JPH06155794A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To extend a heating element life to extend a printing head replacing period by changing the relative positions of heating elements opposed to a printing area and a non-printing area. CONSTITUTION:A CPU 11 discriminates whether or not an issuance of a receipt has been completed by a printer 30. If an issuance of a receipt has been completed, for conducting printing, the CPU 11 outputs printing data to the printing controller 30 with a shift of one bit rightward for shifting a printing start position by one dot, i.e., for shifting a thermal element opposed to the printing start position by one segment rightward. Thereafter, on the basis of the count value of a bit counter, the CPU 11 judges whether or not a shift amount is larger than an amount of auxiliary thermal elements provided on a thermal line head. If it is larger, the shift amount is initialized so that printing is started at a segment 1 (SEG 1).

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an electronic register (EC
R) and printing devices used in POS systems,
For example, the present invention relates to a printing device in which a thermal line head or the like in which heating elements in segment units are arranged in a matrix is applied to the printing head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An electronic register (ECR) is a device for accumulating (registering) sales data, outputting the sales data, and inspecting and adjusting the registered sales amount and sales count.
Further, the POS terminal device is a terminal device which is installed in a department store, a supermarket, a convenience store or the like, and immediately collects data used for product management, customer management, sales management and the like.

[0003] These devices print the sales amount, quantity, discount amount, etc. of registered merchandise on receipt paper, and
In order to print the same registration contents on journal paper and use them for business management, it has a built-in printing device that prints on receipt paper and journal paper. A printing apparatus having line heads arranged in a line is widely used.

In such a printing device, printing is executed on the print target area of the receipt paper and the journal paper based on the print data such as the sales amount, quantity, discount amount, etc. of the products input in transaction units, that is, The matrix-shaped heating elements arranged in a line are selectively driven based on the input print data, and the character string for one line is divided into a plurality of lines and printed.

[0005]

However, in the printing device built in the above-mentioned conventional ECR or POS system, the print target area of the receipt paper and the journal paper according to the print data input in transaction units. Since the printing area and non-printing area of the character string printed on the paper tended to be fixed, the heat generated by the printing area in the printing area of the line-shaped print heads facing the paper The heating element that is not used for printing is fixed in the element and the non-printing area, the heating element corresponding to the printing area is significantly consumed, the life of the heating element corresponding to this printing area is shortened, and the replacement period of the print head is short. Therefore, there has been a problem that the maintenance cost of the printing apparatus is increased.

An object of the present invention is to change the relative positions of the heating elements facing the printing area and the non-printing area to prolong the life of the heating elements and prolong the replacement period of the print head.

[0007]

The means of the present invention are as follows.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a predetermined print target area is fixed to a print area and a non-print area according to print data input in a series of processing units, and the print target area is arranged in a line in opposition to the print target area. A printing device provided with a printing mechanism for printing the input print data in the printing area by using the provided print head (for example, in a printing device provided with a print head in which matrix heating elements are arranged in a line, The print start position of the print area fixed by the input print data is displaced within the print target area at a predetermined timing,
The invention according to claim 2, further comprising a print position control unit (for example, a CPU) that changes a relative position of the print head facing the print region and the non-print region at the predetermined timing. , The printing position control means,
The print start position of the print area is displaced within the print target area at the end timing of the series of processing units, and the relative position of the print head facing the print area and the non-print area is set to the series of processing units. The invention is characterized in that the change is made at the end timing, and further, the invention according to claim 3 is provided with a designating unit (for example, a displacement amount designating key) for designating a displacement amount of the print start position controlled by the print position control unit. When a defective portion occurs at a predetermined position facing the print area of the print head, the displacement amount of the print start position is designated by the designating means so as to remove the defective portion from the print area,
The print position control means is characterized in that the print start position is displaced based on the displacement amount designated by the designating means, and the relative position of the print head facing the print area and the non-print area is changed. There is.

