JPH11348355A - Multi-purpose printing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To print on parts to be printed of various forms by controlling an output data provided from a data storage part to output to a position based on positional information provided from a position sense part, and printing in accordance with a control signal of a printing control part. SOLUTION: When a user moves a main frame 50 with pressing a print button 40 manually, a rotary gear 36 of a sense part 33 and a linear gear 31 of a base frame 32 are meshed with each other and moved rotating along a guide groove 41. A rotating force of the rotary gear 36 is transmitted to an encoder 37 via a shaft 38, so that the encoder 37 rotates by an amount equal to the rotating force. The rotation amount of the encoder 37 is detected by an infrared sensor 39 and transmitted to a printing control part. The printing control part supplies an injection signal of an information in a data storage part through an ink cartridge 34 based on a positional information of a sense part provided from the sensor 39, thereby executing an ink jet operation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, and more particularly, to a multi-purpose printing apparatus capable of directly printing on a printing substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Among peripheral devices of a computer, a printer is a typical output device for displaying contents of a computer operation on a recording medium such as paper so that a user can recognize the contents. Among them, an ink jet printer is a typical printer that can be purchased by ordinary users at a low price and has good print quality.

First, the configuration and operation principle of a general ink jet printer will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a general ink jet printer. As shown in the drawing, a general paper 11 is fed using a line feed motor, and a carriage (carriage) 13 on which an ink cartridge 12 is mounted is reciprocally driven left and right. Perform printing. The ink in the cartridge is ejected at constant timing intervals while the carriage 13 is driven at a constant speed.

[0005] Next, when printing of one line is completed, line feeding is executed and the paper is moved to the position of the next line.
11 is transported, and all operations such as the normal driving of the motor and the ejection of the inkjet head at regular intervals are performed based on the timing value based on the timing distribution cycle based on the reference clock of the printer system. This is for printing at the maximum speed that the system can handle.

[0006]

However, the conventional general ink-jet printer has a problem that printing cannot be performed on a printing object which is incompatible with the above structure.
That is, printing cannot be performed when the size or structure of the printing target is different from that of general paper. In one example, printing cannot be directly performed on the surface of a stick or the like, but printing is performed on general paper, and then a method of attaching it to the surface is used.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of such problems, and a first object of the present invention is to provide a versatile printing apparatus capable of directly printing on various types of objects. .

A second object of the present invention is to simplify the structure of a printing apparatus so that a user can directly perform printing by manual operation.

A third object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus which does not use a carriage motor for driving a carriage and a line feed motor for transferring a sheet.

[0010]

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a multi-purpose printing apparatus, comprising: a data storage unit for storing output data; a position sensing unit for sensing a change in the position of a printer head; A printing control unit that controls output data provided from the data storage unit to be output to a position based on the position information provided from the position sensing unit; and a printing operation unit that performs a printing operation according to a control signal of the printing control unit. It can print on various types of print objects.

According to the present invention, the main frame is coupled to the base frame having the linear gear in one direction so as to slide in one direction, and the sensing unit is coupled to one side of the main frame. The position information is generated while reciprocating along the linear gear of the frame, and the ink cartridge is installed on the other side of the main frame, and the control unit controls the ejection operation of the ink cartridge based on the position information from the sensing unit.

In one embodiment, the sensing unit includes a rotating gear that rotates while meshing with the linear gear of the base frame, a circular encoder installed at an upper end of the rotating gear, and a change amount of the circular encoder due to the rotation amount of the rotating gear. Consists of sensors for sensing. A circular encoder can be used by writing a number of scales on a transparent film, or by forming holes periodically in a thin plate at certain intervals.

[0013] Preferably, a print button for controlling a printing operation can be provided on the main frame.

Preferably, the sensing unit includes an encoder capable of confirming a printing position at the time of manual operation to determine a jetting position,
The ink ejection is performed based on an electric signal generated when the cartridge is moved.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a multipurpose printing apparatus according to the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, a multi-purpose printing apparatus according to the present invention is provided with a data storage unit 21 for storing output data, a position sensor 22 for detecting a change in the position of a printer head, and a data storage unit 21. A printing control unit 23 that controls output data to be output to a position based on the position information provided from the position sensing unit 22,
A printing operation unit 24 that performs a printing operation in accordance with a control signal of the printing control unit 23.

