JPH1032686A - Manual type printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve operability at the time of continuously printing different printing contents by a manual type printer by continuously and automatically printing contents different by each printing operation based on a continuous printing information storing means designating plural desired print data at the time of trying to print continuously. SOLUTION: The manual type printer is operated along a previously decided program (printing mode) stored in ROM 25. It is possible to set a printing mode (continuous printing mode) for continuously printing plural different printing contents to this device by the operation of an operation panel 7a. In this case, whenever printing operation is finished, designated print data is read from a data storing part 32 according to a printing order registered in a continuous printing map 33 and at the time of next printing operation, newly read print data is printed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a manual printing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an apparatus for printing on various recording media at desired locations, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No.
No. 032 has proposed a bottom-printing handy printer. This printer is used as follows. When the bottom of the printer is positioned and fixed on the recording medium, and a print start instruction is given, the print head is moved along the recording medium surface by the motor, and recording is performed based on predetermined print data with this movement. Printing is performed on the medium surface.

[0003]

However, the conventional manual printing apparatus as described above requires a drive source such as a motor for moving the print head along the recording medium surface during printing. Accordingly, the size of the printer is increased and the cost is increased. In addition, since power is required to drive the motor, a power supply capable of supplying the power must be provided. Furthermore, if the user wants to continuously print the content different from the content printed last time, the printing content must be changed by key operation etc. each time one printing operation is completed, which makes the operation cumbersome. Had become.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has a simple configuration and a manual printing apparatus which is excellent in operability when printing different print contents continuously. The purpose is to provide.

[0005]

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a manual type printing apparatus for printing on a recording medium by performing a printing operation on the recording medium. A print data storage means for storing a plurality of print data, and an attempt to continuously print selected from a plurality of print data stored in the print data storage means. Continuous print information storage means for storing information specifying a plurality of desired print data to be printed; print completion detecting means for detecting completion of one printing operation; and continuous printing mode when continuous printing mode is designated. The first print data to be printed is printed based on the information stored in the print information storage means, and stored in the continuous print information storage means when the completion of one printing operation is detected by the print completion detection means. Printing the print data to be next printed on the basis of the information, since, in which a control means for controlling the recording means so that the plurality of times of printing operation is performed in the same manner.

In the above configuration, when the continuous print mode is designated, print data to be printed first is printed based on the information stored in the continuous print information storage means, and the print completion detecting means prints one time. When the completion of the operation is detected, the print data to be printed next is printed based on the information stored in the continuous print information storage means, and thereafter, the control means performs a plurality of printing operations in the same manner. Controls the recording means. Therefore, when printing continuously,
It is possible to automatically print different contents for each printing operation. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform a key operation or the like for setting a new print content every time the printing operation for each print content is completed, and the usability when continuously printing different contents is improved.

A manual printing apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is the manual printing apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein a movable frame provided to be vertically movable with respect to a main body is recorded. The printing operation is performed by pressing down on the medium, and the completion of the printing operation is detected by the printing completion detecting unit by detecting that the movable frame pressed down for printing has returned to the position before the pressing down. Things.

In the above arrangement, since the print completion detecting means detects the completion of the printing when the movable frame depressed for printing returns to the position before the depressing, the end of each printing operation can be reliably detected. This reduces errors in the setting of print data to be printed next time.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a manual printing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, wherein the recording means is an ink jet system.

