JPH06127051A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a printer accurately and certainly detecting the kind and presence of a mounted option to prevent erroneous operation and capable of controlling the output of the option to a drive part by one control means. CONSTITUTION:A holding means selectively holding options 2, 3, an option detecting means 33 for detecting the kind and presence of the held options 2, 3 a discrimination means 28 discriminating the detection signal of the option detecting means 33 and one control means 32 controlling the output for driving drive parts 34, 35 of the options 2, 3 on the basis of the discrimination result of the discrimination means 28 are provided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer in which options such as a rewinder or a cutter unit are selectively installed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Printers have a wide range of applications by selectively mounting options. That is, when simply printing, it is possible to use the printer alone, but by installing a cutter unit, it is possible to cut the printed continuous paper to a predetermined length and issue a label, or By mounting the rewinder, the printed continuous paper can be wound up.

Conventionally, among printers in which a plurality of options are selectively mounted, there is a printer provided with a control circuit for driving an option drive unit for each type of option. Although only one control circuit is provided for driving the optional drive unit, the type of the installed option is selected by a switch, and the output to the optional drive unit is controlled by switching the switch. Some printers do this.

[0004]

A printer having a plurality of control circuits corresponding to various options has a large number of control circuits, resulting in high cost. Further, in a printer that controls an output that drives an option by switching the switch, a switch switching error may occur, and as a result, the option may malfunction.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises a printing means,
Paper sheet conveying means, holding means for selectively holding options such as a rewinder or cutter unit each having a drive section, option detecting means for electrically detecting the type and presence of the held options, and this option It is composed of an identification means for identifying the detection signal of the detection means, and one control means for controlling the output for driving the optional drive section based on the identification result of the identification means.

[0006]

According to the present invention, by discriminating the detection signal from the option detecting means by the discriminating means, it is possible to accurately and surely detect the type of the option installed in the printer and the presence or absence of the option, and prevent malfunction. The output to the optional drive unit can be controlled by the control unit based on the detection result, whereby all the optional drive units mounted on the printer can be driven by one control unit to reduce the cost. Can be planned.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a printer. The printer 1 includes the cutter unit 2 shown in FIG.
Options such as the rewinder 3 shown in FIG. 1B are selectively installed.

As shown in FIG. 2, inside the housing 4 of the printer 1, there is provided a sheet feeding section 6 for rotatably holding a continuous paper 5 wound in a roll shape such as a label sheet or a tag sheet. A rotatable platen 7 as a sheet conveying unit that draws out the continuous paper 5 from the sheet supply unit 6, a thermal head 8 as a printing unit that faces the platen 7, and a label peeling unit located on the front surface side of the housing 4. 9, a mount paper transport unit 10 located below the label peeling unit 9, and a transmissive paper sensor 11 for detecting the presence or absence of the continuous paper 5 pulled out to the platen 7.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cutter unit 2 mounted on the printer 1 is, for example, a cutter for the continuous paper 5 discharged from a paper discharge port 12 formed on the front surface of a housing 4 of the printer 1. It is cut by 13 and is issued from the label issuing port 14. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the rewinder 3 winds the continuous paper 5 discharged from the paper discharge port 12 by a winding shaft 15. For example, the rewinder 3 is attached to a long mount. It is used when the label sheet is printed on and the label sheet after printing is wound together with the mount. In this case, the wound mount is later mounted on the handler bella.

Therefore, the housing 4 of the printer 1 is provided with a recess 16 and a mounting plate 17 as holding means for selectively holding the cutter unit 2 and the rewinder 3. The concave portion 16 has a U-shape whose upper portion is opened so as to support the L-shaped projecting pieces 20 formed on both front surfaces of the case 18 of the cutter unit 2 and the case 19 of the rewinder 3 from below. The mounting plate 17 is slidably provided on the bottom surface of the housing 4, and the mounting plate 17 has a locking hole 22 that engages with a crank-shaped locking piece 21 formed on the bottom surface of the housing 4 and a cutter unit 2. In addition, locking holes 24 that engage with projections 23 formed on both sides of the bottoms of the cases 18 and 19 of the rewinder 3 are formed. Also,
Claws 25 that engage with the front edge of the mounting plate 17 are formed on the bottoms of the cases 18 and 19.

Next, FIG. 1 shows an electronic circuit. Figure 1
(A) is a state in which the cutter unit 2 is attached to the printer 1. First, the electronic circuit on the printer 1 side will be described. A ROM 26 in which program data is written, a RAM 27 in which variable data is written, a CPU 28 as identification means, and an I / O port 36 are connected on a bus line. The head driver 2 for driving the thermal head 8 is provided at the output port of the I / O port 36.
9 and a platen driver 31 for driving a platen motor 30 to which the platen 7 and the mount carrier 10 are connected.
And a motor driver 32 as a control unit that outputs a voltage to an optional drive unit. Also, I
The paper sensor 11 is connected to the input port of the / O port 36.
And the option detection means 33 are connected.

