JPH05254182A - Self-advancing printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate generation of trouble caused by hand deflection by moving by itself on a recording paper and eliminate deflection to be generated in a printed matter by determining by itself print start position. CONSTITUTION:A self-advancing printer comprises a printer body 100 for printing by moving itself in optional directions on a recording paper. In the printer, a print head 200 for printing on the recording paper, edge sensors 310a-310d as position detecting means for detecting a position of the printer body 100 with respect to the recording paper, and spheres 410a-410d as moving means for moving the printer body 100 in optional directions on the recording paper are provided. Printing will be started after the printer body has moved automatically to a print start position on the recording paper in accordance with printing information.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a self-propelled printer which prints while moving on recording paper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional printers include a type that prints while moving a recording sheet and a type that prints while moving on a stationary recording sheet (hereinafter referred to as "scanner type"). It was Among them, various types of scanner type printers have been invented and implemented because they have the advantage of being able to print freely without being restricted by the size, shape or paper quality of the recording paper.

An example of such a scanner type printer will be described with reference to FIGS. Such a printer has a print head built into the printer body 500.
510, an external interface 550 for inputting print information from an external personal computer, word processor 570, etc., a program ROM 560, and a buffer memory 540 for temporarily storing print information. In such a scanner type printer, printing is performed by pressing the print button 520 provided on the side surface of the printer main body 500 with the thumb and moving the recording paper P by hand (FIG. 8, FIG. 8). 10 S ₁ ).

At this time, the moving amount detecting means 520 built in the printer main body 500 detects the moving amount of the printer main body 500 (see S _{2 in} FIG. 10), and the print information is buffered at a speed corresponding to the moving amount. 540 to print head 510
Is output to (see S _{3 in} FIG. 10). For example, as the movement amount detecting means 520, as shown in FIG. 9, a magnetizing disk 521 rotatably supported inside the printer body 500, and a magnetic sensor 522 for detecting the rotation of the magnetizing disk 521. There are things that consist of. In this case, the output from the magnetic detection sensor 522 is sent to the CPU 530, and the CPU 530 calculates the movement amount of the printer body 500 from the number of pulses from the magnetic detection sensor 522. And
The print information is output to the print head 510 at a speed according to the movement amount, and the print head 510 prints (S _{4 in} FIG. 10).
See). Then, all the print information is output and the printing is completed (see S _{5 in} FIG. 10).

[0005]

However, the above-mentioned scanner type printer has the following problems. That is, since the printer main body is manually moved during printing, distortion due to camera shake is apt to occur as shown in FIG. 12A, which is not suitable for printing on a large recording paper P. In addition, since the human visually adjusts the print start position, the print result is shown in FIG.
As shown in (B), the recording paper P may be bent with respect to the edge.

The present invention was devised in view of the above circumstances. By moving itself on a recording paper to eliminate the adverse effects caused by camera shake, and by judging the print start position by itself, It is an object of the present invention to provide a self-propelled printer in which the printed result does not bend.

[0007]

A self-propelled printer according to the present invention is a self-propelled printer having a printer body for printing while moving on a recording paper in an arbitrary direction. It is equipped with a print head for printing, position detection means for detecting the position of the printer main body with respect to the recording paper, and moving means for moving the printer main body on the recording paper in any direction, and records according to print information. The printing is started after automatically moving to the printing start position on the paper.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a self-propelled printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of moving means for rotationally driving a sphere, and FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of the moving means. Figure,
FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a specific means for bringing the roller of the drive means into contact with the sphere, FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of the position detection means, and FIG. 6 is a movement of the self-propelled printer to a print start position. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the movement to the print start position when the self-propelled printer is placed obliquely with respect to the recording paper.

The self-propelled printer according to this embodiment is a printer main body for printing while moving on the recording paper P by itself.
A self-propelled printer having 100, a print head 200 for printing on a recording sheet P, and a position detecting means 300 for detecting the position of the printer body 100 with respect to the recording sheet P.
And a moving means 400 for moving the printer main body 100 on the recording paper P in an arbitrary direction, and automatically starts printing after automatically moving to the print start position on the recording paper P according to the print information. Is configured.

This self-propelled printer has a rectangular printer body 100, and a print head 200, a position detecting means 300, and a moving means 40 are provided inside the printer body 100.
0 and a CPU and the like for controlling them are provided.

As the print head 200, any one of known heat transfer type print heads used in conventional printers can be used. The print head 200 is installed substantially in the center of the printer body 100. When the printer body 100 is placed on the recording paper P, the print head 200 comes into contact with the recording paper P with a predetermined contact pressure. Is set to.

