JPH07237334A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate gap adjusting. labor and to enhance operability by providing a gap adjusting amt. memory means storing the gap adjusting amt. corresponding to the thickness of paper and adjusting the gap between a printing head and a platen to a proper value corresponding to the thickness of paper to be used. CONSTITUTION:In a gap automatic adjusting mechanism, an eccentric shaft 40 and a disc 46 are rotated clockwise through a rotary shaft 44 when a gap adjusting motor 43 is rotated forwardly and a carriage 36 having a hole 37 in which the eccentric shaft is loosely fitted is moved in a vertical downward direction because the before-and-behind movement thereof is prescribed by guide shafts 41, 42. By this constitution, the gap between a printing head 32 and a platen 35 is reduced. At this time, the gap adjusting motor 43 is automatically controlled according to the gap adjusting amt. set on the basis of the memory data of a gap adjusting amt. memory means when paper to be used is indicated from various papers to adjust the gap to a proper value.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing apparatus such as a dot impact printer capable of printing on a copy-type slip.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In some conventional dot impact printers capable of printing on copy-type slips, the gap between the print head and the platen is adjusted by operating the gap adjusting lever according to the number of sheets to be used for the slips. There was something I could do.

For example, when data is printed on only one sheet of voucher and then data is printed on a copy of three sheets, the gap adjusting lever is first set to the initial position. As a result, the print head rises to maximize the gap with the platen, so that the single-cut slip paper is fed in the meantime.

Next, the gap adjusting lever is set to the position for a single-cut sheet. As a result, the print head descends to the position for the single-cut sheet, and the distance between the print head and the single-cut slip sheet becomes a predetermined distance, and printing on the single-cut slip sheet is performed with high quality.

After printing, the single-cut slip sheet is removed and the gap adjusting lever is returned to the initial position. As a result, the gap between the print head and the platen is maximized, so that a copy-type voucher with three sheets bound is fed between them.

Next, the gap adjusting lever is set to the position for three sheets. As a result, the print head is lowered to the position for three sheets, and the distance between the print head and the copy-type slip paper becomes the above-mentioned predetermined distance, so that the printing on the copy slip paper is also performed with high quality.

[0007]

However, in the conventional printing apparatus of this type, printing is selectively performed on sheets having different thicknesses such as when printing on slip sheets having different numbers of sheets to be bound. In this case, the gap adjusting lever has to be operated for each sheet to manually adjust the gap between the print head and the platen, which is troublesome.

Further, for example, when printing is performed with the gap adjusting lever aligned with the position of the copy-type voucher even though a single-voucher voucher is used, the print quality is poor because the gap between the print head and the paper is too wide. Could be lowered. On the other hand, if you print with the gap adjustment lever aligned with the position of a single-cut slip despite using a copy-type slip, the print quality will be poor because the gap between the print head and the paper is too small. There was a risk of a drop.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the gap between the print head and the platen can be automatically adjusted to an appropriate value according to the thickness of the paper used, and the operability can be improved by eliminating the trouble of adjusting the gap. At the same time, an object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus capable of compensating for stable printing quality.

[0010]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a printing apparatus which feeds between a print head and a platen for printing, and is capable of printing on a plurality of types of paper having different thicknesses. Amount storing means for storing a gap adjusting amount corresponding to the thickness of the sheet, a first gap adjusting means for adjusting the gap between the print head and the platen to a reference value, and a sheet to be used among various sheets. And a gap adjustment amount setting unit that sets a gap adjustment amount corresponding to the thickness of the sheet based on the stored data by the adjustment amount storage unit and the gap adjustment amount is set by the gap adjustment amount setting unit. Second gap adjusting means for adjusting the gap between the print head and the platen in the direction of narrowing the gap from the reference value is provided.

[0011]

According to the present invention having such a configuration, the adjustment amount storage means provides a relatively large gap adjustment amount for thin paper such as a single-voucher voucher and the like, such as a copying voucher. A smaller gap adjustment amount is stored for very thick paper.

However, when the paper to be used is specified from among various papers, the gap adjustment amount corresponding to the thickness of the used paper is set on the basis of the storage data by the adjustment amount storage means. Then, from the state in which the gap between the print head and the platen is adjusted to the reference value by the first gap adjusting means, the gap is automatically adjusted by the second gap adjusting means in the direction in which it is narrowed by the gap adjustment amount. .

