JPH0740699A - Writing pressure controlling device in pen-plotter - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To hold writing pressure during drawing constant, by a method wherein the writing pressure of a recording pen is detected by a writing pressure detecting device, the detected writing pressure and set up writing pressure are compared with each other and driving of a solenoid is controlled based on its comparison result. CONSTITUTION:A movable member 18 is provided elevatably freely along a guide shaft 16 on a carriage base 14 of a carriage 10 drivable in the direction of X-Y axes on a drawing table 12 and the movable member 18 is allowed to support a recording pin 28 through a pen-holder 26. Then a solenoid 34 is fitted to the carriage base 14 through a fitting member 32, through an action of which the movable member 18 is allowed to elevate. In this case, a pressure sensor 42 is interposed between the undersurface of a press plate 40 on an elevating and driving member 36 and the top of the movable member 18, through which the writing pressure of the recording pin 28 is detected. Then, a certain writing pressure is secured always by controlling a quantity of electrification in accordance with a deviation of a detected writing pressure from a set up value of writing pressure.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a writing pressure control device for a pen plotter, and more specifically, it detects the writing pressure of a recording pen during drawing and controls it so that drawing can always be performed with a constant writing pressure. The present invention relates to a writing pressure control device for a pen plotter.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a pen plotter, in order to apply a certain writing pressure to a recording pen held by a pen holder installed on a carriage, a pen holder is designed based on a design value at the time of factory shipment. The energization amount for driving the solenoid that raises and lowers is set.

However, in actual drawing, there is a problem that the writing pressure of the recording pen changes due to variations in the return spring returning the pen holder from the drawing table and changes over time.

In order to solve these problems, a plotter head writing pressure control system disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 3-216397 and 3-216398 has been proposed.

In the writing pressure control system for the plotter head disclosed in the above-mentioned JP-A-3-216397 and JP-A-3-216398, the plotter head is movable up and down with respect to the pressure sensor element prior to the writing pressure control of the plotter head. By contacting the parts with a plurality of types of pressure, the relationship between the output from the pressure sensor element and the energizing current of the coil that drives the vertically movable part is obtained, and the relationship between the coil obtained by the actual measurement value before drawing is obtained. A predetermined energizing current based on a constant relational expression between the energizing amount and the writing pressure is supplied to a coil for driving the up-and-down movable part of the plotter head to control the writing pressure.

[0006]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional writing pressure control system for plotter heads, the solenoid is energized before drawing so that a certain writing pressure is applied to the recording pen. Even if the current is set, if the paper quality, paper thickness, etc. of the drawing paper may change, or the paper may float above the drawing table, the writing pressure of the recording pen may change and There is a problem that it is not possible to apply an appropriate writing pressure, the line thickness and the drawing density vary, and high-quality drawing cannot be obtained.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. The purpose of the present invention is that paper quality, paper thickness, etc. may vary during drawing.
Alternatively, even if the paper floats from the drawing table, by detecting the writing pressure of the recording pen during drawing, the drive of the solenoid is controlled so that an appropriate writing pressure is always obtained. , To provide a writing pressure control device for a pen plotter capable of obtaining a high quality drawing.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the writing pressure control device in a pen plotter according to the present invention moves the pen holder up and down based on the drive of a solenoid to move the pen holder up and down. With a pen plotter that moves the recording pen held by the holder to and from the surface of the drawing sheet and draws on the surface of the drawing sheet with the recording pen, the pen pressure of the recording pen during drawing can be detected in real time. As described above, the writing pressure detecting means arranged at a predetermined position, a comparing means for comparing the writing pressure detected by the writing pressure detecting means with a predetermined writing pressure set in advance, and the writing pressure detecting means. Solenoid drive control means for controlling the drive of the solenoid based on the comparison result of the comparison means is provided so that the detected writing pressure becomes a preset predetermined writing pressure. In which was to so that.

[0009]

The writing pressure of the recording pen is detected by the writing pressure detecting means in real time even during drawing by the pen plotter. Then, the writing pressure detected by the writing pressure detection means and the writing pressure set in advance are compared by the comparison means, so that the writing pressure detected by the writing pressure detection means becomes a predetermined writing pressure set in advance. , Based on the comparison result of the comparison means,
The solenoid drive control means controls the drive of the solenoid.

Therefore, even if the quality or thickness of the paper used changes, or the paper floats from the drawing table, the writing pressure during drawing can be kept constant. The writing pressure of the recording pen will not change, and problems such as variations in line thickness and drawing density will not occur, and high-quality drawing can be obtained.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A pen according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
An embodiment of the writing pressure control device in the plotter will be described in detail.

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view showing a schematic structure of a pen plotter according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and a carriage 10 is arranged along an upper surface of a drawing table 12 in an XY direction. It is driven in the axial direction. That is, the carriage base 14 of the carriage 10 is linked to a Y motor (not shown) via a power transmission mechanism, and is slidably attached along a Y rail (not shown) by driving the Y motor. .

The Y rail is formed so as to extend in the Y axis direction of the pen plotter, is supported by a sliding portion of the X axis (not shown), and is attached so as to be slidable in the X axis direction. There is.

Guide shafts 16, 16 are provided upright in front of and behind the carriage base 14, and a movable member 18 is fitted on the guide shafts 16, 16 so as to be movable up and down. A return spring 22 is stretched between the upper end of the movable member 18 and the hook 20 protruding from the upper portion of the carriage base 14, and the movable member 18 is adjusted by a stopper screw 24. It is held in the raised position.

Further, a pen holder 26 is fixed to the front surface of the movable member 18, and the pen holder 26 is fixed.
A recording pen 28 for performing a predetermined drawing on a drawing sheet 30 placed on the upper surface of the drawing table 12 is held at the tip of the drawing pen.

On the other hand, a solenoid mounting member 32 is mounted on the carriage base 14, and a solenoid 34 is mounted on the solenoid mounting member 32.
Further, an elevation drive member 36 that is vertically moved by the drive of the solenoid 34 is installed on the lower surface of the movable member 18 substantially at the center thereof. Then, when the solenoid 34 is energized, the solenoid 34 attracts the lifting drive member 36 and lowers the movable member 18 formed integrally with the lifting drive member 36 against the biasing force of the return spring 22. Let Therefore, the pen holder 26 fixed to the movable member 18 also descends, and the pen holder 26
The recording pen 28 gripped at the tip of the recording sheet is grounded on the surface of the drawing sheet 30 so that a predetermined writing pressure can be applied.

Here, the amount of current supplied to the solenoid 34 changes the amount of expansion of the return spring 22, and the writing pressure with which the recording pen 28 contacts the drawing sheet 30 also changes, so the writing pressure is kept constant. In order to do so, the writing pressure of the recording pen 28 is detected, and the amount of electricity supplied to the solenoid 34 is controlled.

That is, when the elevating drive member 36 is installed on the movable member 18 in order to detect the writing pressure of the recording pen 28, a mounting frame 38 fixed to the upper surface of the elevating drive member 36.
Is attached to the movable member 18 so as to be movable up and down, and a pressure (force) sensor 42 is sandwiched between the lower surface of the pressing plate 40 fixed to the upper surface of the mounting frame 38 and the upper surface of the movable member 18 to be movable. The structure is such that a cushion rubber 44 is installed in a gap between the lower surface of the member 18 and the upper surface of the lifting drive member 36.

In the above construction, the pen plotter drives the X motor and the Y motor in accordance with the vector data output from the host computer based on the well-known technique, and drives the carriage 10 to draw the drawing sheet 3.
0 is moved relative to the X-Y axis direction, a predetermined current is supplied to the solenoid 34 to attract the up-and-down drive member 36, and the movable member 18 integrated with this is resisted against the return spring 22. Lower it. And a pen
The recording pen 28 held at the tip of the holder 26 is grounded on the surface of the drawing sheet 30 to apply a predetermined writing pressure, and the recording pen 28 causes the upper surface of the drawing sheet 30 to print character data and / or image data. It is possible to draw (hereinafter simply referred to as data) or to cut a sheet arranged on the upper surface of the drawing table 12 by a cutter or the like held by the pen holder 26.

Next, during drawing by the pen plotter, the writing pressure of the recording pen 28 is detected in real time to control the amount of electricity supplied to the solenoid 34 so that a constant writing pressure is always obtained. A case where the writing pressure control is performed will be described.

First, when the pen / plotter operates to ground the recording pen 28 on the drawing sheet 30, the pressure sensor 42 is used.
From the buffer 46 of the main control circuit via the A / D converter 48 to the CP of the host computer.
Input to U50. , CPU 50 has movable member 18
An energization amount-writing pressure conversion table that stores the relationship between the energization amount and the writing pressure is stored based on a constant relational expression between the energization amount and the writing pressure of the solenoid 34 that moves up and down.

During drawing by the pen plotter,
The writing pressure signal detected by the pressure sensor 42 is the CPU 5
The CPU is operated so that the writing pressure of the recording pen 28 detected by the pressure sensor 42 and the writing pressure previously calculated by the pressure sensor 42 may be compared with each other.
A signal of an appropriate current value corrected based on the energization amount-writing pressure conversion table of 50 is input to the conversion circuit 54 via the D / A converter 52. In the conversion circuit 54, the CPU 50
The signal of the current value corrected by is converted into a current, and a predetermined current is supplied to the solenoid 34 via the driver 56.

Therefore, the solenoid 34 is driven by the electric current supplied to the solenoid 34, and the elevation drive member 36 is moved up and down based on the drive of the solenoid 34, and is formed integrally with the elevation drive member 36. The pen holder 26 is moved by lowering the movable member 18 that has been moved against the urging force of the return spring 22 or raising it by using the urging force of the return spring 22.
It is possible to always apply a constant writing pressure to the recording pen 28 held at the tip of the recording pen 28.

FIG. 2 is a modification of the first embodiment, and shows a case where the writing pressure of the recording pen 28 is corrected by the comparison circuit 60. A reference current value corresponding to the writing pressure obtained from a design value is set in advance in the CPU 50 in this modified example, and a signal indicating the reference current value is instructed to the comparison circuit 60.

During drawing by the pen plotter,
The writing pressure signal detected by the pressure sensor 42 is input from the buffer 46 of the main control circuit to the comparison circuit 60, and CP
The correction signal that has been compared and calculated with the signal from U50 is input to the conversion circuit 54. In the conversion circuit 54, the signal of the current value corrected by the comparison circuit 60 is converted into a current, and a predetermined current is supplied to the solenoid 34 via the driver 56. Therefore, the recording pen 28 held by the pen holder 26. It is possible to always apply a constant writing pressure to.

Therefore, in this modification, the host
The processing load of the CPU 50 in the computer can be reduced.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway side view showing a writing pressure control device for a pen plotter according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The same components as those of the first embodiment are the same. By attaching the reference numeral to, a part of the description of the configuration and the operation will be omitted.

In the second embodiment, a pen holder 64 is mounted on the front surface of the carriage base 14 so as to be able to move up and down, and the drawing of the upper surface of the drawing table 12 is made at the tip of the pen holder 64. A recording pen 28 for performing a predetermined drawing on the paper 30 is held.

An arm 66 extending to the upper surface of the recording pen 28 is provided on the front surface of the movable member 18, and a pressure sensor 42 is installed on the lower surface of the arm 66.
Then, the movable member 18 is lowered by the current supplied to the solenoid 34, and the pressure sensor 42 of the arm 66 extending from the movable member 18 contacts the upper surface of the recording pen 28,
Since the pen holder 64 descends, the recording pen 28 comes into contact with the drawing sheet 30 so that the writing pressure can be detected.

Therefore, during drawing by the pen plotter,
The signal supplied from the pressure sensor 42 controls the current supplied to the solenoid 34, and a constant writing pressure can be applied to the recording pen 28 held by the tip of the pen holder 64.

