JPS588700A - Pen-written recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a pen writing recording device such as a printer, plotter, recorder, etc. that uses a ballpoint pen or an ink pen.

In this type of recording apparatus, generally, a ballpoint pen or ink pen is driven to a recording position by an inlenoid and is applied to the paper surface, and the recording paper ky is moved in the pen kx, y direction or in the pen fx direction.
Print or draw by driving in the force direction. For example, the purpose of plotting is to graph or graphically represent the analysis results or aggregated values of various data, and various arithmetic operations are performed for plotting, which can take a considerable amount of time.

If the ink runs out during drawing, even if the printing apparatus is performing a drawing operation, the figure will no longer appear, and the drawing operation and processing time will all be wasted.

The first object of the present invention is to prevent the ink from running out during drawing, and the second object is to provide a pen writing recording device that can grasp the possibility of ink running out in advance, and can be used to replace the pen or replenish the ink. A third object of the present invention is to provide a pen-writing recording device capable of detecting ink shortage with easy reset.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention focuses on the fact that the energization of the pen driving means for placing the recording pen in the recording position and the recording by the recording pen correspond to each other, or roughly, and the pen driving means The accumulated value of the energizing time is regarded as the total ink consumption, and the energizing time of the pen driving means is counted and integrated to detect the ink usage. Counting and integrating the energizing time can be easily performed by counting clock pulses and incrementing or decrementing the integration counter by one each time the count value reaches a predetermined value. For example, R.A.
, M is allocated with a memory for integration counting, and the value of the memory data is incremented or decremented by 1 each time the count value of the clock pulse reaches a predetermined value. However, since the RA and M data disappear when the device power is cut off, the non-volatile RA and M'i are used as memories and are backed up by batteries. Alternatively, an electromagnetic counter may be used, and the electromagnetic counter may be activated to count up or count down each time the clock pulse count value reaches a predetermined value. However, in any case, the amount of additional elements or control flow is considerable, and in particular, the electromagnetic counter has a large volume and cannot be said to be a good idea.

Therefore, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an electrolytic type integrating element is used as the time count accumulating means.

Some of these integrating elements have a switching function, some have analog color changes, and some have electrolytic metal surfaces that move (
Some of them consume only a small amount of power and can be used repeatedly by changing the polarity.

FIG. 1 shows the main parts of the mechanism of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows an outline of the electrical elements. Referring to Fig. 1, this is a ballpoint pen printing type printer with reeds and carriage 1.
Ballpoint pens A, B, and C are attached to 0. A force directed toward the platen 20 is applied to the ballpoint pens A to C by the coil springs in the spring holders 11□ to 113, respectively, and the plungers of the three solenoids 12 to 123 attached to the bottom surface of the carriage 10 are applied to the ballpoint pens A to C, respectively. Stopper arms 13□ to 134 connected to the pens prevent the pens A to C from moving toward the platen 20. When the solenoids 12, ~123 are energized, their plungers are attracted in the direction of arrow Z against the force of the return spring, and the stopper arms 13□~134 are directed toward the platen 20 (the opposite direction to Z). As a result, the pens A and C are pushed toward the platen 20 by the repulsive force of the coil springs in the spring receivers 111 to 113, and collide with recording paper (not shown) mounted on the platen 20. Solenoid 121
~ 123 and energizes at least one of the carriages 107
Ff: Drive in the X direction and/or move the platen 20 in the Z direction.
By driving in the direction, one character figure,
An arbitrary pattern such as one straight line and one curved line is recorded. The carriage 10 is movably guided in the X direction by a guide bar 30, and a pulse smoke 32 drives the carriage 10 via a wire 31. The platen 20 is driven by a pulse motor 21.

Referring to FIG. 2, a microcomputer (or processor) CPU, a semiconductor read-only memory R,0M-
1 to R, 0M-3, semiconductor read/write memory RAM, input/output capo) l10-1. l10-2. Chip selector C8-1, C82, timer TM, pulse oscillator OSC
, gate element GE, pass buffer amplifier (bidirectional)
BA and initial nut circuit IZ control the printer. The printer is equipped with an operation board OB, and this board OB has four switches 22° to 22° for carriage positioning in the X direction and recording positioning in the Z direction.
4. It is equipped with one switch 225 for indicating recording paper feed, one switch 226 for instructing to set the home position (X coordinate of absolute value origin), and light emitting diodes 22□ to 229 for instructing out of ink. These switches 22. ~226 are connected to the gate GE, and the light emitting diodes 22□~229 are respectively connected to electrochemical switching elements EC81~EC as shown in FIG.
83 in parallel.