Therefore, when a thin sheet such as a single-cut slip is used, the gap is automatically narrowed as compared with the case where a thick sheet such as a copy slip is used.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the present invention is applied to a dot impact type slip printer 3 connected to a POS (point of sale information) terminal 1 through an interface cable 2 of Centronics specification. Describe.

In FIG. 1, the POS terminal 1 is provided with a keyboard 11 and a cashier display 12 on the front of the housing, and a customer display 13 on the back. Further, the printer 14 for receipt / journal printing is built in, and the receipt paper printed by the printer 14 is discharged from the receipt issuing port 15 formed on the front surface of the housing.

Further, a bar code scanner 16 for optically reading a bar code or the like attached to a product, a drawer 17 for accommodating cash or the like, "registration", "inspection", "settlement", "setting". A mode switch 18 or the like for switching various business modes such as is provided.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the main part of the control circuit configuration of the POS terminal 1. The POS terminal 1 has a CPU (central processing unit) 19 as a main body of a control unit, and a ROM (Read Only Memory) 20 and an RA as a main storage unit controlled by the CPU 19.
An M (random access memory) 21 is installed.

Fixed data such as a program executed by the CPU 19 is stored in the ROM 20 in advance. The RAM 21 is provided with various memory areas for storing variable data such as setting data necessary for executing various tasks and data processed by the CPU 19.

The POS terminal 1 is a host interface for controlling communication with a host computer connected via a communication circuit such as a clock circuit 22 for measuring the date and time and a LAN (local area network). 23, an I / O port 2 that receives a signal from the mode switch 18 and sends a drive signal to a drawer opening device 17a that opens the drawer 17
4, a keyboard controller 25 for taking in key input data from the keyboard 11, the display units 12, 13
Via the display controller 26 for controlling the data display of the printer, the printer controller 27 for controlling the data printing by the receipt / journal printer 14, the scanner controller 28 for taking in the bar code data from the bar code scanner 16 and the interface cable 2. A printer interface 29 and the like for controlling communication with the slip printer 3 connected to the slip printer 3 are mounted.

In FIG. 1, the voucher printer 3 is provided with a head cover 33 having a dot impact type print head 32 at a substantially central portion of a printer body 31, and a voucher insertion port 3 is provided between the head cover 33 and the printer body 31.
4 is formed, and the slip paper inserted from the slip insertion port 34 is fed in the direction of arrow A shown by a paper feed mechanism (not shown), and the print head 32 is moved by the head drive mechanism (not shown).
The structure is such that data is printed on the slip paper by scanning in the direction.

The slip printer 3 is equipped with the structure shown in FIG. 3 as a mechanism for automatically adjusting the gap g between the print head 32 and the platen 35 arranged facing the print head 32. ing.

That is, the print head 32 is fixed to the front surface of the carriage 36 which can be reciprocally scanned in the directions of arrows B1 and B2 by a head driving mechanism (not shown).

A laterally long eccentric shaft hole 37 is formed in the center portion between both side surfaces of the carriage 36, and vertically long guide shaft holes 38 and 39 are formed above and below the eccentric shaft hole 37, respectively. There is. An eccentric shaft 40 having a vertical width and a diameter substantially equal to each other is slidably inserted into the eccentric shaft hole 37, and each of the guide shaft holes 38 and 39 has a lateral width and a diameter substantially equal to each other. The guide shafts 41 and 42 are slidably inserted.

The eccentric shaft 40 and the guide shafts 41 and 42 are arranged parallel to the scanning direction of the print head 32. The guide shafts 41, 42 are fixed to the left and right frames (not shown). Further, the eccentric shaft 40 has an end (not shown) rotatably supported by the frame, and the other end 40a is eccentrically positioned at the eccentric position. Shaft 44
Are directly connected.

A disc 46, which is a U-shaped cutout of a portion 45 of the peripheral surface, is inserted and fixed in the middle of the rotary shaft 44, and the rotary shaft 44 serves as the center axis of rotation of the disc 46. . A transmissive optical sensor 47 is provided so that the peripheral surface of the disc 46 passes between the light emitting and receiving elements.
When the cutout portion 45 reaches the position of the optical sensor 47 by the rotation of 6, the optical sensor 47 is turned on. When the optical sensor 47 is turned on, the gap between the print head and the platen becomes the reference value.