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway side view showing a pen plotter writing pressure control apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The same components as those of the first embodiment are the same. By attaching the reference numeral to, a part of the description of the configuration and the operation will be omitted.

In this embodiment, the lower end portion of the front surface of the movable member 18 and the lower end portion of the rear portion of the pen holder 64 are pivotally attached by a rotating shaft 68, and the tip end portion of the pen holder 64 swings up and down. Installed so that it can move. Further, the extension 70 at the upper rear portion of the pen holder 64 is attached to the movable member 18.
The rocking range is restricted by a locking portion 72 provided on the front upper surface of the movable member 18, and the locking portion 72 of the movable member 18 and the pen
The pressure sensor 42 is installed on the movable member 18 side with the extension 70 of the holder 64.

When the movable member 18 descends due to the current supplied to the solenoid 34, the pen holder 64 also descends to ground the recording pen 28 to the drawing sheet 30, and the pen holder 64 rotates the rotating shaft 68. Figure 4 as a fulcrum
The pressure sensor 42 is rotated counterclockwise as indicated by the up arrow.
Thus, the writing pressure of the recording pen 28 can be detected.

Therefore, during drawing by the pen plotter,
The signal supplied from the pressure sensor 42 controls the current supplied to the solenoid 34, so that a constant writing pressure can be constantly applied to the recording pen 28 held by the tip of the pen holder 64.

[0035]

Since the present invention is constructed as described above, it has the following effects.

By moving the pen holder up and down based on the drive of the solenoid, the recording pen held by the pen holder is brought into contact with and separated from the surface of the drawing paper, and the pen is used to draw on the surface of the drawing paper. In the plotter, the writing pressure of the recording pen during drawing is detected at a predetermined position so that the writing pressure of the recording pen can be detected in real time, and the writing pressure detected by the writing pressure detection means is preset. Based on the comparison result of the comparison means, the drive of the solenoid is controlled so that the writing pressure detected by the writing pressure detecting means and the comparing means for comparing the writing pressure with a predetermined writing pressure become a preset writing pressure. The pen pressure of the recording pen is detected in real time by the pen pressure detecting means even when the pen plotter is drawing. The writing pressure detected by the step and the writing pressure set in advance are compared by the comparing means, and the comparing means compares so that the writing pressure detected by the writing pressure detection means becomes the predetermined writing pressure set in advance. Based on the result, the solenoid drive control means can control the drive of the solenoid.

Therefore, according to the writing pressure control device for the pen plotter of the present invention, even if the quality and thickness of the paper to be used changes or the paper floats from the drawing table, Since the writing pressure can be kept constant, there is no problem that the writing pressure of the recording pen changes during drawing to cause variations in line thickness and drawing density, and high-quality drawing can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially broken schematic configuration diagram showing a writing pressure control device for a pen plotter and a main control circuit thereof according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially broken schematic diagram showing another example of a pen pressure controller for a pen plotter according to the present invention and a main control circuit thereof.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway side view showing a writing pressure control device for a pen plotter according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway side view showing a writing pressure control device for a pen plotter according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Carriage 12 Drawing Base 14 Carriage Base 18 Movable Member 26 Pen Holder 28 Recording Pen 30 Drawing Paper 34 Solenoid 36 Elevating Drive Member 42 Pressure Sensor 50 CPU 54 Conversion Circuit 60 Comparison Circuit 64 Pen Holder 68 Rotation Axis

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A vertical movement of a pen holder based on the drive of a solenoid causes a recording pen held by the pen holder to come into contact with and separate from a surface of a drawing sheet, and the recording pen causes the surface of the drawing sheet to move. In a pen plotter that performs drawing on a pen plotter, the pen pressure detector is provided at a predetermined position so that the pen pressure of the recording pen during drawing can be detected in real time, and the pen pressure is detected by the pen pressure detector. A comparison means for comparing the writing pressure with a predetermined writing pressure set in advance, and the comparison result of the comparing means so that the writing pressure detected by the writing pressure detection means becomes a predetermined writing pressure set in advance. And a solenoid drive control means for controlling the drive of the solenoid based on the above.