JPH05238115A - Printing control method and core for roll sheet, roll sheet, and printing controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To set information of a roll accurately in exchanging a winding roll or the like by a method wherein information of printing conditions is recorded on a surface of a core of a roll sheet for recording and, the information is read to control printing operation. CONSTITUTION:A communication interface 5 gives and receives information between the interface 5 and an outer device such as a host computer or the like. A printing control part 6 performs various printing controls including heating control of a printing head 7, paper feed, feed of a thermal transfer ribbon, contact and separation control between the head and a platen roll, drive control of a spindle motor, etc., by a program stored in a fixed memory 3 or according to input with a key board, input with a switch, etc. A reader control part 11 performs positional control so that a tip part of a printing condition reader (a reader) corresponds to a position wherein printing conditions in a spindle are recorded. A driving motor 9 of a spindle for holding a paper roll is used for the purpose of reading the printing conditions or the like.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method, apparatus, etc. for controlling printing conditions in a printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional thermal printer, when the take-up roll of paper or ink ribbon is changed, the operator sets the condition, and when the take-up of paper or carbon is set on the spindle, the operator takes up the wind. Since the information, such as the type and width of the roll sheet, was confirmed and input, it took a lot of trouble, and printing errors and the like sometimes occurred due to input mistakes.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a method, apparatus, etc. that can set roll information correctly and correctly when exchanging a winding roll without imposing a burden on an operator. It is a thing.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention uses a take-up roll having a take-up information in a paper core and a printer provided with a detector in the spindle, so that the take-up is performed in a spindle in the printer. Information about the roll sheet such as the thickness, width, and type of the roll sheet, and conditions such as print density suitable for this (collectively "print conditions").
(Also referred to as)), and print control is performed.

[0005]

According to the present invention, the winding information can be read by the detector only by setting the paper tube shown in FIG. 2 on the spindle shown in FIG. At this time, as the information display means, when the winding is paper, the thickness of the paper, the width of the paper, the type of paper (whether it is plain paper or thermal paper, etc.), the print density suitable for this, and other conditions are bar code, mark, It is possible to display it in characters or the like.

When displaying with a bar code, a bar code reader is used as a detector, and when a mark is used, a plurality of detectors are used, and the definition is made in advance in the printer.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a schematic system configuration diagram of a printer device according to an embodiment of the present invention. (1) is a data bus line, (2) is a CPU, (3) is print control and various other operations. It is a program storage unit that contains a control program, and is composed of a fixed memory, such as a ROM. (4) is an information storage unit, which is composed of a variable memory, for example, a RAM, and has respective areas of an input buffer memory, a print information storage unit, a data storage unit, and an output buffer memory.

Reference numeral (5) is a communication interface, which sends and receives information to and from an external device such as a host computer, for example, receives print information and print commands from the external device, and sends print status to the external device. I do. (6) is a print control unit, (7) is a print head, (8) is a print sheet, a transfer ribbon for printing, a head / platen roll contact / separation, a feed motor for driving the platen roll, etc. (9) and (9) are spindle motors for driving the spindle for holding the paper tube of the paper, and the motor (9) is used for the purpose of reading printing conditions and other purposes.

The print control unit (6) controls heating of the print head (7), paper feed, and thermal transfer ribbon feed according to a program stored in the fixed memory (3) or in response to keyboard input, switch input, or the like. Performs various print controls including contact / separation control between the head and platen rolls and drive control of the spindle motor. (10) is a printing condition reading device (hereinafter, simply referred to as "reader" as necessary), for example, a bar code reader according to the recording form of the printing conditions, and (11) is a reader control unit for controlling the reader (11). At the time of reading, the tip of the reader (10) is position-controlled so as to correspond to the position in the spindle where the printing conditions are recorded.

2A and 2B show an example of the mechanical structure of the printing condition display / reading section, FIG. 2A is a perspective view, and FIG. 2B is a side view from the axial direction of the paper tube. (12) is a roll paper core,
(13) is a spindle for holding the paper tube, (10) is the reader, and the spindle (13) is provided with a window portion (131) for reading the printing condition record and is attached to the inner surface of the paper tube (12). The paper tube is fitted into the spindle so that the printing condition record (14), for example, the bar code matches the window. To make the print condition recording position on the inner surface of the paper core coincide with the window portion (13) of the spindle, for example, the print condition recording position on the inner surface of the paper, the insertion depth of the paper core (12) of the spindle (13), and the center of both Although it is necessary to regulate the angular relationship on the shaft, regarding the insertion depth and angular relationship, for example, an axial groove is provided at the tip of the paper tube, and a radial pin that fits into this groove is provided near the base of the spindle. If the paper tube is inserted into the spindle and the pin is inserted into the groove and the paper tube is inserted to the position where the pin hits the end of the groove, the position is automatically regulated. Various methods are possible.

The printing condition record is given to the inner surface of the paper core by
It is easier to attach an adhesive sheet that records printing conditions than to record directly. Since printing conditions can be recorded near the entrance of the inner surface of the paper core, these processes can be performed manually or mechanically easily. The window (131) may be a notch or a transparent member, and if the entire spindle or a required portion is made of a transparent material, it is not necessary to pay particular attention to the recording position of the printing condition and the positional relationship between the paper tube and the spindle. Absent.

The reader (10) has a head portion (102) at the tip of the support portion (101), and at the time of reading, the reading window (103) is set in a state corresponding to the printing condition record (14). However, the supporting part (101) is movably held in the axial direction by an appropriate holding mechanism, and normally the entire reader is placed outside the spindle except when reading printing conditions.