In the automatic gap adjusting mechanism having such a structure, when the rotating shaft 44 is rotated clockwise by the forward rotation of the gap adjusting motor 43, the eccentric shaft 40 and the disc 46 are also rotated.
Rotate clockwise around. As a result, the carriage 36 tries to rotate following the rotation of the eccentric shaft 40, but the guide shafts 41 and 42 restrict the forward and backward movement, and vertically move downward. Therefore, the gap between the print head 32 and the platen 35 becomes smaller.

On the other hand, the gap adjusting motor 43
When the rotary shaft 44 rotates counterclockwise due to the reverse rotation of the rotary shaft 44,
Rotate counterclockwise around. As a result, the carriage 36 tries to rotate following the rotation of the eccentric shaft 40, but the guide shafts 41 and 42 restrict the forward and backward movement and vertically move upward. Therefore,
The gap between the print head 32 and the platen 35 becomes large.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a main part of the control circuit configuration of the slip printer 3. This slip printer 3
Is also equipped with a CPU 51 as a control unit main body
A ROM 52 and a RAM 53 are mounted as a main storage unit controlled by 51.

Fixed data such as a program executed by the CPU 51 and character generator data is stored in the ROM 52 in advance. The RAM 53 has an image buffer for developing a dot map of the slip print data sent from the POS terminal 1 and the C
A work area or the like for temporarily storing data processed by the PU 51 is formed.

The slip printer 3 also has a communication interface 54 for controlling communication with the POS terminal 1 connected via the interface cable 2.
And an I / O port 55.

The print head 3 is connected to the I / O port 55.
2. In addition to the gap adjusting motor 43 and the optical sensor 47, a feed motor 56 forming a paper feed mechanism, a carriage motor 57 forming a head drive mechanism, and detection that a slip is set at a predetermined position of the slip insertion opening 34 Each unit such as the slip sensor 58 is connected.

The slip printer 3 is particularly shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the RAM 53 is provided with an adjustment amount table 61 as an adjustment amount storage means and a pulse counter 62. The adjustment amount table 61 is a table in which gap adjustment amounts corresponding to respective sheet thicknesses are preset, corresponding to the slip codes for classifying various slip sheets having different numbers of copies.

The slip printer 3 in this embodiment
Can print up to a maximum of five copy-type slips. The slip code 001 is assigned to only one single-cut slip sheet, and the slip code 002 is assigned to two copy-type slip sheets. Code, slip code 003
Is a code assigned to a copy-type slip sheet consisting of three sheets,
The slip code 004 is a code assigned to a copy-type slip sheet of four sheets, and the slip code 005 is a code assigned to a copy-type slip sheet of five sheets. Therefore, the gap adjustment amounts N1 to N5 are N1>N2>N3>N4> N
There is a relationship of 5.

When data is printed on a predetermined slip sheet using the slip printer 3 having such a configuration, the operator
First, select a slip creation task at the POS terminal 1.
For example, the mode switch 18 is switched to the “registration” mode, and the number of the slip preparation task is keyed in from the registration menu screen displayed on the cashier display 12.

Then, the slip preparation work is selected,
The CPU 19 executes the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6 according to the program in the ROM 20. That is, first, a slip creation command is transmitted to the slip printer 3 via the printer interface 29. In addition, the slip selection screen is displayed on the cashier display 12.

On this slip selection screen, various slip names (credit slip, purchase slip, delivery slip, etc.) that can be created at the POS terminal 1 are displayed, so that the operator can key in the slip number to be created. And select.

Thus, when the slip is selected, the CPU 1
The numeral 9 sends a slip code preset for the selected slip to the slip printer 3 via the printer interface 29. It is also possible to select a slip and also key in the number of spelled sheets of the slip, and to transmit the corresponding slip code according to the number of spelled sheets. After that, the operator sets the designated slip through the slip insertion slot 34.

After sending the slip code, the CPU 19 creates print data for the slip based on data input from the keyboard 11, and if this print data is sent to the slip printer 3 via the printer interface 29, the slip creation is performed. End the work.

On the other hand, the CPU 51 of the slip printer 3 is programmed so as to execute the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. That is, when the slip creation command is received via the communication interface 54 as ST (step) 1, the signal from the optical sensor 47 is read via the I / O port 55 as ST2, and whether or not the optical sensor 47 is on. Find out.

