JPH077174Y2 - Printer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of application] The present invention relates to a printing apparatus capable of automatically mounting printing paper on a platen.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, in a printer of this type, when a printing paper is automatically mounted on a platen, a carriage having a paper guide is moved to the center of the printing device, and then the printing paper is mounted on the platen. Some have moved the carriage to a predetermined position (home position or the like) when the mounting is completed.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the above-described conventional printing apparatus, the carriage is returned to the predetermined position from the center of the printing apparatus when the automatic mounting of the printing paper on the platen is completed. There were some cases where the carriage movement overlapped. Therefore, the print processing speed is impaired.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention has been made in order to solve the problems of the related art. The purpose of the present invention is to perform stable automatic paper loading and perform processing operations such as printing performed after the paper loading. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing apparatus that is capable of quickly shifting to (1) and has excellent operation processing speed.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve this object, a printing apparatus of the present invention comprises a platen on which printing paper is mounted, a paper feeding means for feeding the printing paper in cooperation with the platen, and a printing device. A carriage that is movable along the longitudinal direction of the platen when the head is placed, a carriage moving unit that moves the carriage, and a carriage that is arranged on the carriage so as to face the platen and guides the printing paper. A paper guide, a paper loading command means for commanding to automatically load the printing paper on the platen, and a control means for controlling the carriage moving means and the paper feeding means, and further, the current position of the carriage. The present position memory for storing the current position and the operating position memory for storing the operating position of the carriage for the next operation are provided. The control means calculates a new operation position for the next operation on the basis of the operation position in the operation position memory and the space data as the space data is input, and inputs the print data or the carriage movement data. Along with this, the current position memory and the operating position memory are read, the direction and the distance from the present position to the operating position are calculated, and the carriage moving means moves the carriage directly to the operating position. In response to the input of the command, the carriage moving means moves the carriage to a guide position where the paper guide can guide the print paper, and then the paper feed means guides the print paper to the paper guide to the platen. Mount the carriage and move the carriage until the next print data or carriage movement data is input. It is that a structure be kept to a serial guide position.

[Operation] In the printing apparatus of the present invention configured as described above, when a paper loading command is input, the carriage moving means moves the carriage to the guide position and then guides the print paper to the paper guide. Let me attach it to the platen.
After mounting the printing paper, the carriage is held at the guide position without being moved unnecessarily.

When space data is input after mounting the printing paper, the carriage is not moved, and a new operation position for the next operation is calculated based on the operation position in the operation position memory and the space data.

When print data or carriage movement data is input, the current position memory and the operation position memory are read, the direction and distance from the current position to the operation position are calculated, and the carriage is moved by the carriage moving means. Move directly to the position.

[Embodiment] An embodiment embodying the printing apparatus of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a top view showing the inside of the printing apparatus of this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the main part of the printing apparatus. In the printing apparatus, a cylindrical platen 14 that extends in the left-right direction and on which a printing paper 12 is mounted is attached to a main body case 10.
Is instructed to be rotatable. One of the platens 14 is connected to the paper feed motor 20 via gears 16 and 18, and is configured to rotate forward and backward based on the forward and reverse rotation drive of the paper feed motor 20. Below the platen 14, a first paper guide 22 having an arcuate concave curved surface facing the platen 14 is arranged. A first paper pressing roller 24 for pressing the printing paper 12 against the surface of the platen 14 is provided near the center of the first paper guide 22. The platen 14, the gears 16 and 18, the paper feed motor 20, the first paper guide 22, the first paper pressing roller 24, and a paper feed motor drive circuit 62, which will be described later, constitute a paper feed means.

A guide rod (26) extending in parallel with the platen (14) is installed on the main body case (10) at the lower front of the platen (14). A carriage 28 that moves along the longitudinal direction of the platen 14 is supported by the guide rod 26. That carriage 28
Is connected to a carriage movement motor 34 via a wire 32 wound around the pool 30, and is configured to move in the left and right directions based on forward and reverse rotation driving of the carriage movement motor 34. The pulley 30, the wire 32, the carriage movement motor 34, and a carriage movement motor drive circuit 64, which will be described later, constitute a carriage movement means. In addition, the carriage 28 has a ribbon cassette 38 containing a print ribbon 36 and a print hammer forming a print head.
40 and a type wheel 42 are mounted. The printing hammer 40 has a built-in solenoid driven by a printing hammer driving circuit 68, which will be described later, to print the type 43 of the type wheel 42 on the printing paper 12 mounted on the platen 14 via the printing ribbon 36. It is configured to strike and print.