[0009]

The operation of the means of the present invention is as follows.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the predetermined print target area is fixed to the print area and the non-print area by the print data input in a series of processing units, and the line shape is provided so as to face the print target area. In a printing apparatus having a printing mechanism for printing the input print data in the print area by using a print head arranged in the print head, a print start position of the print area fixed by the input print data by print position control means. Is displaced within the print target area at a predetermined timing, and the relative position of the print head facing the print area and the non-print area is changed at the predetermined timing.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the print position control means displaces the print start position of the print area within the print target area at the end timing of the series of processing units. The relative position of the print head facing the print area and the non-print area is changed at the end timing of the series of processing units.

Therefore, it is possible to prevent the relative positions of the print heads facing the print area and the non-print area from being fixed by the input print data, and the entire line print head can be used for printing without waste. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the wear of a specific portion of the print head from progressing, extend the life of the print head, prolong the replacement period, and reduce the maintenance cost of the printing apparatus.

Further, according to the third aspect of the invention, when a defective portion is generated at a predetermined position facing the print area of the print head, the printing is started by the designating means so as to remove the defective portion from the print area. When the displacement amount of the position is designated, the print position control unit displaces the print start position based on the displacement amount designated by the designating unit, and the print head faces the print region and the non-print region. The relative position of is changed.

Therefore, it is possible to prevent the relative positions of the print heads facing the print area and the non-print area from being fixed by the input print data, and even if a print head has a defective portion, that defective portion can be prevented. It is possible to continue printing while avoiding waste, and the entire line-shaped print head can be used for printing without wasting, and it is possible to avoid the progression of consumption of specific parts of the print head, and the life of the print head. Can be extended to prolong the replacement period, and the maintenance cost of the printer can be further reduced.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the printer according to the present invention is applied to an electronic register (hereinafter referred to as ECR) will be described below with reference to FIGS.

First, the structure will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the overall configuration of an ECR 10 to which the printing device according to the present invention is applied. In FIG. 1, the ECR 10 is a CPU 11,
ROM 12, RAM 13, input control unit 14, key input unit 15, display drive unit 16, display unit 17, print control unit 18,
The printing unit 19, the drawer 20, the displacement amount designation key 21, and the like are provided, and each unit is connected to the bus 22. Further, in FIG. 1, the print control unit 18 and the print unit 19 configure a printing device 30.

CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11
Performs arithmetic processing of numerical values required for various operations while exchanging various data with the RAM 13 according to various control programs stored in the ROM 12, and controls each part in the ECR 10 based on the arithmetic processing. Outputs various control signals. Further, in the CPU 11, a bit counter 11a for counting the shift amount of the print start position that is shifted by the print position shift process executed in the print control unit 18 described later is provided.
U11 controls the shift amount of the print data output to the print control unit 18 based on the count value of the bit counter 11a. It should be noted that this shift amount can also be changed by the number of segments input and designated by a displacement amount designation key 21 described later.

ROM (Read Only Memory) 12 is a CP
The U11 stores various control programs for controlling various operations of the ECR 10, and the print control unit 19 described later also stores a print control program for controlling the printing operation. RAM (Random Access Memory) 13 is
Data that forms a data area for temporarily storing sales data and a calculation result processed by the CPU 11, and stores displacement amount data of a print start position designated when the print control unit 19 executes print processing. Form an area.

The input control unit 14 outputs the mode data, various operation data and the like input from the key input unit 15 to the CPU 11 and the display drive unit 16 via the bus 22. The key input unit 15 is provided with a ten-key 16a, a function key 16b, and a mode switch MS on its operation panel, and outputs various operation data, mode data, etc. input by the user's key operation to the input control unit 14. .

The display drive unit 16 drives and controls the display unit 17 based on the calculation result, various data, sales data and the like input from the CPU 11, the key input unit 15 and the RAM 13 via the bus 22, and the calculation result, Display various data and sales data. The display unit 17 is a CRT (Cath
ode Ray Tube), a liquid crystal display, etc., and displays the arithmetic processing result, various data, sales data, etc. by the drive control of the display drive unit 16.