In the above configuration, since the recording means is an ink jet recording means, printing is performed without contacting the recording medium, and a relatively good printing result can be obtained even when the recording surface is not flat. In addition, since the configuration is simpler than that of a wire dot type recording means using a print ribbon or the like, the entire apparatus can be reduced in size and printing can be performed more clearly.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a manual printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external view of a manual printing device according to the present invention,
(A) is a figure which shows the normal state of an apparatus, (b) is a figure which shows the state in which the movable frame of the upper part of the apparatus was pushed down.
The manual printing apparatus 1 includes a main body (main body) 2 and a movable frame 3 provided to be vertically movable with respect to the main body 2. By utilizing the pressing force, a recording head (recording means, which will be described later) in the apparatus moves horizontally and horizontally above the recording medium to perform printing. The main body 2 and the movable frame 3 have a rectangular shape, and are configured to be easily supported by a user by hand. An infrared communication interface unit 5 for transmitting and receiving print data to and from an external host computer or the like is provided on the upper portion of the movable frame 3. Power switch 6 for turning off, selection of print data to be printed,
An operation panel 7a for setting a print mode and the like is provided. A display section 7b for displaying the set print data, print mode, and the like is provided above the movable frame 3.
Is provided.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal configuration of the manual type printing apparatus 1, and FIG. 2 (a) is a view showing a normal state of the apparatus.
FIG. 3B is a diagram showing a state in which the movable frame 3 at the top of the apparatus is pushed down, and FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the manual printing apparatus 1.
A support plate 2 a is provided at the center of the main body 2, and the support plate 2 a and the movable frame 3 are connected by a spring 10. The spring 10 is a pressing spring and urges the movable frame 3 upward. Guide rails 11a and 11b extending in the horizontal direction are provided at a lower portion of the main body 2, and a recording head (recording means) 12 having a nozzle 12a is horizontally movably held by the guide rails 11a and 11b. ing. The ink tank 1 is provided above the recording head 12.
3 is provided so as to move with the movement of the recording head 12. Note that the ink tank 13 may be fixed to a predetermined place of the main body 2 and the connection between the recording head 12 and the ink tank 13 may be made by a flexible pipe.

The movable frame 3 and the recording head 12 are connected by a shaft (link rod) 14, and the shaft 14 is rotatably attached to each of the movable frame 3 and the recording head 12. The pushing force when the movable frame 3 is pushed down by the user is generated by the link mechanism including the shaft 14 and the guide rails 11a and 11b.
The recording head 12 is converted into a force for moving the recording head 12 in the horizontal and horizontal directions along the guide rails 11a and 11b, and
Is transmitted to As shown in FIG. 2A, the shaft 14 is configured so that the recording head 12 comes to the printing start position (the right end in FIG. 2) when the movable frame 3 is at the uppermost position. At this time, the posture of the shaft 14 is set such that the upper end is slightly inclined rightward with respect to the guide rails 11a and 11b. Further, the shaft 14 is configured such that when the movable frame 3 is pushed down to reach the lowermost position, the recording head 12 comes to the printing end position (the left end in FIG. 2). The main body 2 is provided with a control circuit 16 including a CPU (control means, which will be described later) for controlling the overall operation of the apparatus, and a power supply 17. As shown in FIG. 2B, these are provided at positions where they do not come into contact with the movable frame 3 even when the movable frame 3 is at the lowest position.

Next, the configuration of the recording head 12, the shaft 14, and the guide rails 11a and 11b will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the recording head 12 and the guide rails 11a and 11b. The recording head 12 is slidably held along the guide rails 11a and 11b by penetrating the guide rails 11a and 11b on both sides thereof. The movement of the recording head 12 along the guide rails 11a and 11b is performed by transmitting a force for pushing down the movable frame 3 by the user to the recording head 12 via the shaft 14. Guide rail 1
1a is provided with a magnetic body continuously magnetized,
At the contact portion of the recording head 12 with the guide rail 11a,
A magnetic encoder 19 is provided which outputs an electric pulse detection signal corresponding to the amount of movement of the recording head 12 to a position detection circuit described later in response to the magnetic pole. The position detection circuit detects the relative position of the recording head 12 with respect to the recording medium P based on the detection signal from the magnetic encoder 19, and outputs a signal indicating this position to the CPU. The recording head 12 is connected to the ink tank 13 through an ink supply path 13a.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a control system of the manual printing apparatus 1. CPU that controls the entire manual printing device 1
(Control means) 21 is connected to a host computer 23 via the interface unit 5. Also, a ROM 25 storing a control program for controlling each functional block in accordance with the determined program, and a host computer 23 input via the interface unit 5
The RAM 26 for storing print data and the like from the printer and the operation panel 7a described above are connected. Further, a pulse from the encoder 19 for measuring the number of magnetic poles magnetized on the guide rail 11a is input to the position detection circuit 28,
The relative position of the manual printing device 1 with respect to the recording medium P is detected. Further, the speed of the manual printing device 1 is detected by the speed detection circuit 29 based on the cycle of the pulse from the encoder 19. The detection signals of the position detection circuit 28 and the speed detection circuit 29 are input to the CPU 21. Also,
The CPU 21 controls driving of a head driver 30 for driving the recording head 12. Note that the above-described display unit 7b is also connected to the CPU 21.