On the other hand, the position detecting means 300 for detecting the position of the printer body 100 has four sets of edge sensors 310a to 310d provided at four corners of the printer body 100.
As shown in FIG. 5, each of these edge sensors 310a to 310d comprises a light emitting element 310 such as an LED lamp and a light receiving element 320 such as a photodiode, and the light from the light emitting element 310 is reflected by the recording paper P or the desk D. The light is then incident on the light receiving element 320.

This is because the white recording paper P and the brown desk D have different reflectances.
The output of 320 is input to the comparator 340 via the amplifier 330. The output of the comparator 340 is guided to the CPU, and the CPU determines whether each of the edge sensors 310a to 310d is on the recording paper P or the desk D.

The moving means 400 is provided in the printer body 100.
Four spheres 410a to 410d that are rotatably supported in the corners, a total of eight motors that rotate the spheres 410a to 410d in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, respectively, and the rotation of this motor is a sphere.
And rollers for transmitting to 410a to 410d. The four spheres 410a to 410d are two block bearings 480 with a part of the spheres 410a to 410d protruding from the back surface of the printer body 100.
Supported by U and 480D. The spheres 410a to 410d are rotationally driven as follows.

That is, each of the spheres 410a to 410d has two motors, a roller rotatably driven by each motor, and each of the spheres 410a to 41d of this roller.
It is combined with a solenoid that turns on and off contact with 0d.

Since all four spheres 410a to 410d have the same structure, the sphere 410a will be described as an example.
An X-axis roller 420x for rotating the sphere 410a in the X-axis direction and a Y-axis roller 420y for rotating the sphere 410a in the Y-axis direction orthogonal to the X-axis can come into contact with the sphere 410a. There is. Each of these rollers 420x and 420y has a support shaft 450.
x, 450y are rotatably supported by bearings 490x, 490y formed on the printer body 100, and support shafts 450x, 45y
An X-axis motor 430x and a Y-axis motor 430y are connected to 0y by flexible joints 440x and 440y. X axis, Y
DC pulse motors are used for the shaft motors 430x and 430y, and rotate according to the number of input pulses.

Further, the support shaft 450y is engaged with a pair of springs 460y and an operating rod 471y of a Y-axis solenoid 470y whose tip is bent to form a hook. Spring 46
0y is the Y-axis roller 42 when no external force is applied.
Elastically urge the 0y to contact the sphere 410a. On the other hand, when the Y-axis solenoid 470y is actuated, the support shaft 450y is lifted, so that the Y-axis roller 420y and the spherical body 410a.
The contact state with is to be released. Note that X
The shaft roller 420x has the same structure.

On the surfaces of the four spheres 410a to 410d,
A flexible rubber or synthetic resin is coated so as not to damage the recording paper P.

The amount of movement of the printer main body 100 by the moving means 400 thus constructed is detected as follows. That is, a rotating body provided with a striped black-and-white pattern is attached to the output shaft of each motor, and a change in the black-and-white pattern is detected by a light emitting element such as an LED lamp and a light receiving element such as a photodiode. The detection result is CP
It is realized by sending it to U. It should be noted that the detection of the movement amount is not limited to this method, and another method, for example, as described in the section of the prior art, the rotation of the magnetized disk is detected by the magnetic detection sensor. Good.

Next, the operation of the self-propelled printer thus constructed will be described. The self-propelled printer receives print information from a personal computer, word processor, etc., not shown, and stores it in a RAM serving as a buffer memory. This print information is CP
It is sent to the print head 200 via U and printing is performed.

This self-propelled printer moves to a print start position (upper left portion of the recording paper P) prior to printing. That is, when this self-propelled printer is placed on the recording paper P,
Position detection is performed by the edge sensors 310a to 310d of the position detection means 300.

For example, as shown in FIG. 6A, the upper left and lower left edge sensors 310a and 310c are on the desk D, and the upper right and lower right edge sensors 310b and 310d are on the recording paper P. Think about the case. In this case, since the self-propelled printer is determined to be in a position straddling the left end portion PL of the recording paper P, the moving unit 400 moves the self-propelled printer to the right (FIG. 6 (B)). reference). That is, each X-axis solenoid brings the X-axis roller into contact with the spheres 410a to 410d, and only the X-axis motor of the eight motors driving the spheres 410a to 410d is rotated. As a result, the printer body 100 of the self-propelled printer moves to the right.

The printer main body 100 moves to the right side, and as shown in FIG.
When 0a and 310c detect the recording paper P, the rotation of each X-axis motor is stopped and each sphere of each X-axis roller is stopped.
The contact with 410a to 410d is released. As a result, the self-propelled printer has reached the correct position in the left-right direction (X-axis direction).