Here, when it is not turned on, it is judged that the gap between the print head 32 and the platen 35 is smaller than the reference value, and in order to widen this gap, the gap is adjusted through the I / O port 55 as ST3. A pulse signal is supplied to the motor 43 to drive it in reverse. Then, in ST4, the pulse signal is continuously supplied until the optical sensor 47 is turned on, and when it is detected that the optical sensor 47 is turned on, the gap becomes the reference value, and thus the gap adjusting motor 43 is stopped in ST5. (First gap adjusting means).

When the optical sensor 47 is turned on in ST2, the gap is the reference value, and therefore the gap adjusting motor 43 is not driven in the reverse direction.

Thus, the print head 32 and the platen 35 are
When the slip code is received via the communication interface 54 in ST6 after the gap between
7, the adjustment amount table 61 is searched, the gap adjustment amount N corresponding to the received slip code is read, and the RAM is read.
The data is stored in the work area 52 (gap adjustment amount setting means).

Next, when a predetermined slip is set in the slip insertion slot 34, the slip sensor 58 is turned on.
At this time, the print head 32 is replaced by the gap adjustment amount N.
In step ST8, the count value n of the pulse counter 62 is cleared to “0” so that the gap between the platen 35 and the platen 35 is narrowed, and then in step ST9, a pulse signal is sent to the gap adjusting motor 43 via the I / O port 55. Is supplied to drive forward rotation. At this time, the pulse counter 62 is incremented by +1 each time one pulse signal is sent as ST10, and the count value n of the pulse counter 62 is compared with the gap adjustment amount N as ST11 each time. If the count value n matches the gap adjustment amount N, the gap between the print head 32 and the platen 35 has been narrowed from the reference value by the gap adjustment amount N, so the gap adjustment motor 43 is stopped in ST12 ( Second gap adjusting means).

After that, when print data is received through the communication interface 54 in ST13, the drive of the print head 32, the feed motor 56 and the carriage motor 57 is controlled as in ST14 to print a slip.

Using this embodiment having the above-mentioned configuration,
For example, in the case where data is printed on only one sheet of voucher at first and then data is printed on a copy-type voucher in which three sheets are spliced, the operator first selects a voucher creation task at the POS terminal 1.

Then, the slip creation command is transmitted from the POS terminal 1 to the slip printer 3. As a result, in the slip printer 3, when the gap between the print head 32 and the platen 35 is smaller than the reference value, the gap adjusting motor 43 is driven in the reverse direction to widen the gap,
When the reference value g1 is reached, the gap adjusting motor 43 stops.

This state is shown in FIG. That is,
The eccentric shaft 40 and both guide shafts 41 and 42 are
The holes 37, 38, 39 are respectively located in the central portions of the corresponding holes.

Then, the operator selects a slip to be used from the slip selection screen displayed on the cashier display 12, and inserts and sets the corresponding single-cut slip paper from the slip insertion port 34.

Then, the POS terminal 1 sends to the chit printer 3 the chit code "001" preset for the selected chit. As a result, in the slip printer 3, the adjustment amount table 61 is searched, and the gap adjustment amount N1 corresponding to the slip code “001”.
Is read and stored in the work area of the RAM 52.

Next, the gap adjusting motor 43 is driven in the normal direction to narrow the gap between the print head 32 and the platen 35. Then, only the gap adjustment amount N1 is the reference value g.
If the gap g3 is narrowed from 1 and high-quality printing is performed on the single-cut slip paper, the gap adjusting motor 43 is stopped.

This state is shown in FIG. That is,
The eccentric shaft 40 rotates clockwise around the rotation shaft 44, and the carriage 36 vertically moves downward by N1.

Then, the operator operates the keyboard 11 to input the print data for the slip and instruct the printing of the slip. As a result, the voucher print data is transmitted from the POS terminal 1 to the voucher printer 3, and high-quality data printing is performed on the voucher paper.

Next, the operator again selects the slip preparation work. As a result, in the slip printer 3, the gap adjustment motor 43 is driven in the reverse direction to widen the gap, and when the reference value g1 is reached, the gap adjustment motor 4 is moved.
3 stops.

This state is shown in FIG. That is,
The eccentric shaft 40 rotates counterclockwise about the rotation shaft 44, and the carriage 36 vertically moves upward by N1.

Therefore, the operator selects a slip to be used from the slip selection screen, and inserts the corresponding three-sheet copy-type slip paper from the slip insertion port 34 and sets it.