3A and 3B are views of another embodiment of the essential part of the device of the present invention, wherein FIG. 3A is a front view and FIG. 3B is a side view in the direction AA 'of FIG. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the printing condition information is recorded on the side surface of the paper tube (12), and the reading window (103) of the reader (10) faces the recording surface of the paper tube (12). Are arranged. The head part (102) of the reader (10) is arranged so as to penetrate through the cut opening (W) provided in the fixed partition wall (15) inside the device, and the main body part is mounted and held on the partition wall (15). In some cases, a window may be formed of a transparent material instead of the opening (W), and the printing condition on the side surface of the paper tube may be read through the window.

Reference numeral (131) is a central axis of the spindle (13), which is rotatably held by a bearing (16) fixed to a partition wall and driven by a spindle motor (9).
The motor (9) is controlled by the print controller (6) as described above. Also in FIG. 3, the form of the printing condition record (14) can be various such as a bar code, a coded minute spot, and a character. In the case of a bar code, the bar direction has the bar arrangement direction in the tangential direction of the circumference of the paper tube (141)
However, in some cases, the bar height direction may be aligned with the tangential direction (142).
Further, in some cases, a bar code (143) may be used in which the radial direction of the paper tube is the height direction of the bar and the bars are arranged in the circumferential direction. The encoded minute spot may be, for example, an array of small circular binarization codes (black and white, shading, unevenness, size, etc.), or binarization depending on the length of the spot.

In the case of FIG. 3 as well, the printing condition is recorded directly on the surface of the paper tube, or the printing condition is recorded in a square or
Stick a ring-shaped or disk-shaped adhesive label on the side of the paper tube, or set a ring-shaped or disk-shaped printing condition recording plate with a part that fits inside the paper tube on the side of the paper tube. It is possible to use various indirect recording methods, such as, and the indirect recording method is simpler.

In any case, a printing condition reading reader, a reading drive mechanism, and a decoding device are provided according to the information form of the printing condition record and the recording form. Recording and reading of the printing conditions on the surface (inner surface, side surface) of the paper tube are not limited to those using the above-mentioned reflection of light, for example, by fluorescence, polarized light, etc., by magnetic recording / reading other than light,
Various other methods are possible.

In the present invention, in the system of FIG. 2, when the roll paper wound around the paper tube (12) is set on the spindle (13), the head portion (12) of the bar code reader causes the printing condition on the surface of the paper tube. Paper conditions (in particular label length, label spacing, etc. in the case of label paper) that have been moved to a position close to the recording position and recorded on the inner surface of the paper core, printing conditions suitable for that paper (print head pressure, head to head) Applied energy) is read.

The read bar code data is decoded as a sheet condition / print condition according to a decoding program in the program storage section (3) and stored in the memory (4). The printing operation is automatically controlled by the printing control unit (6) based on these conditions. The reader (10) in the paper tube may be configured to retreat to an appropriate position immediately after reading the print condition data or after decoding the print condition, or may be retracted after the printing is completed.

In the system of FIG. 3, since the reader (10) faces the printing condition recording surface on the side of the paper tube, when the roll paper is set on the spindle, the spintor is immediately rotated to check the paper condition and the printing condition. The data can be read according to the printing condition of the printing condition, stored in the memory (4), and the printing operation is automatically controlled by the printing control unit (6).

FIG. 4 is an example of the flow of a program for reading and controlling the printing conditions, the program being a RAM.
Stored in the memory (3). The present invention can be variously modified in addition to the above-described embodiment. For example, the detection portion of the reader is formed on the outer surface of the spindle as shown in FIGS.
Various types of devices such as the one that eliminates the need for a moving space for readers, the one that uses magnetic recording and reading of printing conditions, and others are applicable.

[0021]

According to the present invention, it is not necessary to set the paper condition and the print condition in the printer every time the operator replaces the roll paper, and the print condition is re-established even if the operator replaces the roll paper during the winding operation. Can be set. By reading information from this winding, it is useful for automatic adjustment of head pressure, control of applied energy, and the like.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic system configuration diagram of a printer device of the present invention.

2A and 2B are configuration diagrams of a main part of a printing condition setting mechanism used in the apparatus of the present invention, in which FIG. 2A is a front view and FIG. 2B is a right direction of a spindle / paper tube portion in FIG. It is the side view seen from.

FIG. 3 is a main part configuration diagram of another embodiment of a printing condition setting mechanism used in the apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a program showing an example of print control operation of the apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 data bus line 2 CPU 3 program storage unit 4 information storage unit 5 communication interface 6 printing control unit 7 print head 8 feed motor 9 spindle motor 10 printing condition reader 11 reader control unit 12 roll paper core 13 paper core spindle 14 printing condition Recording 15 Internal partition 16 Bearing 101 Leader support 102 Reader head 103 Head window 131 Spindle window 132 Spindle center axis 141-144 Printing condition recording pattern

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Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A printing control method characterized in that information on printing conditions is recorded on the surface of a core of a recording roll sheet and the printing operation is controlled by reading this information. 2. A roll sheet core, wherein information on printing conditions is recorded on a side surface or an inner surface. 3. A roll sheet comprising the core according to claim 2. 4. A print control device comprising: a means for reading information on printing conditions recorded in a core; and a means for controlling a printing operation based on the read information.