As shown in FIG. 1 (a), the cutter unit 2 is provided with a motor 34 as a drive unit for applying a driving force to the cutter 13, and the motor 34 is connected via connecting portions d and d '. It is connected to the motor driver 32. Further, as shown in FIG. 1B, the rewinder 3 has a motor 3 as a drive unit that applies a driving force to the winding shaft 15.
5 is provided, and the motor 35 is connected to the motor driver 32 via the connecting portions d and d ′. Also, the printer 1
When the power is turned on, for example, 5V is applied to the connection parts a and b.
Is applied.

The option detecting means 33 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b). Printer 1
Is provided with connecting portions a, b, c which are connected to the connecting portions a ', b', c'provided when the cutter unit 2 or the rewinder 3 is mounted, and the connecting portion a is the above-mentioned I.
Connected to the input port A of the I / O port 36, the connection portion b connected to the input port B of the I / O port 36, and the connection portion c.
Is grounded. As shown in FIG. 1A, only the connecting portions a ′ and c ′ of the cutter unit 2 are short-circuited.
As shown in (b), the connection parts b ′, c ′ of the rewinder 3
It is short-circuited only during.

In such a structure, the cutter unit 2 and the rewinder 3 are selectively mounted on the housing 4 of the printer 1 by the following operations. First, the protruding piece 20 of the case 18 of the cutter unit 2 or the case 19 of the rewinder 3 is inserted into the recess 16. Next, the locking holes 22 and 24 of the mounting plate 17 are connected to the locking piece 21 of the housing 4 and the case 18
Alternatively, the fitting plate 17 is fitted to the projection 23 of 19 and the mounting plate 17 is slid to the rear side of the housing 4. As a result, the tip of the locking piece 21 engages with the front edge of the locking hole 22, both side edges of the locking hole 22 engage with the grooves formed on both sides of the protrusion 23, and the mounting plate 17
The front edge of is engaged with the claw 25 to prevent it from slipping forward. As a result, the cutter unit 2 and the rewinder 3 are selectively attached to the printer 1.

As shown in FIG. 1A, when the cutter unit 2 is attached to the printer 1, the voltage of 5 V applied to the connecting portion a is grounded through the connecting portions a ', c', c. Since the signal flows, the signal input to the input port A of the I / O port 36 is Low, and the voltage of 5 V is applied to the connection portion b. Therefore, the signal input to the input port B of the I / O port 36. Is Hi.

As shown in FIG. 1B, when the rewinder 3 is mounted on the printer 1, a voltage of 5 V is applied to the connection portion a, so that the input port A of the I / O port 36 is connected.
The signal that is input to Hi is Hi, and the voltage of 5 V applied to the connection portion b flows to the ground through the connection portions b ′, c ′, and c, and thus is input to the input port B of the I / O port 36. Signal is Low.

When the printer 1 is not equipped with any option, a voltage of 5 V is applied to the connection portions a and b, so that the signals input to the input ports A and B of the I / O port 36 are Both are Hi.

In this way, the signal detected by the option detecting means 33 is identified by the CPU 28. A flowchart for the identification is shown in FIG. 4, and a table for the identification is shown in Table 1. As a result, the case where the option installed in the printer 1 is the cutter unit 2, the case where the option is the rewind 3, and the case where neither option is installed are identified. Then, based on the result, the cutter unit 2
The output from the motor driver 32 to the motor 34 or the motor 35 of the rewinder 3 is controlled. Of course, when no option is attached, the motor driver 32 is controlled by the CPU 28 and does not output. Therefore, all the optional motors 34, 3 mounted on the printer 1
5 can be driven by one motor driver 32,
As a result, cost reduction can be achieved.

[0019]

[Table 1]

It should be noted that the printer 1 is provided with a plurality of switches each of which automatically operates when an option including the cutter unit 2 and the rewinder 3 is attached, and the option has a structure for detecting the type and presence / absence of the option based on the operating states of the switches. It may be a detection means.

[0021]

As described above, the present invention has a holding means for selectively holding an option, an option detecting means for electrically detecting the type and presence of the held option, and an option detecting means for the option detecting means. Since the identification means for identifying the detection signal and the control means for controlling the output for driving the drive section of the option based on the identification result of the identification means are provided, the detection signal from the option detection means is provided. By identifying with the identifying means, it is possible to accurately and reliably detect the type of the option installed in the printer and the presence or absence of the option, and prevent malfunction, and output the option to the drive unit based on the detection result. It can be controlled by the control means, so that all the optional drive parts mounted on the printer can be driven by one control means. It has the effect that it is possible to down.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic circuit showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing a state in which a cutter unit is attached to the printer.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing a state in which a rewinder is attached to the printer.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an option detecting operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2, 3 option 7 paper sheet conveying means 8 printing means 16, 17 holding means 28 identification means 32 control means 33 option detection means 34, 35 drive unit

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A printing unit, a sheet transporting unit, a holding unit for selectively holding an option such as a rewinder or a cutter unit having a driving unit, and an electric type indicating whether or not the option is held. An option detecting unit for detecting, an identifying unit for identifying a detection signal of the option detecting unit, and a control unit for controlling an output for driving the drive unit of the option based on an identification result of the identifying unit. A printer comprising: