JPS6073883A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to hold handling safety without operating an interrupter switch in an apparatus opened state, by providing the interrupter switch in a power source part. CONSTITUTION:A switch push piece 57 is provided to an upper base side assembly 1 in a protruded state while an in interrupter switch SW59 is provided in a power source unit 58. In this case, the ON/OFF operation of the supply power source of the apparatus can be performed by the opening and closing operation of the apparatus. By this mechanism, the operation of the interrupter switch is prevented in an apparatus opened state and handling safety can be held.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Power of the Invention] The present invention relates to a printer device, and particularly to a protection device for a power supply section thereof.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems]

As is well known, for safety reasons, the power must be turned on when the device is opened or closed.

An inclination button switch is provided which can be turned off. However, it is meaningless if this switch is provided in a location where it can be touched carelessly when the main body of the device is opened. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the location for installing this switch.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been made based on the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a printer device in which the interrupter switch is not operated when the device is open, thereby maintaining safety in handling. It is something.

[Summary of the invention]

In this invention, an interrupter switch is provided inside the power supply section, and this switch is turned on and off according to the operation of the upper base assembly.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to an embodiment not shown in the drawings. Figure 1 schematically shows the structure of the entire thermal transfer recording device. In the figure, 1 is the main body of the device, and on the top of this main body 1 is a paper output tray 2. A paper supply cassette 3 is installed. Further, a platen roller 4 is provided at a position corresponding to the mounting portion of the paper ejection tray 2 in the apparatus main body 1, and a platen roller 4 (not shown) is provided below the platen roller 4 along the axial direction of the platen roller 4. A thermal head 5 having a heat generating portion formed in a line tod shape is provided.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a ribbon storage section 7 is provided within the apparatus main body 1 in which a roll-shaped thermal transfer ribbon 6 as a transfer material is stored in a removable manner. A ribbon winding section 8 is provided that sequentially winds up the thermal transfer ribbon 6 fed out from the ribbon storage section 7.

The thermal transfer ribbon 6 is wound around the roll (core) 9 of the ribbon storage section 7 and fed out, and is sequentially wound around the first and second υ phone guides 10 and 11, and is then wound around the platen roller 4 and the thermal head 5. The ribbon is then guided through the third ribbon guide 12 so as to be rapidly separated from the platen roller 4, and then wound around the fourth ribbon guide 13, and then the ribbon winding section 8 It is configured to be wound around a roll (core) 14.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, a pair of aligning rollers 15 and 15 are disposed at the rear of the upper part of the platen roller 4. A cut paper Pa as a transfer material (recording side), a cut paper Pb inserted from a manual feed tray 17 provided at the rear of the paper ejection tray 2 and fed via a pair of manual feed rollers 18 and 18, and the above-mentioned cut paper Pa. Roll paper Pc supplied from a roll paper supply cassette 19, which will be described later, and which can be replaced with the cut paper supply cassette 3.
The sheet is fed between the platen roller 4 and a paper feeding side vinyl roll 20 arranged to roll into contact with the platen roller 4.

Furthermore, a brake means 21 is provided on one of the pair of aligning rollers 15.15 and the platen roller 4.

Further, the cassette mounting portion 22 and the aligning roller pair 1
5. Cut paper Pa or roll paper Pc between
The first. A second guide plate 24.25 is arranged. In addition, manual paper feed roller pair 18.18 and aligning roller pair 15.25
2nd and 3rd guide plates 27 and 28 are arranged between them to form a manual paper guide path 26 for guiding the manual paper pb.

Further, in a portion corresponding to the paper ejection roller pair 29, 29, there is a platen roller 4 and a paper ejection side pinch roller 3 that rolls into contact with the platen roller 4.
0 and paper P a , P b ,
The fifth. Sixth guide plate 32.
33 are arranged. In addition, the paper guide path 3 on the paper ejection side
A pinch roller 20 on the paper feed side is provided between the manual feed paper guide path 26 and the cut paper Pa or the manual paper Pb fed from between the platen 4 and the paper output tray 2 and the manual feed tray 17. A return paper guide path 34 is now formed. This return paper guide path 34 is the seventh. It is formed by mutually opposing surface parts of the eighth guide plates 35,36.

Furthermore, a light emitter 37 and a light receiver 3 are provided on the upstream side of the ribbon tensioning path.
8, a paper detector (feed sensor) 4θ is provided near the aligning roller pair 15. are each provided with a paper leading edge detector 41.

In the figure s1, 42 is a display/operation input unit, 43 is a pulse motor as a main drive source, 44 is a paper feeding pulse motor,
45 is a manual paper feeding pulse motor, and 46 is a ribbon winding pulse motor. Further, 47 and 48 are plunger type solenoids that move the paper feed side pinch roller 20 and the paper discharge side pinch roller 3o toward and away from the platen roller 4, 49 is a power supply unit, and 50 is a control unit.

Another apparatus of the present invention is as shown in FIG.

