 3a is activated and the designated color is recognized based on the print color designation signal b sent from the data reception unit 1. That is,
Recognizes black, blue, red, and yellow.

When the designated color signal is sent to the ribbon determination section 14a, it is determined whether or not it matches the color identification signal of the detection result stored in the color/monochrome register 13, and if they match, the designated color signal is used to determine the amount of movement. It is supplied to section 4a.

If there is a mismatch, that is, if the signal is a monochrome identification signal, the designated color signal is not supplied to the movement amount determining section 4a.

Movement amount determination unit 4a that receives the specified color signal
checks the current print color in the current color register 5,
The moving amount L is determined from the designated color signal and the current color using the ribbon moving amount table 4b.

The movement amount L is sent to the movement amount register 6 and stored.

Next, a shift command is sent to the ribbon shift drive unit 7, which drives the shift mechanism 8a to perform a ribbon shift of the moving amount L sent from the moving amount register 6.

On the other hand, the movement amount determination section 4a
Change the current color of .

Ribbon shift control is performed in this way.

Next, a different embodiment is shown in FIG. Second
The same reference numerals as in the figure indicate the same objects.

The difference between FIG. 4 and the above-described embodiment is that, when a monochrome ribbon is mounted, instead of the detection using the micro switch 12, an instruction method using an operation button is used to reduce costs.

That is, as shown in the figure, the operator panel 15
An instruction input button 15a is provided for inputting an instruction by an operator when a monochrome ribbon is mounted on the machine.

Therefore, when the instruction input button 15a is pressed, the ink ribbon identification signal is input to the color/monochrome register 1.
3. The subsequent steps are the same as in FIG. 2.

When a monochrome ribbon is set in the printer in this manner, no ribbon shift is performed even if a color command is received, so monochrome printing continues as is. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the monochrome ribbon from being shifted and printing without the ribbon, resulting in printing defects or from erasing printed information.

Further, the present invention can be similarly applied to cases where the color ribbon 11 and the monochrome ribbon are housed and mounted in a ribbon cassette, or when they are wound and mounted on a spool.

Furthermore, although the above example describes the case of a wire dot printer, the same effect can be obtained by generally applying it to other serial printers that perform color printing by shifting an ink ribbon having a multicolor configuration.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, when printing information specifies color printing, it is possible to print with either a color ribbon or a monochrome ribbon, and when the monochrome ribbon is installed, it is shifted by the specified color print command and the monochrome ribbon is printed. This prevents the printer from coming off the head and causing printing defects.Although the original print information specifies color printing, if the purpose can be achieved with monochrome printing, it is time-consuming to receive the print information again and print again. This has the advantage that it is possible to prevent wastage of time and paper, and that it is also possible to print print information that includes a color designation signal using a monochrome ribbon.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of the principle of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the invention, Fig. 3 is a flowchart of the embodiment, Fig. 4 is a block diagram of main parts of a different embodiment, and Fig. 5 6 is a block diagram of main parts showing a conventional method, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a color ribbon. In the figure, 1 is a data receiving section, 2 is a command discrimination section, 3 is a print color recognition section, 3a is a color recognition section, 4, 4a is a movement amount judgment section, 4b is a ribbon movement amount table, 5 is a current color register, 6 is a movement amount register, 7 is a ribbon shift drive unit, 8 and 8a are shift mechanisms, 9 is a platen, 10 is a print head, 1
1 is a color ribbon, 12 is a micro switch, 1
3 is a color/monochrome register, 14 is a judgment unit,
Reference numeral 14a indicates a ribbon determination section, 15 indicates an operator panel, and 15 indicates an instruction input button.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A shift mechanism 8 for shifting a multicolor ink ribbon set between a platen and a print head and having a plurality of color bands arranged side by side in the width direction of the ribbon to a designated print color position; Recognition unit 3 that receives print information and recognizes print color
and a movement amount determination unit 4 that determines a shift amount of the multicolor ink ribbon from the current print color based on the print color recognized by the recognition unit 3, and the movement amount determination unit 4 determines the shift amount from the current print color. The multicolor ink ribbon is shifted by the shift mechanism 8 by the shift movement amount, and the printing head prints on the print medium via the multicolor ink ribbon, and the monochrome ink ribbon is narrower in width than the multicolor ink ribbon. Ink ribbon identification indicating the type of ink ribbon, whether the installed ink ribbon is the multicolor ink ribbon or the monochrome ink ribbon, in a color printer capable of printing by mounting an ink ribbon independently. A determination unit 14 is provided which controls the supply of printing color information to the movement amount determination unit 4 according to the signal, and when the ink ribbon identification signal indicates a multicolor ink ribbon, the determination unit 14 controls the ink ribbon. When the printing color information is supplied and the multicolor ink ribbon is shifted and printed by the shift amount determined by the shift amount determining section 4, and the ink ribbon identification signal is a monochrome ink ribbon, Without supplying the printing color information to the movement amount determining section 4 under the control of the determining section 14,
A color printer that prints in a specific color. 2. The color printer according to claim 1, wherein the ink ribbon identification signal is a detection signal from a detection unit that detects the type of the loaded ink ribbon. 3. The color printer according to claim 1, wherein the ink ribbon identification signal is an input signal of an instruction input unit into which the type of the ink ribbon is input.