First, the data storage unit 21 receives and stores output data provided from a computer or a data generating device and stores the output data. At this time, data provided to the data storage unit 21 is provided in a wired or wireless manner. In order for the printing control unit 23 to execute a printing operation, information on a current position where the printing operation is to be executed is required, and the information is provided from the position sensing unit 22. The printing control unit 23 controls the printing operation unit 24 based on the output data provided from the data storage unit 21 and the position information provided from the position sensing unit 22.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the equipment configuration of the multi-purpose printing apparatus having the functions of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a right side view of FIG. Figure 2
Referring to FIG. 3, a base frame 32 on which a linear gear 31 is installed in a lateral direction and a guide groove 41 formed on the base frame 32 are slidably coupled. Main frame 50 and the main frame (m
(ain frame) 50, a sensing unit 33 that generates position information while reciprocating by the linear gear 31 of the base frame 32 and an ink cartridge 34 installed on the other side of the main frame 50, And a control circuit unit 35 that is mounted in the unit 50 and receives the input of the position information from the sensing unit 33 and controls the ejection operation of the ink cartridge 34.

The sensing portion 33 is a linear gear 31 of the base frame 32.
A rotary encoder 36 that rotates while meshing with the rotary gear 36, a circular encoder 37 that is installed at a fixed distance from the upper end of the rotary gear 36, and a circular encoder 37 that rotates by receiving the rotation amount of the rotary gear 36 through a shaft 38. It comprises a sensor 39 for sensing the amount of change in.

The circular encoder 37 can be constituted by using a transparent film on which a number of scales are indicated or a thin plate having holes periodically formed in a predetermined section, and the sensor 39 can be an infrared sensor or the like. Further, a print button 40 for controlling execution of a printing operation is provided on the main frame 50.

The operation of the present invention configured as described above will be described as follows.

In order to execute a printing operation, the print object 10
After the printer 200 of the present invention is placed on the printer 0, the main frame 50 is moved to a position where printing is to be performed. At this time, since the sensing unit 33 is fixed to the main frame 50, it is moved together. If the print button 40 is moved without being pressed, the ejection operation is not performed.

When the user moves the main frame 33 while manually pressing the print button 40, the rotating gear 36 of the sensor 33 and the linear gear 31 of the base frame 32 mesh with each other and rotate along the guide groove 41 while rotating. Be moved.

The rotational force of the rotary gear 36 is transmitted to the encoder 37 through the shaft 38 so that the encoder 37 rotates by the same amount. The amount of rotation of the encoder 37 is determined by the infrared sensor 39.
And transmitted to the printing control unit 23.

The printing control unit 23 includes a data storage unit 21
Based on the position information of the sensing unit 33 provided from the sensor 39, an ejection signal is supplied through the ink cartridge 34 to execute an ink ejection operation.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains have the spirit of the present invention as defined in the appended claims. The present invention can be variously modified or changed without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0027]

As described above, the multi-purpose printing apparatus according to the present invention performs printing directly on a printing object unlike a conventional printing apparatus, and thus can print on various types of printing objects. The structure is simplified by eliminating the need for a carriage drive motor and a line feed motor.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a multi-purpose printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a structural diagram of the multi-purpose printing apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a right side view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a general inkjet printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 21 Data storage unit 22 Position sensing unit 23 Printing control unit 24 Printing operation unit 31 Linear gear 32 Base frame 33 Sensing unit 34 Ink cartridge 35 Control circuit unit 36 Rotating gear 37 Circular encoder 38 Axis 39 Sensor 40 Print button 41 Guide groove 50 Mainframe 100 Print target 200 Printer

Claims (9)

[Claims] A data storage unit for storing output data; a position sensing unit for sensing a change in the position of a printer head; and an output data provided from the data storage unit based on position information provided from the position sensing unit. A printing control unit that controls printing to a position, and a printing operation unit that performs a printing operation according to a control signal of the printing control unit, and can perform printing on various types of printing targets. Application printing equipment. 2. The multi-purpose printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data storage unit receives data provided from a computer. 3. The multi-purpose printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the data storage unit receives data provided from a computer in a wireless manner. 4. A base frame having a linear gear installed in one direction, a main frame coupled to the base frame and slid in the one direction, and a base frame coupled to one side of the main frame. A sensing unit for generating position information while reciprocating along a linear gear; an ink cartridge installed on the other side of the main frame; and a control for controlling an ejection operation of the ink cartridge based on position information from the sensing unit. And a multi-purpose printing apparatus. 5. The rotating device according to claim 1, wherein the sensing unit includes a rotating gear that rotates while meshing with the linear gear of the base frame; a circular encoder installed at an upper end of the rotating gear; 5. A sensor for detecting a change amount, the sensor comprising:
A multi-purpose printing apparatus as described. 6. The circular encoder includes a transparent film on which a number of scales are displayed.
The multi-purpose printing apparatus according to 5. 7. The multi-purpose printing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the circular encoder includes a thin plate in which holes are periodically formed in a predetermined section. 8. The multi-purpose printing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the sensor is an infrared sensor. 9. The multi-purpose printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a print button for controlling a printing operation is provided on the main frame.