The print control unit 18 controls the print operation and paper feed operation of the print unit 19 according to the print control program stored in the ROM 12, and print data input from the CPU 11 via the bus 21 at predetermined time intervals. The thermal paper for receipt (hereinafter referred to as receipt paper) or the thermal paper for journals (hereinafter referred to as journal paper) which is output to the print head unit described later in the printing unit 19 for each line and is set in the printing unit 19 In addition to executing the printing operation of the sales data and the like, in the present embodiment, the printing position shift processing is executed, and the input timing of the printing data to be output to the thermal line head unit is input from the CPU 11 based on the count value of the bit counter 11a. The print start position of the print character is shifted in dot units according to the print data that is printed, and the receipt paper and Shifting the print usage area of the thermal line head that faces the print area and non-printing area of the print target area of the journal paper in segments.

The printing section 19 has a thermal paper K sandwiched between a print head section 31 and a platen roller 32, as shown in the perspective view of the schematic construction of FIG. The platen roller 32 rotates in the direction of the arrow in the figure by driving the rotating shaft 33, and the rotation speed thereof is set according to the printing speed of the print head unit 31. The rotation of the platen roller 32 causes the thermal paper K to be transported in the direction of the arrow in the figure at a transport speed that corresponds to the printing speed.

The print head unit 31, as shown in FIG.
A thermal line head 41 in which thermal elements for each segment are arranged in a line, and a drive circuit 4 for driving the thermal line head 41 according to input print data.
2 are provided on the substrate 43.

As shown in FIG. 4, the thermal line head 41 includes a plurality of thermal elements (SEG) for each segment.
1 to SEGn ... Are arranged in a line. Further, as shown in its equivalent circuit in FIG. 5, each thermal element is commonly connected to a common electrode (CON), and a predetermined DC voltage is supplied to the common electrode from a drive power source (not shown).
A drive signal corresponding to print data is input from the drive circuit 42 to each thermal element to be driven. Drive circuit 42
Is composed of a shift register, a NAND gate, etc., and outputs a drive signal to each thermal element of the thermal line head 41 in accordance with print data input for each line. In the printing operation by the thermal line head 41, the printing data for each line is repeatedly performed for each segment of n lines, and the printing of a predetermined number of characters for one line is completed.

The drawer 20 stores cash and is opened when a "cash / deposit key" or the like is operated.

The displacement amount designation key 21 is a designation key for designating the number of segments of the thermal element to be shifted in the printing process by the print control unit 18, and designates one segment as one dot of a printing character.

Next, the operation will be described.

Now, as shown in FIG. 6, for example, one character of the print data inputted to the print control unit 18 is 7 dots in length × 5 dots in width, with a space of 2 dots between characters. Assuming that a character is inserted, the thermal element segment used corresponding to this character structure is the thermal element for 5 segments used for printing and the next 2 segments for printing, as shown in FIG. It is divided into a print area (I) and a non-print area (H) such that it is not used.

In particular, in the ECR 10, the number of digits and the printing position of the print data printed in the print target area of the receipt paper and the journal paper are fixed by the print data such as the product name and the total amount of money input in one transaction. Because it has been
That is, the print area and the non-print area are fixed in the print target area, and the thermal element used in this print area is also fixed. When only the consumption of the thermal element used for printing progressed remarkably for each transaction and printing became impossible, the thermal element facing the non-printing area was replaced while being hardly used for printing.

For this reason, the life of the thermal line head 41 is determined only by the degree of wear of the thermal elements used in the printing area. Therefore, the life of the thermal line head 41 is originally shorter than that when all the thermal elements are used for printing on average. Therefore, the replacement period of the thermal line head 41 is shortened, and the ECR10
Was increasing maintenance costs.