The CPU 21 has a print data storage section (print data storage means) 32 in which a plurality of types of print data are stored, and a continuous data storage section for storing print information necessary for continuously printing different print contents. A print map (continuous print information storage means) 33 is connected. In the print data storage section 32, a plurality of desired print data can be inputted from the host computer 23 and stored by operating the operation panel 7a, and are stored together with the addresses assigned to the respective print data. In the continuous print map 33, when a plurality of print data to be printed is designated from among the print data stored in the print data storage unit 32, each address of the designated plurality of print data and each print data are designated. The order is registered. Further, the CPU 21 has a print counter 34 for counting the number of times of printing by the manual type printer 1.
Is connected.

The operation of the manual printing apparatus 1 having the above configuration will be described. The manual printing device 1 has a ROM 25
Predetermined program (print mode) stored in
Is operated along. The print data is set by the CPU 2 when the print mode is selected on the operation panel 7a.
1 is performed. The print data is set by being input from the host computer 23 through an interface unit 5 by an infrared signal or by being read from a plurality of print data stored in the data storage unit 32. Are temporarily stored in the RAM 26. When receiving the print start signal from the operation panel 7a, the CPU 21 confirms that the print data is stored in the RAM 26, and then puts the manual printer 1 into a print standby state.

Next, when the movable frame 3 is depressed by a user by a predetermined amount sufficient to absorb variations and the like of the link mechanism composed of the shaft 14 and the guide rails 11a and 11b, this depressing force is applied to the recording head by the shaft 14. The recording head 12 starts moving horizontally and horizontally along the guide rails 11a and 11b to start the printing operation. The amount of movement of the recording head 12 is detected by the magnetic encoder 19, and a detection signal is sent to the CPU 21. The CPU 21 performs print data output control in accordance with the position of the recording head 12 indicated by the detection signal and drives the recording head 5 to perform printing on the recording medium P. Therefore, even if the moving speed of the recording head 12 on the recording medium P is not uniform, it is possible to always perform uniform printing on the recording medium P.

Further, the manual type printing apparatus 1 has an operation panel 7.
By the operation of a, it is possible to set a printing mode for continuously printing a plurality of different print contents (hereinafter referred to as a continuous printing mode). When the continuous printing mode is set, the printing operation is performed. Each time the printing is completed once, the designated print data is read from the print data storage unit 32 in accordance with the print order registered in the continuous print map 33, and
During the next printing operation, the newly read print data is printed. Whether or not the printing operation has been completed is detected by detecting that the recording head 12 that has started moving in the horizontal and horizontal directions has returned to the initial position by the position detection circuit 28, 3
Is assumed to have returned to the position before the depression, and the printing operation is completed, and is counted by the printing counter 34. This position detection circuit 28 functions as a print completion detection unit.

Next, a flow of a process for a printing operation by the manual printing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG. When the power switch 6 is turned on and the printing operation is started, it is determined whether or not print data has been received from the host computer 23 (S1). If data has been received (YES in S1), the print data is transferred from the host computer 23, and the RA of the print data is transferred.
The data is stored in M26 (S10). If there is no communication in S1 (NO in S1) and there is a key operation on the operation panel 7a by the user (YES in S2), an operation corresponding to the key operation by the user, that is, reading of print data from the data storage unit 32 , And RAM 2 for the print data
6 is performed (S11). When the continuous printing mode is selected by this key operation, each address and printing order of the designated plurality of print data are registered in the continuous printing map 33.

When there is no key operation on the operation panel 7a by the user in S2 (NO in S2), the movable frame 3 is pushed down by a predetermined amount by the user (YES in S3), and the printing mode is the continuous printing mode (YES in S4). The print data to be developed next is selected from the continuous print map 33 with reference to the value of the print counter 34 (S12), and the print data is developed (S5). If the printing mode is not the continuous printing mode (NO in S4), the RAM 26
The same print data as the previous print data stored in the
5) Printing is performed by the recording head 12 based on the timing indicated by the signal from the magnetic encoder 19 (position detection circuit 28) (S6). When all printing is completed (YES in S7), when the pressing operation is stopped and the movable frame 3 returns to the initial position (YES in S8), the print counter 34 is incremented (S9), and the process returns to S1.
When all the print contents stored in the continuous print map 33 have been completed, the print counter 34 is cleared, and printing is performed again from the first print content stored in the continuous print map 33.