The upper base assembly 51 and the lower base assembly 52 are rotatably connected around the pivot shaft 53, and the upper base assembly 51 and the lower base assembly 52 are The upper base assembly 5 is connected by a push-up support mechanism 54 consisting of a guide rod and a compression spring.
1 is pushed upwards, and the upper pace side assembly 51 can be rotated upward. Further, a hook 55 is provided on the free end side of the upper base assembly 51, and a hook hooking par 56 is provided opposite the attachment position i° of the hook 55 of the lower base assembly 52. By hooking the hook 55 to the hook hooking par 56, the upper base assembly 51 is prevented from opening to an unnecessary position due to some external force. Also,
By releasing the hook 55 from the hook retaining par 56, the hook 55 rises to the push-up blade of the compression spring and is rotated upward according to the eye movement.

Then, by rotating the upper base assembly 51 upward and separating it from the lower base assembly 52, the tensioning path for the thermal transfer ribbon 6 is fully exposed. However,
In this state, maintenance such as replacement of the thermal transfer ribbon 6 and maintenance of the portion along the tensioning path of the thermal transfer ribbon 6 can be extremely easily performed. Furthermore, by opening the upper base assembly 51, the transfer paper transport path is also sufficiently opened, so that in the unlikely event that the paper Pa is lost for some reason.

Even if (Pb, Pc) jams, it can be easily removed.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 5(a) and 5(b), the upper base assembly 51 is covered with a switch suppressing piece 57.
An incretor 5W59 is provided in the power supply unit 58, and the power supply to the device is turned ON1 by closing B1 of the device.
0FF can be performed.

In addition, the control part 50 is connected to equipment housed in the main body of the device 6, as will be described later, and is also connected to external equipment (
(not shown).

For example, when a recording command is issued from an external computer, word processor, etc.

When this recording device operates and the cut paper supply cassette 3 is named, the information will be recorded on the cut paper Pa. That is, in response to the recording command, the pulse motor 44 is driven and the drive ω1 is transmitted as will be described later, and the take-out roller 16 is rotated counterclockwise, so that the uppermost can in the cut paper supply cassette 3 is removed. is taken out. In this case, as will be described later, a lubricating tape 60 is attached to the cut paper supply cassette 3 to prevent the cut paper Pa from drowning and to ensure that the take-out roller 16 and the cut paper Pa are in contact with each other. This eliminates the possibility of starting errors. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the cut paper supply cassette 3 places the cut papers Pa all at once on a paper mounting table 63 that is pushed up by a spring 62 in the cassette main body 61. The uppermost cut paper Pa is held down by the separating claws 64 and 64 at the 10th stroke corner in the take-out direction. For this reason, when the cut paper pa is set in an inclined state so that the end of the unloading end is on the lower end of the incline as shown in FIG. The frictional force increases, and due to this frictional force, the cut paper Pa may no longer come into contact with the take-out roller X6, resulting in a take-out error. Therefore, along the inner wall surface and upper end surface of the front frame portion 61a of the cassette body 61, a lubricating tape 6 made of a low-friction synthetic resin or the like is used as i'i) FS.
0 is attached to reduce the frictional resistance so that the cut paper Pa smoothly contacts the take-out roller 16.

A magnet 65 is embedded in the front frame 61a of the cassette main body 61, and the position of the magnet 65 is magnetically determined by a detector (two sets of reed switches) 66 disposed in the cassette device section 22. By detecting the cut paper supply cassette, 4 yellows can be automatically displayed.

Further, the cut paper pa taken out from the cut paper supply cassette 3 is stored in the first cassette. The leading edge of the cut paper Pa passes through the paper guide path 23 formed by the second guide plates 24 and 25, and comes into contact with the rolling contact portion of the stopped aligning rollers 15, 15, where the leading edge of the cut paper Pa or aligned.

After that, the aligning roller 15 is moved by the pulse motor 44.
, 15 are driven and advance between the paper recording guide 70 and the brake plate 71 of the brake means 21.

At this time, as shown in FIG.
8 in the direction of arrow B and separated from the platen roller 4.

On the other hand, at this time, the plunger-type solenoid 73 as a drive source for the head contact i4fk1m structure 72, which will be described later, is in a non-excited state, so the thermal head 5 is displaced in the direction of arrow C and removed from the platen roller 4. is in a state of Then, the pulse motor 43 rotates the platen roller 4 counterclockwise, the pulse motor 46 rotates the winding core 14 of the ribbon take-up 81S8 counterclockwise, and the solenoid 73 is energized to rotate the platen roller 4 and the thermal transfer ribbon 6. The cut paper Pa is advanced in the D direction by . Cut paper P is placed near the top of the pinch roller 3o on the paper ejection side.
A detector 41 for detecting the tip of a is provided, and this detector 41 is composed of, for example, a light emitting element and a light receiving element. When the leading edge of the cut paper Pa is detected by the detector 41, the rotation of the pulse motor 46 and the conveyance of the thermal transfer ribbon 6 are stopped. Also, the solenoid 73 releases the thermal head 5 from the platen roller 4, the solenoid 47 releases the paper feed side pinch roller 20 from the platen roller 4, the solenoid 48 causes the paper output side pinch roller 30 to come into pressure contact with the platen roller 4, and the solenoid 47 releases the paper feed side pinch roller 20 from the platen roller 4. 7 As shown in Fig. 7, the rotary solenoid 74 of the brake means 21
By rotating the brake plate 71 clockwise, the brake plate 71 spindle 74a is rotated in the E direction, and the cut paper Pa is sandwiched between the friction material 75 and the brake plate 71 support shaft 74a. In this state, by slightly rotating the platen roller 4 clockwise by the pulse motor 43, the cut paper Pa is wound around the platen roller 4 without being bent between the friction material 75 and the paper discharge side pinch roller 3°. It turns out. Thereafter, the solenoid 42 is operated to press the paper feed side pinch roller 20 against the platen roller 4, and at the same time, the rotary solenoid 74 of the brake means 21 is rotated counterclockwise to rotate the brake plate 71 in the E' direction. The platen roller 4 is rotated clockwise (twice) to near the part where the platen roller 4 and the paper discharge side pinch roller 30 are in contact, and the cut paper Pa is conveyed in the reverse direction.