In the present embodiment, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems relating to the line thermal head 41, the CPU 11 completes one transaction so that the thermal element used for printing is not fixed by the input print data. The print data to be output to the printing device 30 is shifted bit by bit, the print start position of the print data is shifted in the printing process of the printing device 30, and the thermal element used for printing is shifted in segment units. To do.

The print position shift processing for the receipt sheet to be printed, which is executed by the CPU 11, will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, in order to execute this print position shift processing, as shown in FIG. 8, the thermal line head 41 is provided with a spare thermal element at a position outside the print target area of the receipt paper and the journal paper. Dots (2 segments) are provided.

In FIG. 7, the CPU 11 first determines whether or not the receipt of the receipt is completed by the printing device 30 (step S1). If the receipt is not completed, the next print data is printed. The process is executed by the printing device 30 (step S2), and when the receipt issuance is completed, the print start position is shifted by one dot, that is, the thermal element facing the print start position is moved by one.
Print data is set to 1 to shift to the right by the segment.
It is shifted to the right by the amount of bit and output to the print control device 30 for printing (step S3).

Next, it is judged whether or not the shift amount exceeds the amount of the spare thermal element provided in the thermal line head 41 based on the count value of the bit counter (step S4). When this process is finished and when it is over, the shift amount is initialized so that the print start position becomes the segment 1 (SEG1), and this process is finished (step S5).

The manner in which the print start position is shifted by the above print position shift processing will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.

In FIG. 9A, the positional relationship between the thermal line head 41 and the print character string shown in FIG. 8 is input from the CPU 11 to the print controller 18 as an initial state before shifting the print start position. The relationship between the thermal line head 41 and the print character string when the print data is shifted to the right by 1 bit is shown. This FIG. 8 to FIG. 9 (a)
Fig. 10 (a) shows the relationship between the print characters printed by shifting the print start position to
It is shown in (b).

The initial position shown in FIG. 10A, that is,
Before shifting the print start position, the first character is segment 1.
Printing is performed by the thermal elements of (SEG1) to segment 5 (SEG5), and segments 6 and 7 (SEG6 and 7) are printed.
Is the non-printing area, and the second character is segment 8 (SE
Printing is performed by the thermal elements of G8) to segment 12 (SEG12). Next, when the print data shown in FIG. 10B is input by shifting to the right by 1 bit, the thermal element of segment 1 (SEG1) is set as a non-printing area, and the first character is segment 2 (SEG2). ~
The thermal element of segment 6 (SEG6) prints, the segments 7 and 8 (SEG7, 8) become non-printing areas, and the second character is printed by the thermal elements of segment 9 (SEG9) to segment 13 (SEG13). ing.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9B, the CPU
The print data input from 11 to the print control unit 18 is 2
FIG. 10 shows the relationship between the print characters and the thermal elements in units of segments printed when they are shifted to the right by one bit.
As shown in (c). In FIG. 10C, when the print data is shifted to the right by 2 bits and input, the thermal elements of the segments 1 and 2 (SEG1, 2) are set as the non-printing area, and the first character is the segment 3 ( SE
G3) to the segment 7 (SEG7) thermal element is printed, the segments 8 and 9 (SEG8 and 9) are non-printing areas, and the second character is the segment 10 (SEG1).
0) to segment 14 (SEG14) thermal elements are used for printing.

The state of the receipt paper output by shifting the printing position shown in FIGS. 8 to 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 11A is a receipt output by printing at the initial position of FIG. 9, and FIG. 11B is a receipt output by printing when shifted by 1 bit in FIG. 9B. 9 (c) shows 2bi of FIG. 9 (c).
The receipt output by printing when the t shift is performed, and FIG. 7D shows the receipt output by printing when returning to the initial position because the thermal element provided in the spare printing area is overrun. There is.

That is, in this embodiment, since the print start position of each print line during one transaction is unified, the print position is deviated for each character line in the receipt output by one transaction. This avoids making the printed contents difficult to see.

In the above embodiment, only the printing process on the receipt paper has been described, but the same printing process is executed simultaneously on the journal paper.

Therefore, the thermal line head 41 facing the printing area and the non-printing area according to the input print data.
It is possible to avoid fixing the relative position of each thermal element inside, the entire thermal element arranged in a line can be used for printing without wasting, and the consumption of a specific part of the thermal element is remarkable. The progress can be avoided, the life of the thermal line head can be extended and the replacement period can be prolonged, and the maintenance cost of the ECR 10 including the printing device 30 can be reduced.

The life of the thermal line head 41 when the print position shift process of the above embodiment is executed and when the conventional print position shift process is not executed is determined by the number of times the drive signal is applied to the thermal element in each segment. In comparison with the standard, for example, assuming that the number of application times of the life of the thermal element of the conventional segment unit is L, the number of application times of the life of the thermal element of the segment unit of this embodiment can be obtained by the following formula (1).

L × (7/5) = 1.4L (1) That is, although it is a simple calculation, the life of the thermal element of this embodiment is about 1.4 times longer than that of the conventional one. Therefore, it is possible to surely extend the service life by 40% or more.

Even if there is a character in the print data such as the letter "H" at the left end of the character, etc., in which the printing efficiency of the thermal element is higher than other characters, the printing position of this embodiment is If the shift process is applied, the print usage rate is dispersed over the entire thermal elements arranged in a line, so that a long service life of 40% or more is surely guaranteed.

In the print position shifting process, all the thermal elements in the thermal line head 41 are assumed to be normal, and the print start position is automatically shifted after each transaction. When a defective portion is generated in the thermal element due to a cause other than the life, if the defective thermal element is used for printing, a dot portion that is not printed in the printed character occurs. In order to cope with such a defect of the thermal element, it is necessary to shift the print start position so that the thermal element at the defective portion is not used for printing. In view of this, in the present embodiment, the print position shift process is also performed in which the thermal bit at the defective print position is shifted from the print region to the non-print region by designating the shift bit number of the print data from the displacement amount designation key 21. To do.

Specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 12, a spare thermal element for 5 bits is provided outside the print target area of the receipt paper and the journal paper of the thermal line head 41, as shown in FIG. FIG. 12 shows print data in which a print character is composed of vertical 7 dots × horizontal 5 dots, and a space of 2 dots is inserted between characters.
When printing from the initial position shown in FIG. 13, if the thermal element of the segment 5 (SEG5) is defective as shown in FIG.
By designating the shift for it and shifting the print data, the defective segment can be fixed in the non-print area between the print characters.

The print position shift process by the displacement amount designation key 21 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, the CPU 11 determines the displacement amount designation key 21.
The shift bit number (X) designated by is determined (step S11), and the shift bit number is, for example, 1 bi.
If it is possible to arbitrarily specify from t to 5 bits, the specified shift bit number is set in the bit counter 11a (X ← 1, X ← 2, X ← 3, X ← 4, X ← 5) (step S12). ~ S16). Then the specified shift bit
The print data is output to the print control unit 18 in the state of being shifted to the right by several minutes, that is, the space code of the specified number of shifts is inserted from the left end of the print data for each line and output (step S17). ), The print control unit 18 and the print unit 19 are caused to execute printing, and the present process ends (step S18).

The manner in which defective portions of printed characters are shifted by the above print position shift processing will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 15A shows the segment 8 before the shift.
The case where the thermal element of (SEG8) is printed in a defective state is shown. To shift the defective thermal element from the printing area to the non-printing area, in the printing position shift processing of FIG. 1 with key 21
If the bit shift is specified, the print start position is shifted to the right by one segment as shown in FIG.
The thermal element of the defective segment 8 is shifted to the non-printing area.

Therefore, even if a defective portion occurs in the thermal element, the shift amount can be designated so as to shift the defective portion to the non-printing area, and it is not necessary to replace the thermal line head 41, and the print head is not required. Can be used more effectively, and the maintenance cost of the ECR 10 can be further reduced.

[0054]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the predetermined print target area is fixed to the print area and the non-print area by the print data input in a series of processing units, and the print target area faces the print target area. In a printing device having a printing mechanism for printing the input print data in the print area by using print heads arranged in a line, printing of the print area fixed by the input print data by print position control means Displace the start position at a predetermined timing within the print target area,
The relative position of the print head that faces the print area and the non-print area is changed at the predetermined timing, and according to the invention of claim 2, the print position control means prints the print area. The start position is displaced in the print target area at the end timing of the series of processing units,
Since the relative positions of the print heads facing the print area and the non-print area are changed at the end timing of the series of processing units, the print heads facing the print area and the non-print area are input according to the input print data. It is possible to avoid fixing the relative position, it is possible to use the entire line-shaped print head for printing without waste, and it is possible to avoid the progress of consumption of specific parts of the print head. The life of the head can be extended to prolong the replacement period, and the maintenance cost of the printing apparatus can be reduced.

Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, when a defective portion occurs at a predetermined position facing the print area of the print head, the print start position is set so that the defective portion is removed from the print area by the designating means. When the displacement of is specified,
Since the print position control means is configured to displace the print start position based on the displacement amount designated by the designating means, the relative position of the print head facing the print area and the non-print area is changed. , It is possible to avoid fixing the relative position of the print head that faces the print area and the non-print area depending on the input print data, and even if there is a defective part in the print head, avoid the defective part and print. The entire line-shaped print head can be used for printing without waste, it is possible to avoid the progress of consumption of a specific part of the print head, and to extend the life of the print head. The replacement period can be extended and the maintenance cost of the printing device can be further reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram of an ECR incorporating a printing device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective configuration diagram of the printer of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of the print head of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of the thermal line head of FIG.

5 is an equivalent circuit diagram of the thermal line head of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration example of print characters printed by the thermal line head of FIG.

7 is a flowchart of a print position shift process executed by the CPU of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an initial positional relationship between a thermal line head and print characters before the print position shift process of FIG. 7 is performed.

9 is a diagram showing a positional relationship between a thermal line head and a print character after the print start position is shifted from the initial position of FIG. 8 by the print position shift processing of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a character string printed according to the print position relationship of FIGS. 8 and 9;

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a receipt paper printed according to the printing positional relationship of FIGS. 8 and 9;

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an initial positional relationship between a thermal line head and a printed character when a defective printing portion occurs on the thermal element.

13 is a diagram showing a positional relationship between a thermal line head and printed characters when the defective printing portion of FIG. 12 is shifted.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of a print position shift process in the case where a print defect occurs in the thermal element.

15 is a diagram showing an example of a character string printed by the print position shift processing of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 CPU 11a bit counter 12 ROM 13 RAM 14 Input control unit 15 Key input unit 18 Printing control unit 19 Printing unit 21 Displacement amount designation key 30 Printing device 31 Printing head unit 32 Platen roller 33 Driving shaft 41 Thermal line head 42 Driving circuit

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A print head in which a predetermined print target area is fixed to a print area and a non-print area by print data input in a series of processing units, and the print head is arranged in a line to face the print target area. In a printing device provided with a printing mechanism for printing the input print data in the print area, the print start position of the print area fixed by the input print data is displaced within the print target area at a predetermined timing, A printing apparatus comprising a print position control means for changing a relative position of the print head facing the print area and the non-print area at the predetermined timing. 2. The print position control means displaces the print start position of the print area within the print target area at the end timing of the series of processing units, and opposes the print area and the non-print area. 2. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the relative position of the print head is changed at the end timing of the series of processing units. 3. A designating means for designating a displacement amount of a print start position controlled by the print position control means is provided, and the designating means is provided when a defective portion occurs at a predetermined position facing a print area of the print head. Specifies the displacement amount of the print start position so as to exclude the defective portion from the print region, and the print position control unit displaces the print start position based on the displacement amount specified by the designating unit, 3. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the relative position of the print head that faces the non-printing area is changed.