Then, the POS terminal 1 transmits to the slip printer 3 the slip code "003" preset for the selected slip. As a result, in the slip printer 3, the adjustment amount table 61 is searched, and the gap adjustment amount N3 corresponding to the slip code “003”.
Is read and stored in the work area of the RAM 52.

Then, the gap adjusting motor 43 is driven in the normal direction to narrow the gap between the print head 32 and the platen 35. Then, only the gap adjustment amount N3 is the reference value g.
When the gap g2 is narrowed from 1 and a high quality printing is performed on the copy-type slip sheet of three sheets, the gap adjusting motor 43 is stopped.

This state is shown in FIG. 8 (b). That is,
The eccentric shaft 40 rotates clockwise about the rotation shaft 44, and the carriage 36 vertically moves downward by N2.

Then, the operator operates the keyboard 11 to input the print data for the slip and instruct the printing of the slip. As a result, the voucher print data is transmitted from the POS terminal 1 to the voucher printer 3, and the data is printed on the copy-type voucher paper with high quality.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the operator simply selects the slip to be used from the slip selection screen displayed on the cashier display 12 of the POS terminal 1 and the print head 32 of the slip printer 3 Platen 35
The gap between and can be automatically adjusted to an appropriate value according to the thickness of the paper used.

Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the troublesome work of the gap adjustment work, which has been complicated in the past, so that the operability can be improved. Further, the print quality does not deteriorate due to the gap between the print head 32 and the platen 35 being too wide or too narrow, so that stable print quality can be compensated.

Further, in response to the slip preparation command transmitted by selecting the slip preparation operation in the POS terminal 1, the gap between the print head 32 and the platen 35 in the slip printer 3 is within the usable paper. , The paper is automatically enlarged to a reference value g1 wider than the thickest paper. Therefore, when the slip sheet is inserted, the trouble that the leading edge of the sheet hits the head 32 or the like and becomes difficult to insert does not occur, and the workability is excellent.

In the above embodiment, the adjustment amount table 61
Is provided on the RAM 53 of the slip printer 3, but is provided on the RAM 21 of the POS terminal 1.
The CPU 19 may retrieve the gap adjustment amount N corresponding to the slip code of the selected slip, and send the gap adjustment amount data to the slip printer 3 via the interface cable 2 to set it in the work area of the RAM 53. .

In the above embodiment, the POS terminal is used as the host device above the slip printer 3, but it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to this.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, a copying slip is shown as an example of paper having a different thickness, and the present invention has been described by taking a slip printer for printing on this copying slip as an example.
The present invention can be applied to a single-cut sheet or a printing apparatus capable of selectively printing thick paper and thin paper.
In this case, the printing method is not limited to the impact type, and may be a non-impact type such as a thermal printer.

Besides, it is needless to say that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0067]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, the gap between the print head and the platen can be automatically adjusted to an appropriate value according to the thickness of the paper used, and the labor for adjusting the gap is reduced. It is possible to provide a printing apparatus which can improve the operability by eliminating it and can compensate the stable printing quality.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outline of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control circuit configuration of a POS terminal according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an automatic gap adjusting mechanism of the slip printer in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control circuit configuration of the slip printer in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a main memory area formed in the RAM shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a voucher creation work of the POS terminal in the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing main program processing executed by the CPU of the slip printer in the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing a state of a main part after the gap of the slip printer is automatically adjusted in the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... POS terminal 3 ... Voucher printer 32 ... Print head 35 ... Platen 36 ... Carriage 40 ... Eccentric shaft 43 ... Gap adjustment motor 47 ... Optical sensor 61 ... Adjustment amount table

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A printing apparatus for printing by feeding between a print head and a platen and printing on a plurality of types of paper having different thicknesses, wherein a gap adjustment amount corresponding to the thickness of each type of paper. And an adjustment amount storage unit for storing a gap, a first gap adjustment unit for adjusting the gap between the print head and the platen to a reference value, and the adjustment amount storage unit for selecting a sheet to be used from various sheets. When the gap adjustment amount is set by the gap adjustment amount setting means for setting the gap adjustment amount corresponding to the thickness of the paper based on the stored data, and the gap adjustment amount is set by the gap adjustment amount, the print head And a second gap adjusting means for adjusting a gap between the platen and the platen in a direction to narrow the gap from the reference value.