After the reverse transport has been carried out, the solenoid 73 is operated to bring the thermal head 5 into pressure contact with the platen roller 4, and the thermal transfer ribbon 6 is moved around the core 14 of the ribbon winding section 8 if;
At the same time as the platen roller 4 rotates in 7 directions and winds up
Heating recording of the thermal head 11 begins while rotating the head counterclockwise.

In other words, in these 8 [3 minutes], the ink on the thermal transfer ribbon 6 is melted by the thermal head 5 in the heating bath, and the cut paper Pa
transcribed into. The transferred cut paper Pa is placed on the guide plate 32
．． Passing between the paper ejection side paper guide paths 31 formed between 33,
The rear end of the cut paper Pa is ejected onto the paper ejection tray 2 by the paper ejection roller pair 29, 29 up to the point where the platen roller 4 and the paper feed side pinch roller 20 are in contact with each other. after that,
The rotary solenoid 74 of the brake means 21 is rotated clockwise, and the brake plate 71 is rotated in the E direction. At the same time, the solenoid 73 is set to 0FFL, and the thermal head 5 is rotated.
By releasing the cut paper pa from the platen roller 4 and rotating the platen roller 4 clockwise, the cut paper pa is reversely conveyed in the return paper guide path 34 formed between the guide steps 35 and 36. In this case, the brake plate 71 returns the cut paper Pa in the E' direction when it enters between the guide plates 35 and 36, and the cut paper 1) a is reversely conveyed to the printing start position. After that, repeat the same operation for each color of the L transfer ribbon 6.
Return to A-, and when the transfer is completed, the paper is discharged to the paper discharge tray 2. During this time, the leading edge of the cut paper Pa is J'Ji: paper tray 2.
In this case, the rear end portion is discharged from the hanging space between the paper discharge tray 2 and the manual feed tray 17.

As shown in FIG. 9, one aligning roller 16 is pressed against the other aligning roller 15 by a spring body 8o. Therefore, the paper P passing between the aligning rollers 16 and 16 is
a, (Pb) will be separated by the thickness. Paper Pa
By using the lever 81 and the detector 82 to know the size of two or more sheets of paper (pb), the paper output tray 2 can be moved without printing.
You can prevent misaligned prints and paper jams by discharging the paper to the desired location. This lever 81 is connected to one of the aligning rollers 1
5 is magnified ten times at the position of the detector 82, and the detector 82 consists of a light emitting element and a light receiving element.

The thermal transfer ribbon 6 is the ribbon feeding section? The ribbon passes through the ribbon guides 10, 11, 12, and 13, and is wound up by the ribbon winding section 8 by the pulse motor 46. Ribbon guide 1o Kinso includes the types of thermal transfer ribbon 6 and the thermal transfer ribbon 6.
A detector 39 is provided which can detect the color of the image. The detector 39 is composed of a light emitting element 32 and a light receiving element 38, and the thermal transfer ribbon 6 is provided with a plurality of barcodes, for example, four barcodes, as will be described later. The type and color of the ribbon 6 can be detected, and the type of the thermal transfer ribbon 6 is displayed on the color display sections 85, 86, 87, and 88 of the operation section 42, which will be described later, and the type of the thermal transfer ribbon 6 can be set without opening the machine. Recognize. Further, a rotary encoder 9o and a detector 91 are provided near the ribbon jf side 13 in order to set the color boundary of the thermal transfer ribbon 6 near the printing point. (See FIGS. 1 and 2) As the thermal transfer ribbon 6 moves, the rotary encoder 90 rotates.
0 rotates, and the conveyance distance of the thermal transfer ribbon 6 can be detected by detecting it with the hole provided at the rotary encoder 9° and the detector 9.
The leading edge of a predetermined color is brought near the printing point 93, and initial setting is automatically performed. Further, as will be described later, the type of thermal transfer ribbon 6 can be automatically determined, the mechanism control mode can be changed, and the printing range can be changed. In particular, when the thermal transfer ribbon 6 is a single-color transfer paper, printing can be performed over a wider range than that of a multi-color thermal transfer ribbon.

Furthermore, when a multicolor thermal transfer ribbon is used, if the print signal is up to a specified color of the thermal transfer ribbon, the thermal transfer ribbon is skipped and conveyed after printing of the specified color is completed. Especially 4
Color thermal transfer ribbon (Blank B1 Yellow Y1 Magenta N
, Cyan C), if printing starts at 131'' with a pyrothermal transfer ribbon and ends with a black print signal, yellow Y
, magenta M, and cyan C are skipped and transported to the next black printable state.

The relationship between the platen roller 4 and the thermal head 5 is that of paper]:' It is necessary to repeat pressure contact and release in order to convey a, Pb, and Pc. Therefore, as shown in FIG. It is composed of a solenoid 73 that is brought into pressure contact. Then, the solenoid 73 is turned ON to bring the thermal head 5 into pressure contact with the platen roller 4, and the solenoid 73 is turned OFF, so that the thermal head 5's own weight causes the platen roller to come into contact with the platen roller 4.
It is configured to be released from However, if the solenoid plate 95 is used in a state where it is simply directly connected, the suppression will change due to a slight difference in the distance between the solenoid 73 and the thermal head 5, resulting in variations in the airframe. Therefore, in order to reduce the gap (stroke) between the armature 99 and the flange 100 as in the present application, a spring 102 is inserted between the stopper 101 provided on the thermal head 5 and the solenoid 73, and as shown in FIG. For example, if a pressing force of P2 is required, use P.

If we use a spring 102 with a compressive load of , and the gap (stroke) is 88, then P.

There is a margin for Pt (K)), and the holding force of the solenoid 73 only needs to be greater than P2, so the voltage can be lowered by that amount, resulting in energy savings, and if the voltage is not lowered, a smaller solenoid can be used. This results in energy savings and a more compact aircraft. In addition, as shown in FIG. 12, the printing surface (heating element part) of the thermal head 5 is
Even if the plate is tilted against the platen, when pushed up in the printing direction by the solenoid 23, the plate spring 95 is an elastic body, so it contacts the platen roller 4 uniformly as shown by the broken line, and the load is evenly distributed, so uneven printing density and uneven contact are avoided. This has the wonderful effect of preventing printing defects.

13 and 14 show the relationship between the thermal head 5 and the cooling fan 105. The thermal head 5 is composed of a ceramic substrate 5a having a heating element and a heat sink 5b. The board temperature detector (half-sieve sensor) 106 detects the temperature change of the heating element, and the cooling fan 1 is activated based on the temperature change.
By controlling the rotation speed of 05, cooling efficiency can be increased.

Further, as shown in FIG. 15, the first operation section 42 has a paper jam indicator 107, a paper out indicator 10B, a ribbon out indicator 109 on the left side, and color display sections 85 to 88 in the center.
．． Eject display section 220. Eject key 111. A letter display section 112 is arranged, and on the right side there are a copy display section 113, a copy key 114, an online display section 115, an online key 116, and a test display section 117.
, test key 11B, feed display section 119, feed key 120, ready display section 121, and power supply display section 1
22 was installed.

Next, the roll paper supply cassette 19 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 16 to 18.

N<16 The figure shows the configuration of the roll paper supply cassette 19. In the figure, 130 is a cassette body, and a cassette cover 131 is superimposed on the upper surface side of the cassette body 130, forming a structure 5X.

The cassette main body ZSO includes a roll paper loading section 132 and a roll paper feeding means 133. and roll paper tension means 1
34 and the cassette cover 13
1 has an opening 1'35.

Further, a cutter 136 is provided at the front end.

As shown in FIG. 17, the roll paper mounting section 132 attaches both ends of a core (paper tube) 137 around which the roll paper Pc is wound in a first position. It is supported by a second reel unit 138, 139.

The first reel unit 23B has a reel body 141 which is rotatably attached to a spindle 140 having one end fixed to the side frames 130a and Z30a of the cassette body 130, and a reel body 141 on the side of the reel body 141. '＋'j? l
It has a configuration including a disk 143 pressed through a T trapezoidal coil spring 142, and a brake 144 provided on the mutually opposing surfaces of the disk 143 and the reel body 141.

The brake 144 is made of stainless steel 145 with the same name on the disc 143 side, and a polyester-based nonwoven fabric (made by Meitoshi Excelline) fixed on the reel body 141 side.
146.

The reel body 141 is provided with anti-rotation protrusions 147, 147 that protrude and engage with notches 137a, 137a formed on the end face of the roll 9. The structure is such that this does not occur.

Further, the second reel unit 139 is connected to the side frame 13.
A reel body 149 is rotatably attached to a support shaft 148 with one end fixed to 0a.

The reel body 149 is configured to have a trapezoidal coil spring 150 that presses the reel body 149 toward the reel unit side 13& at a constant IK of 7%. The trapezoidal coil is shown in a state where it is held down against the biasing force of the O 150.

In addition, since the middle part of the spindle 14B of the second reel unit 139 is tapered to a small diameter, the reel body 149 can swing, and the core 137 can be easily attached and detached. It looks like this.

However, 1. +, 1. MJ, core 137 held at both ends by reel units 138, 139 of 2
will not rotate unless a predetermined force is applied due to the thick friction resistance of the brake 144, which prevents the roll paper Pc wound around the roll paper Pc from being unintentionally fed out, and also prevents the roll paper Pc from being rolled to a predetermined level. This means that a good tensioned state with no sag can be maintained due to the added tension.

Next, a case will be described in which a roll paper supply cassette 19 is set in place of the cut paper supply cassette 3 described above to form an image frame. First, the core 137 on which the roll paper Pc has been wound in advance is held via the first and second reel units 138 and 139 incorporated into the cassette body 130 as described above.

After that, the cassette cover 131 is attached, and the roll paper feeding means 13'3 is
The roll paper Pc is held between e1 and 162 and pulled out to the outlet, and the leading end of the roll paper Pc is cut by a cutter 136 formed at the leading end of the cassette cover 131 to align the leading ends. . At this time, the roll paper mounting section 132 and the roll paper feeding means 133
A roll paper tensioning means 134 consisting of a tension arm 164 that is always urged in a predetermined direction by a spring 163 is provided between the two, so that there is a buffer effect.

Then, as shown in FIG. 18, the roll paper supply cassette 19 is attached to the cassette loading section 22. At this time, the position of the magnet 170 embedded in the cassette main body 130 is detected by the detector (reed switch) 66 provided in the cassette unit 2i section 22, and the position of the magnet 170 embedded in the cassette main body 130 is detected by the
9 can be automatically detected. That is.

The embedding positions of the magnets 65 and 170 are different for roll paper and cut paper, and these are the detectors 66, respectively.
It is becoming increasingly detected by

Next, the roll paper pc is pulled out by turning the knob 162, and passes between the guide plates 24 and 25 in the same manner as in the case of the cut paper supply cassette 3.

Then, when the feed gear 120 of the 1 display/operation input section 42 is pressed, the aligning rollers 15, 15, etc. are driven.
The roll paper Pc is fed through the same valve feed path as the cut paper Pa (Pb) until it appears on the paper discharge tray 2. In this state, further actuate the eject key 111 of the operation unit 42 to automatically release the roller holding conveyance system in the Ma'3h section and convey the roll paper PC by an arbitrary length, and then cut paper Pa (Pb ), take the deflection and start Mark 11 rule. When printing multiple colors, press the paper feeding side pinch roller 20 and the paper ejection side pinch roller 30 against the platen roller 4, turn the solenoid 73 to 0FFL to release the thermal head 5 from the platen roller 4, and turn the pulse motor 43 back. Rotate clockwise and transport in reverse. In this case, the roll paper PC is inserted into the opening 135 provided in the cassette cover 131.
Let it flex. In addition, if the roll paper Pc car skew occurs, press the eject key 1 of the operation 342 shown in the $15 diagram.
11 is activated to automatically release the roller clamping conveyance system in the deep groove portion, and the skew of the °C roll paper Pc can be corrected.

Then, the roll paper Pc on which printing has been completed is discharged to the Ju1 paper tray 2, and the paper discharge port is cut off by the provided knife 171. Note that the detailed operation will be described later.

Next, the control circuit will be explained. In Figure 9,
The main control unit 191 receives control signals from the display/operation unit 42 and various sensors, namely a ribbon detector 39, a paper detector 40, a paper tip 1″1: detector 41, and a cassette detector 6.
6. Aligning roller opening/closing detector 82, thermal head 5 substrate temperature detectors 106, 106, print medium temperature detector 192, paper ejection detector 193 (2) Paper ejection roller opening/closing detector (not shown) Output signals from the sub-control unit 194 are supplied.The main control unit 191 controls the display/operation input unit 42 and the sub-control unit 194 based on these signals.
, thermal head 5, data buffer (mesori) Z 9
S. supplies a predetermined control signal to the interface section 196. That is, in the display/operation input section 42, the main control section 1
91 and supplies a predetermined operation signal to the main control unit 1.
A display corresponding to a predetermined operation is performed by a control signal supplied from 91.

The sub-control unit 194 operates the pulse motor 43 and the ribbon winding pulse motor 46 according to control signals supplied from the main control unit 191 and the rotary encoder detector 91.
, paper feed pulse motor 441, manual paper binding pulse motor 45. Dual head 5, drive solenoid 73, pinch roller 20, 14Q dynamic solenoid 47. The pinch roller 30, the driving solenoid 48, and the rotary solenoid 24 for driving the brake plate 41 are each set to a predetermined operating state. Also, in the data buffer 195, the main control unit 1
In response to the control signal 91, print data from the externally connected device 197 supplied via the interface section 196 is stored, for example, line by line, and the stored print data is supplied to the thermal head 5. The thermal head 5 melts the ink on the thermal transfer ribbon 6 based on the control signal supplied from the main control unit 191 and the print data supplied from the data buffer 195, and performs an operation to thermally transfer the ink to the sheets Pa, Pb, and Pc. .

Further, the interface section 196 is connected to the main control section 191.
It transmits and receives signals between the external connection device 197 and the external connection device 197. A vertical synchronization signal (page synchronization signal), a horizontal synchronization signal, a clock signal, and a status signal indicating the operating status of the main body of the device are supplied from the interface unit 196 to the externally connected device 197, and a start signal is supplied from the externally connected device 197. , a stop signal, a color designation signal, and other command signals and print data are supplied. For example, if the input print data is a print pattern, it is directly stored in the data buffer 196, and if it is a character code, it is converted into a character pattern using a code interface control circuit, a character generator, etc. (not shown). After that, the data is stored in the data buffer 195.