Next, movement in the vertical direction (Y-axis direction) is performed (see FIG. 6D). That is, the upper left and upper right edge sensors 310a and 310b move upward until they detect the upper end PU of the recording paper P. In this case, each Y
The axis solenoid brings the Y-axis roller into contact with each of the spheres 410a to 410d and rotates only the Y-axis motor. Then, the edge sensors 310a, 310b on the upper left and the upper right
Detects the upper edge PU of the recording paper P (FIG. 6 (E))
), The rotation of the Y-axis motor is stopped, and the contact of the Y-axis roller with each of the spheres 410a to 410d is released. As a result, the self-propelled printer accurately reaches the print start position.

In this case, the print start position is located inside by the distance between the upper left edge sensor 310a and the print head 200, that is, the distance between the upper left end of the recording paper P and the print head 200. Will be set. When the user wants to arbitrarily set the print start position, the data corresponding to the arbitrary position can be input in a personal computer or the like in advance, and the position corresponding to the data can be set as the stamp start position.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7A, when the upper left and lower left edge sensors 310a and 310c are dislocated from the recording paper P and the self-propelled printer is placed obliquely with respect to the recording paper P. The self-propelled printer is indicated by the arrow θ in Fig. 7 (B).
It is necessary to move the recording paper P in the direction to face the recording paper P directly.

In this case, first, the printer main body 100
Moves to the right. With this movement, the upper left edge sensor 310a detects the recording paper P before the lower left edge sensor 310c. When the upper left edge sensor 310a detects the recording paper P, the sphere 410a is fixed and used as a fulcrum, and the spheres 410b and 410c are set in a free state, and the sphere 410d is
Is rotated in the X-axis direction. Then, the printer body 100
Moves circularly in the direction of arrow θ around the sphere 410a. If the lower left edge sensor 310c detects the recording paper P, the printer main body 100 is directly facing the recording paper P, and thereafter, the same as in FIGS. 6C to 6E. ..

In order to fix the sphere 410a, the X-axis roller 420x and the Y-axis roller 420y are brought into contact with the sphere 410a,
Further, it is realized by not driving the X-axis motor 430x and the Y-axis motor 430y that rotate these. on the other hand,
To free the sphere 410b, use X for the sphere 410b.
It is realized by not contacting the sphere 410b with the axis roller and the Y axis roller.

Although the recording paper P is white and the desk D is brown in the above-mentioned embodiment, the recording paper P is actually the desk D.
It may be darker in color. To cope with such a case, it is possible to provide a color tone changeover switch.

[0030]

The self-propelled printer according to the present invention is a self-propelled printer having a printer body for printing while moving on a recording paper in an arbitrary direction by itself. It is equipped with a head, a position detecting means for detecting the position of the printer main body with respect to the recording paper, and a moving means for moving the printer main body on the recording paper in an arbitrary direction, and printing on the recording paper according to print information. Since it is configured to start printing after automatically moving to the start position, it differs from the conventional scanner type printer in that the print start position is misaligned and the print result is not correct. There is no distortion caused by

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a self-propelled printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of a moving unit that rotationally drives a sphere.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of the moving means.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a specific means for bringing the roller of the driving means into contact with the spherical body.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a position detection unit.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating movement of the self-propelled printer to a print start position.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating movement of the self-propelled printer to a print start position when the self-propelled printer is placed obliquely with respect to the recording paper.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a method of using a conventional scanner type printer.

FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram of movement amount detection means in a conventional scanner type printer.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the operation of a conventional scanner type printer.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a conventional scanner type printer.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a problem of a conventional scanner type printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 100 Printer body 200 Print head 300 Position detecting means 400 Moving means 410a to 410d Sphere P Recording paper

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A self-propelled printer having a printer main body for printing while moving on a recording paper in an arbitrary direction by itself, and detecting a print head for printing on the recording paper and a position of the printer main body with respect to the recording paper. It is equipped with a position detecting means for moving the printer body and a moving means for moving the printer body in any direction on the recording paper, and automatically starts printing after moving to the print start position on the recording paper according to the print information. A self-propelled printer that is characterized by: 2. The position detecting means has an edge sensor for detecting an edge portion of the recording paper, which is a boundary between the recording paper and a desk or the like on which the recording paper is arranged. Self-propelled printer. 3. The moving means includes a plurality of spheres rotatably supported by the printer body, and two motors for each sphere, and the two motors make the spheres orthogonal to each other. The self-propelled printer according to claim 1, wherein the self-propelled printer is driven to rotate in a direction.