Further, the carriage 28 has a second paper guide 44 facing the platen 14. Above the platen 14, in front of the platen 14, there is a second paper pressing roller 46 which can be located at a pressure contact position where the platen 14 is pressed to press the printing paper 12 against the surface of the platen 14 and a spaced position apart from the platen 14. It is provided on a support rod 47 which is erected on the main body case 10.

A switch panel 48 in which various function switches for operating the printing device are arranged is provided on the front portion of the upper surface of the main body case 10. Among the function switches, the mode switch 50 is an online mode in which the input data from the external device 80 is controlled and an offline mode in which the data input of the external device 80 is stopped and the switch panel 48 of the printing device can operate. Is a switch for switching between. The paper loading switch 52 is a switch for instructing automatic loading of the platen 14 of the printing paper 12 and automatic ejection of the printing paper 12 from the platen 14, and operates only in the offline mode. In addition,
The paper loading switch 52 and the external loading 80 together form paper loading command means.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the printing apparatus according to the present embodiment. The CPU (central processing unit) 54 constituting the control means has a ROM (Read Only Memory) 56, a RAM (Random Access Unit). Memory) 58, the switch panel 48, a paper detector 78 that detects whether the printing paper 12 is mounted on the platen 14 at a position facing the printing hammer 40, and an external device 80 that outputs data to the printing device. ing. Further, the CPU 54 includes drive circuits 62 for driving the paper feed motor 20, the carriage movement motor 34, the type selection motor 60 for selecting the type 43 of the type wheel 42, the printing hammer 40, and the like.
Through 68 are connected.

The ROM 56 is provided with a program memory 70 that stores a control program for controlling the entire printing apparatus. Further, the ROM 56 serves as a reference for the movement of the carriage 28, the origin position where the carriage 28 is located when the power is turned on, and the carriage when the print sheet 12 is automatically mounted on the platen 14 of the print sheet 12.
The second paper guide 44 on the 28 stores the central position and the like facing the center of the platen 14, which is a guide position for guiding the print paper 12. The ROM 58 includes an input buffer 72 for temporarily storing data input from an external device 80 and a switch panel 48 connected to the printer, a current position memory 74 for sequentially rewriting and storing the current position of the carriage 28, and A print position memory 76 for storing the print position of the carriage 28 for printing on, and various memories for temporarily storing the result of arithmetic processing by the CPU 54 are provided.

The operation of mounting the printing paper 12 of the printing apparatus having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

In the control program stored in the program memory 70, when the program relating to the mounting of the printing paper 12 is entered, first, in step S1, the CPU 54 causes the mode switch 50
Determines whether or not the online mode is set. When the determination result is NO and the mode is the offline mode, the process proceeds to step S2.

In step S2, the CPU 54 determines whether or not the paper loading switch 52 is pressed, and if the determination result is YES, the process proceeds to step S3. That step S3
In the CPU, the CPU 54 determines from the detection signal from the sheet detector 78 whether or not the print sheet 12 is mounted on the platen 14 at a position facing the print hammer 40, and the determination result is NO. Sometimes the process moves to step S4.

In step S4, the CPU 54 outputs a drive command to the carriage movement motor drive circuit 64 to rotate the carriage movement motor 34. The rotation causes carriage 28 to move to the central position via pulley 30 and wire 32. Then, in step S5, the CPU 54 outputs a drive command to the paper feed motor drive circuit 62, and the paper feed motor 20 rotates the platen 14 via the gears 16 and 18.
At this time, the printing paper 12 is placed on the platen 14
When the leading edge of the printing paper 12 is inserted between the platen 14 and the first paper feed roller 24, the printing paper 12 is guided by the first paper guide 22. It is guided to the vicinity of the printing hammer 40, and then guided by the second paper guide 44 and fed upward. Also, the carriage 28
Is located at the center position, the print line of the print paper 12 is almost at the center, and is reliably fed between the second paper pressing roller 46 and the platen 14 at the separated position. When the automatic mounting of the printing paper 12 on the platen 14 is completed as described above, the process returns to step S2.

If the decision result in the step S3 is YES, a step S
In 6, the CPU 54 outputs a drive command to the paper feed motor drive circuit 62, so that the platen 14 sends the print paper 12 and discharges it upward, and the process returns to step S2. If the decision result in the step S2 is NO, a step S7 decides whether a switch other than the sheet loading switch 52 on the switch panel 48 has been operated, and a process corresponding to the operation is performed. Return to S1.