Next, the cassette detector 66 will be further explained. As mentioned above, this detector 66 consists of two sets of reed switches, and these reed switches are operated by magnets provided at different positions I' of the roll paper cassette 19 and the cut paper supply cassette 3. There is.

The main control unit 191 determines which cassette is installed in the insertion slot depending on which of these reed switches is operated. The printing operation mode is automatically set to cut paper or roll paper depending on the type of cassette installed in the insertion slot, and each section is operated in accordance with the type of paper.

Therefore, this is advantageous compared to the conventional case where only either roll paper or cut paper can be used, and moreover, it is possible to mount the roll paper cassette 19 and the cut paper supply cassette 3 in the same mounting section 22. As a result, it is automatically determined which cassette is installed, and printing operations, etc. are automatically switched and set accordingly, resulting in good operability.

Further, since the determination result of the loaded cassette is supplied to the externally connected device 197 via the interface section 196 by the status signal, this is transmitted to the externally connected device 197.
97, which is advantageous.

Next, the thermal head 5 will be further explained.

The thermal head 5 can be driven in 0 to 4 divisions depending on the number of data of the 1 line to be printed. still,
0 means there is no print data. This thermal head 5 is a line head in which heating elements for 1728 dots are arranged horizontally in a row, and are arranged at 448,448°448.
It is divided into four blocks of 384 dots. When using 3 or 4 color ribbons, advance the paper.

In order to prevent color shift due to regression, the processing time for one line (data transfer to the thermal head 5 and driving of the thermal head 5) is kept constant by four-division fixed driving. This is also a measure to allow paper feeding and printing to proceed simultaneously in this apparatus, without adopting an incremental paper ejection method such as printing→paper feeding→printing→etc. In other words, the incremental method assumes that the paper has stopped when printing, but in reality, even with the incremental method, the paper does not stop completely, so the condition is the same even if printing and paper feeding are performed at the same time. This is because it can be considered that

Printing is also performed in the above direction when using one-color or two-color thermal transfer ribbon without overlapping one color.

However, in this case, the processing time for 1 line is different because the thermal head is divided and driven from O to 4. That is, since there is almost no fear of color misregistration, the printing speed can be increased.

Transfer of print data is performed as shown in FIG. That is, during the period T□, the external connection device 197
While all 8 bits of data are stored in the data buffer 195, 448 pits of data of the first block stored first are transferred to the thermal head 5 during a period T. Then, after all the data is stored in the data buffer 195, the first block of data is printed during a period of sTm. After this, data 4 of the second block is stored in the period T4.
48 pits are transferred and printed during Tls. Thereafter, three blocks of 448 bits of data and a fourth block of 384 bits of data are sequentially transferred and printed.

Also, the sub-control unit 194 outputs D1'? D! dot pal 7
, -F- 43, the ribbon winding pulse motor 46 is driven.

By the way, in printing control by the thermal head 5, the ambient temperature (external temperature), the temperature rise caused by the electric circuit inside the main body of the apparatus, and the substrate temperature of the thermal head 6 are important. The former is largely related to the melting state of the thermal transfer ribbon 6 and the paper, especially the thermal transfer ribbon 6. In order to know these states, the printing medium temperature detector 1 is used.
92 is provided within the main body of the device. The latter is due to heat accumulation in the thermal head 5 due to continuous printing.
To know this, a pair of substrate temperature detectors 106, 106
is provided. This substrate temperature sensor 106, 106
The mounting position is, for example, the thermal head 50 divided into four parts.
They correspond to the blocks at both ends.

By arranging it in this manner, it is possible to detect the difference in heat storage between the left and right ends of the thermal head 5 even when printing a text or the like where the print pattern tends to be concentrated on the left side of the paper, for example.

Stable temperature control can be performed by controlling the duration of power supplied to the heat generating resistors of the left and right end blocks. Moreover.

By performing this control using the temperature information of the thermal transfer ribbon 6 detected by the printing medium temperature detector 192 as a parameter, even better printing can be achieved.

Although the substrate temperature detectors 106, 106 are provided corresponding to the blocks at both ends of the divided thermal head 5, the present invention is not limited to this, and even better printing can be achieved if the substrate temperature detectors 106 are provided correspondingly to each divided block. It can be carried out.

Next, automatic discrimination of thermal transfer ribbon using the ribbon detector 39 will be explained. As mentioned above, the thermal transfer ribbon 6
On one side, as shown in FIG. 21, there is an identification code, for example, a bar code 20, consisting of, for example, 4 bits, corresponding to the color of the ink.
1 from the boundaries of each color of the thermal transfer ribbon 6, as shown in FIG. At a pitch of 2 from a distance! This barcode 201 is detected by a ribbon detector 39, and the color of the ink is determined. The barcode printed on each ink ribbon is as shown in Figure 23.
Even if the colors are the same, the barcodes for certain colors differ depending on the type of thermal transfer ribbon 6.

The main control unit 191 determines the type of thermal transfer ribbon 6 from the detected barcode, and performs printing operations accordingly.

That is, when the power supply section 50 is turned on in step SIz in FIG. 24, the thermal transfer ribbon 6 is conveyed in step S2, and the barcode 201 is detected by the ribbon detector 39 in step SI3. When the barcode 201 is detected as a result, the type of thermal transfer ribbon 6 is determined in step SI4. This determination is made based on FIG. 23. When the type of the thermal transfer ribbon 6 is determined, the thermal transfer ribbon 6 is conveyed to the first color in step S5, and then a printing command is determined in step S6. And if there is no print command,
It is placed on standby. Further, if the barcode 201 is not detected in step 8Is, step S
At step I7, it is determined whether the thermal transfer ribbon 6 has been fed by one page (one color), and if the result is not yet, the control returns to step SI, ? will be moved to If the ribbon 6 has been fed by one page, it is determined in step S8 that the ribbon 6 is of one color (black only), and control is shifted to step SI6.

When it is determined in step SIe that there is a print command,
In step S9, it is determined whether the thermal transfer ribbon 6 is a 3 or 4 color ribbon, and if the result is a 3 or 4 color ribbon, printing control for 3 or 4 colors is performed. That is, step sIl.

The first color is printed in step 5IZ7, and the paper is returned in step 5IZ7. Thereafter, the ribbon 6 is fed to the second color in step S12, and printing in the second color is performed in step S5Izs. Thereafter, similar operations are performed to perform printing in the third color, third color, and fourth color.

Further, in step SI9, if the thermal transfer ribbon 6 has colors other than 3.4 colors, 2 colors are used in step 8Iz4.
It is determined whether the color is negative or not, and if it is determined that there are two colors, the first color is printed in step 5Izs. Thereafter, the paper is returned in step 8116, the ribbon 6 is fed to the second color in step 8Izy, and second printing is performed in step 81zs.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S14 that the ribbon 6 is of one color, one page is printed using black ink in step 5119.

Incidentally, at the same time as printing is performed in steps 5IlO, 5Iz3, 8Iz5, etc., the next color is determined by the ribbon detector 39. Furthermore, when the type of thermal transfer ribbon 6 is determined, the corresponding display section of the display/operation input section 42 is lit.

In addition, as described above, when thermal transfer ribbons of two to four colors are installed, for example, if a printing color is specified from the external connection device 197, after printing with that color, the next The ribbon is fed to the same color portion at a faster speed than the ribbon feeding speed during printing, and other colors are skipped. This control is performed in conjunction with the output signal of the ribbon detector 39.

In this way, various types of thermal transfer ribbons 6 can be used, and the type of ribbon 6 can be automatically determined just by setting the ribbon 6, and printing operations can be performed according to the type of ribbon 6. It has extremely good operability.
Ru.

Further, since the automatically determined type of thermal transfer ribbon 6 is displayed on the display/operation input section 42, it is possible to prevent printing errors due to differences in ink ribbons.

Furthermore, if the thermal transfer ribbon 6 is automatically determined to be a single-color ribbon, there is no need to locate the beginning of the ink and printing is possible from the spot, which is advantageous because the range can be wider than the multi-1 pJ + bond stamp notification 1] range. It is.

Furthermore, since several types of thermal transfer ribbons can be automatically discriminated and used, it is possible to avoid, for example, the waste of printing using four color ribbons when two colors are sufficient.

Furthermore, since the conveyance of the thermal transfer ribbon uses a rotary encoder 90 and a detector 91 to detect the distance the ribbon has been conveyed, it is possible to reliably feed the ribbon with a relatively simple configuration, and to prevent printing errors. can be prevented.

Furthermore, since the ink ribbon is identified using a bar code, it can be detected with a relatively simple configuration.

Furthermore, since ink other than the specified color is skipped at a faster speed than the ink ribbon transport speed during printing, it is possible to shorten the printing completion time for one sheet when printing with a small number of colors using a multicolor ribbon. It is possible.゛Next, detection of the end of the roll paper will be explained.

From the end of the roll paper PC mentioned above, fls o o
As shown in FIG. 25, an indicator section, for example, a rectangular through hole 204, is provided in front of the rns. Then, when this through hole 204 is detected by the paper leading edge detector 41, the main control section 191 displays a message on the paper out display 10B of the display/operation input section 42. However, since a margin of more than one A4 size sheet remains between the through hole 2θ4 and the end, printing for one A4 size or letter size sheet is possible using this portion.

With this configuration, the end of the roll paper can be detected easily and reliably, so that half-finished printing can be prevented. Furthermore, it is convenient because it is possible to print for one sheet of paper size after the terminal end is detected.

Next, an outline of the printing operation using cut paper and roll paper will be explained. Detection of cut paper and roll paper is as described above. First, the printing operation using cut paper will be described with reference to FIGS. 26 and 27.