As described above, according to the manual printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, when a plurality of desired print data are designated from the print data stored in the print data storage unit 32 by operating the operation panel 7a. The respective addresses of the plurality of designated print data and the printing order are registered in the continuous printing map 33, and when the continuous printing mode is selected, the information stored in the continuous printing map 33 is stored for each printing operation. The print data is read out from the print data storage unit 32 according to and printed, so that when different contents are continuously printed,
There is no need to change the contents of printing by key operation for each printing operation. By enabling such continuous printing, for example, the drawing shown in FIG.
When printing different printing contents such as “copy prohibited”, “production drawing”, “contact information” and “sibling Jiro TEL001-002” as shown in FIG.
The ease of use is demonstrated. After the above four contents are printed on the first drawing, "copy prohibited" is again displayed.
"Production drawing""Contact""Jirou Jiro TEL001-00"
Since the content of "2" is printed, when printing is continuously performed on a plurality of drawings, it is effective because there is no need to change the setting of the print content by operating the keys for each drawing.

The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible. For example, in the above embodiment, when the position detection unit 28 detects that the recording head 12 has returned to the initial position, it is considered that the printing operation has been completed, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to this. However, the manual type printing apparatus 1 is provided with a sensor or the like capable of detecting the movement of the movable frame 3, and the printing operation is terminated when the sensor detects that the movable frame 3 has returned to the position before being depressed. You may be made to be regarded as having done.

Further, in the above embodiment, the manual type printing apparatus 1 performs monochromatic printing, but may perform color printing. In this case, the color can be changed for each printing. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the ink-jet system is used for the manual printing device 1, but the invention is not necessarily limited to the ink-jet system, and another printing system may be used.

[0025]

As described above, according to the manual printing apparatus of the first aspect, when the continuous printing mode is designated, printing is performed based on the information stored in the continuous printing information storage means. Since the print data is printed for each operation, when performing continuous printing, it is possible to automatically print different contents for each printing operation. Therefore, every time the printing operation is completed, it is not necessary to set a new print content by operating a key, so that the operability when continuously printing different contents is improved.

According to the manual printing apparatus of the second aspect of the present invention, when the movable frame depressed for printing returns to the position before the depressing, the printing completion detecting means detects the completion of printing. Since the detection is performed, the end of each printing operation can be reliably detected, and errors in setting print data for the next printing are reduced.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the recording means is an ink-jet type recording means, printing is performed in a non-contact manner on a recording medium, and the recording surface is reduced. Good printing results can be obtained even when not flat. In addition, since the configuration is simpler than that of a wire dot type recording means using a print ribbon or the like, the entire apparatus can be reduced in size and printing can be performed more clearly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a manual printing device according to the present invention,
(A) is a figure which shows the normal state of an apparatus, (b) is a figure which shows the state in which the movable frame of the upper part of the apparatus was pushed down.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are cross-sectional views illustrating an internal configuration of the manual printing apparatus, wherein FIG. 2A is a view illustrating a normal state of the apparatus, and FIG. 2B is a view illustrating a state in which a movable frame at an upper portion of the apparatus is pressed down.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the manual printing device.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a recording head and a guide rail portion.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a control system of the manual printing device.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of a process for a printing operation by a manual printing device.

FIG. 7A is a diagram showing a drawing before printing by a manual printing device, and FIG. 7B is a diagram showing a drawing after printing.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 manual type printing device 2 main body (main body) 3 movable frame 12 recording head (recording means) 19 encoder (print completion detecting means) 21 CPU (control means) 28 position detection circuit (print completion detecting means) 32 print data storage Section (print data storage means) 33 Continuous print map (continuous print information storage means) P Recording medium

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A manual type printing apparatus having a recording means for performing printing on a recording medium by performing a printing operation on the recording medium, wherein: a printing data storage means for storing a plurality of printing data; Continuous print information storage means for storing information designating a plurality of desired print data to be printed continuously selected from a plurality of print data stored in the storage means; A printing completion detecting means for detecting that the operation has been completed; and, when a continuous printing mode is designated, printing data to be printed first based on information stored in the continuous printing information storage means, and When completion of one printing operation is detected by the completion detecting means, the next print data to be printed is printed based on the information stored in the continuous print information storing means, and thereafter, Manual printing apparatus characterized by comprising a control means for controlling said recording means so that the plurality of times of printing operation is performed in the like. 2. The printing operation is performed by pressing down a movable frame, which is provided to be vertically movable with respect to a main body, on the recording medium. 2. The manual printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operation is performed by detecting that the movable frame which has been pushed down has returned to a position before being pushed down. 3. The manual printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording unit is an inkjet type recording unit.