In the online mode where the determination result of step S1 is YES, in step S8, it is determined whether or not the data input from the external device 80 is in the input buffer 72. If the determination result is NO, the process returns to step S1, and if YES, the process proceeds to step S9. In step S9, it is determined whether or not the data input to the input buffer 72 is paper loading data, and if the determination result is YES, the process proceeds to step S10. In steps S10 to S13,
The same processing as S3 to S6 is performed, and the process returns to step S8.

If the decision result in the step S9 is NO, the step S1
In 4, it is determined whether or not the data input to the input buffer 72 is space data. If the determination result is YES, the process proceeds to step S15. In step S15, the CPU 54 calculates a new print position from the print position in the print position memory 76 and the space data. Then, the CPU 54 rewrites and stores the print position in the print position memory 76, and returns to step S8.

If the decision result in the step S14 is NO, the step S
At 16, it is determined whether the data input to the input buffer 72 is print data. If the determination result is NO, the process proceeds to step S19, and if YES, the print data is input to the CPU 54 and the process proceeds to step S17. In step S17, the CPU 54 reads the current position of the carriage 28 from the current position memory 74, for example, the central position and the print position to be printed next to the carriage 28 from the print position memory 76, and reads the current position. Calculate the direction and distance from the print position to the print position. Then, the CPU 54 outputs a command for moving the carriage 28 in the direction and distance amount based on the calculation result to the carriage movement motor drive circuit 64, so that the carriage 28 moves from the current position to the printing position, and the process proceeds to step S18. Move. That step S18
In the above, the CPU 54 sends a print command based on the print data to the type selection motor drive circuit 66 and the print hammer drive circuit.
Output to 68. Then, a desired type 43 is selected from the type wheel 42 based on the print data, the printing hammer 40 stamps the type 43, and printing is performed on the printing paper 12. In step S19, based on the data input to the input buffer 72, the carriage 28 after printing is moved by a predetermined amount, or the print paper 12 is moved by a predetermined amount. Then, the process returns to step S8. .

Therefore, in step S5 or S12, when the automatic mounting of the printing paper 12 on the platen 14 is completed, the carriage 28 is at the center position. And step S14
After space data is input in step S16
When print data is input to the CPU 54 from the input buffer 72, the carriage 28 directly moves from the central position to the print position rewritten in step S15 instead of the print position immediately after the mounting of the print paper 12 in step S17.

[Modification] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described in detail above, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

For example, in the present embodiment, the printing operation and the like are performed based on the data input from the external device 80, but a printing device including a keyboard for inputting the data may be used.

Further, in the present embodiment, after the print paper 12 is automatically attached to the platen 14, the carriage 28 is moved to the print position by inputting print data to the CPU 54. You may make it move to the operation position of another purpose.

[Advantages of the Invention] As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, the carriage is kept at the guide position after the automatic mounting of the printing paper on the platen is completed, and the carriage is operated according to the input data. By controlling the movement of the carriage, it is possible to directly move the carriage from its guide position to the operating position without reciprocally moving the carriage. Therefore, it can be accurately moved to the operating position for printing,
In order to be able to start the processing operation promptly,
Excellent print processing speed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a top view showing the inside of a printer embodying the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the main part of the printer, FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the structure of the printer, and FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a printing paper loading operation of the printing apparatus. 12: printing paper, 14: platen, 20: paper feeding motor, 22: first paper guide, 24: first paper pressing roller, 28: carriage, 34: carriage moving motor, 40: printing hammer, 42:
Type wheel, 44: Second paper guide, 52: Paper loading switch, 54: CPU, 58: RAM, 74: Current position memory, 76: Print position memory

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A platen on which printing paper is mounted, and paper feeding means for feeding the printing paper in cooperation with the platen,
A carriage that is movable along the longitudinal direction of the platen when the print head is mounted, a carriage moving unit that moves the carriage, and a carriage that is arranged on the carriage so as to face the platen and guides the print paper. In a printing apparatus including a paper guide for printing, a paper loading command means for commanding to automatically load the printing paper on the platen, and a control means for controlling the carriage moving means and the paper feeding means, the current position of the carriage is set. A current position memory for storing and an operation position memory for storing an operation position of the carriage for the next operation are provided, and the control means stores the operation position in the operation position memory in association with the input of the space data. A new operating position for the next operation is calculated based on the space data, and the print data or With the input of the carriage movement data, the current position memory and the operation position memory are read, the direction and distance from the current position to the operation position are calculated, and the carriage is moved directly to the operation position by the carriage moving means. In response to the input of the command from the paper loading command means, the carriage moving means moves the carriage to a guide position where the paper guide can guide the print paper, and then the paper feeding means moves the print paper to the paper guide. And a carriage is held at the guide position until the next print data or carriage movement data is input.