The elements and circuits shown in FIG. The output of the solenoid drivers 43 to 45 that energize ~123, t,? A solenoid energizing voltage is applied, and during the application of the voltage, the total amount of energized electricity corresponding to the time is integrated, and according to the integrated value, in this example, when the integrated value reaches a predetermined value, the diodes 22□ to 229 are turned on. ,
It constitutes an ink-out detection circuit. In Figure 3,
The variable resistors VR1 to vR3 connected to the output terminals A and C of the solenoid drivers 43 to 45 are semi-fixed variable resistors.The ink filling amount of each of the ballpoint pens A and C (Fig. 1) before the start of use is variable. A resistance value is set corresponding to each. The other resistors are for current limiting purposes.1 In this example, electrochemical switching elements EC81 to EC8
3 is a switching element which can be used repeatedly as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 55-74466, and in the initial state, the integration terminal T+T is connected via a socket as shown in FIG.
Connect 1' to the resistor loop and connect the switching terminals T, T-
' When connected in parallel to 6 light-emitting diodes 227 to 229, the terminals T+-T, +! The resistance between 'I' and 'I' and 'T-' increases rapidly. At this time, the light emitting diodes 227 to 229 light up. Therefore, at the resistance V11.. to vn, 3, the resistance increases rapidly. Set the time to be slightly shorter than the time when pens A, C (D) run out of ink.

As a result, the light emitting diode 227 is activated just before the ink runs out.
~229 lights up. In this embodiment, due to the sudden increase in the resistance of the element, the voltage drop across the fixed resistor I (11-R3) is abrupt, and the voltage drop across the fixed resistor I (11-R3) is connected to the ground level and the terminal to the input port l10-x coupled to CP IJ. When the CPU receives the notification that the ink is out, it stops the printing operation and notifies the data sending side that the ink is out. When replacing with a new one, remove the switching element (BC8, ~EC83)-q corresponding to the replacement pen from the socket, reverse the terminal, and insert it into the socket again.In other words, if pen A runs out of ink now, Diode 227 lights up and the printing operation stops.Pen A
After replacing with a new one, remove the element EC812 from the socket, and then connect the terminals T/T-/ to the ■ side, T+, T-.
Connect to the e side.

ROM-1 to ROM-3 have switches 22□ to 226
Reading program data 9 for reading the input data of l10-1, figure recording control data, o and other program data for print control, print data of each letter of the alphabet and numbers, and other print data are stored. ing. Pulse motor 32
and 21 are excitation circuits 41. and 21, respectively. ．． 42, and each of them has a semiconductor read-only memo! JROM
An activation instruction signal is given from -X and ROM-Y, and the read address of these RO]'t4'-X and -Y is set to 1.
1. CP based on program data of OM 1 to 3
Controlled by U.

The read address control of ROM-X and -Y is performed by up-counting the address counter when moving forward (10x, 10-y), and by counting down the address counter when returning (-x, -y).

When recording with pen A, the CPU sends energization instruction signals (high level rlJ) t and B to the solenoid driver 43.
An energization instruction signal is given to the solenoid driver 44 during pen recording, and to the solenoid driver 45 during C pen recording.

Next, other embodiments and modifications of the present invention will be described. In the above embodiment, when the ink runs out, the light emitting diode is turned on and the printing operation is stopped.However, instead of stopping the printing operation, the ink is sent to the data sending side (data processing device or keyboard). An indicator light or a buzzer may be activated on the data sending side to notify the user of the disconnection. Light emitting diode 22□~22
It is connected to a 9ff electrochemical switching element,
These may be energized by a microprocessor, an amplifier, or the like in response to changes in the state of the electrochemical switching elements.

In addition to the above-mentioned switching element, the electrolytic current integration element includes:
The interface between the electrolyte and the electrode (metallic substance) moves sequentially when energized, and the interface is visible from the outside, and the area containing iodine, etc., where the color near one electrode gradually becomes darker when energized, and the area near the other electrode. There are some types that can be visually determined, such as those whose color gradually becomes lighter (for example, Sorion). When using these elements, the elements are placed within the visible range of the operation board or keyboard.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the main parts of the mechanism of an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an overview of the electrical equipment section, and FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing an ink-out detection circuit. 10: Carriage A, C: Ballpoint pen 11□~1
13: Splash receiver 121-123: Solenoid 13□
~133: Stopper arm 20 Ni platen 21: Pulse motor 30 Ni guide bar 31: Wire 3
2: Pulse motor VR, ~■R3: Variable resistor 227-
22. :Light-emitting diode (light-emitting element)

Claims (5)

[Claims] (1) In a pen writing recording device equipped with a pen driving means that positions the recording pen at a recording position while receiving electrical energization, the open time of the electrical energization of the pen driving means is counted and accumulated, and according to the cumulative value. What is claimed is: 1. A pen-writing recording device comprising an ink usage response means that causes a state change. (2) The ink use response means is an electrochemical switching element that receives full current during energization of the pen drive means and exhibits a clear change in resistance value when the accumulated amount of energized electricity reaches a predetermined value; The pen writing recording device according to claim 1, wherein the pen writing recording device is configured to disable a recording operation in accordance with the clear change in resistance value. (3) The ink usage response means is an electrochemical switching element that receives the energization of the pen drive means and exhibits a clear change in resistance value when the cumulative amount of electricity supplied reaches a predetermined value. The pen writing recording device according to claim 1, comprising a light emitting element that is activated to emit light in response to the distinct change in resistance value. (4) The ink usage response means is an electrolytic current integration element that receives the bias of the pen drive means and whose metal layer thickness changes depending on the amount of electricity supplied.
) The pen-writing recording device described in section 2. (5) The ink usage response means is an electrolytic current energetic element that receives the biasing of the pen drive means and whose color density changes depending on the amount of electricity supplied. pen writing recording device.