When a start signal is supplied from the external connection@device 197,
In step 8Cz, the pinch roller 20 is pressed against the platen roller 4. Thereafter, in step S02, the take-out roller 16, aligning roller pair 15.15, and platen roller 4 are driven, and the paper Pa is conveyed as shown in FIG. 27(a) (bl).At the same time, in step SCs, the ribbon The winding unit 8 is driven and a predetermined amount of ink is conveyed to the printing point. Along with this ribbon feeding, the thermal head 5 is pressed against the platen roller 4 in step SC4. In this state, step SC
In s, it is determined whether the leading edge of the paper Pa has been detected by the paper leading edge detector 41. As a result, if the leading edge of paper Pa is not detected, step SC6 and step S
05 is repeatedly executed to transport the paper Pa. Further, when the leading edge of the paper Pa is detected by the detector 41 as shown in FIG. 27(C), the pinch roller 30 is pressed against the platen roller 4 in step SCv, and the thermal head 5 is pressed against the platen roller 4 in step SC8.
be separated from Furthermore, the pinch roller 20 is separated in step SC9.

In step 5C1O, the brake plate 71 is pressed. Then, in step 5C11, the platen roller 4
The paper Pa is slightly conveyed by the rotation of
), the deflection of the paper Pa is removed. Then, in step 5C12, the pinch roller 2o is pressed against the platen roller 4, and in step 5013, the brake plate 71 is separated, and in step 5Cz4, the platen roller 4 is reversely rotated as shown in FIG. Pa is transported backwards. At this time, the paper Pa is held between the pinch rollers 20 and 30 and the platen roller 4 without being bent. After the printing start position of paper Pa is set in this way, step 5
At step C15, the thermal transfer ribbon 6 and paper Pa are transported, and at step 5C16, the thermal head 5 is pressed against the platen roller 4, and at step SCz
At step 7, printing is started as shown in FIG. 27(f). Steps 5C17 and 5Cx8 are then repeatedly executed until the end of printing (page synchronization signal or stop signal) is detected in step 5Cxs. When the end of printing is detected, the thermal transfer ribbon 6 is conveyed to the next color printing point in step 5C19, and the thermal head 5 is separated from the platen roller 4 in step 5C2o. Further, in step 5C2z-7=, the brake plate 71 is pressed, and in step 5022, the paper Pa is conveyed backward to the printing point as shown in FIG. 27(g). At this time, the paper Pa is stored between the paper guide paths 35 and 36 as shown in FIG. 27(h). Thereafter, the thermal head 5 is pressed against the platen roller 4 in step 5023, and printing of the next color is started in step 5024. In step 5C25, it is determined whether printing of all colors designated by the color designation signal has been completed.

If not completed, step 5C19 to 5C25
is executed repeatedly. Then, when the gold printing is completed, step SC, ? 6, the paper ejection roller pair 29.
29 is driven, and the paper is delivered to a paper discharge tray (not shown).

Incidentally, the above explanation was about multi-type printing.

In the case of monochrome printing, the paper is ejected immediately after the first printing. This is controlled according to the detected type of thermal transfer ribbon and color designation signal as described above.

Next, a printing operation using roll paper will be explained using FIGS. 28 and 29.

In step SRz, when the feed key 120 of the display/operation manual section 42 is pressed, the pinch roller 20 is pressed against the platen roller 4. After this step SR,? In the aligning roller pair 15.15, platen roller 4
is driven. In this state, when the cassette knob (not shown) is turned to send out the roll paper Pc, the roll paper Pc is conveyed as shown in FIGS. 29(a) and 29(b). At the same time, in step 8'Rs, the ribbon winding section 8 is driven, and a predetermined ink is conveyed to the printing point. Along with this ribbon conveyance, the thermal head 5 is pressed against the platen roller 4 in step SR4. In this state, in step SRs, the paper leading edge detector 41
It is determined whether the leading edge of the paper Pc has been detected. As a result, if the leading edge of paper Pc is not detected,
Step 8R6 and step 8Rs are repeatedly executed to transport the paper Pc.

Further, when the leading edge of the paper Pc is detected by the detector 41 as shown in FIG. 29(C), step SR7 and SRs
At this time, the thermal head 5 is separated, the pinch roller 30 is pressed against the platen roller 4, and the paper Pc is further conveyed. Then, as shown in FIG. 29(d), when the paper PC is detected by the paper discharge detector 193.

In step SR9, the paper Pc is further increased by 100 T.
ILm Transported □. After this, in step SRZ□, the eject key 111 of the display/operation input section 42 is manually turned on, and all the rollers 15, 15, 2
0, 30, 29, 29 and thermal head 5 is the 29th
As shown in Figure (e), the paper skew is corrected (Step 5R
11). For example, when the eject key 111 is turned on manually after skew doubling, step S RZ z
.

At 5R13 and 5R14: Id, the pinch roller 30 is pressed and released as shown in FIG. will be held. After this, step SRI5.

In 8Rzy, SRzg, 5Rz9, Fig. 29 (g
), the brake plate 7I is attached to the base 1.

While the pinch roller 20 is pressed, the heat 4i and the printing bong 6 are conveyed, and in this state, the thermal head 4 is pressed to open the print. In step 5R20, the end of printing is detected, and step 8R1 continues until the end of printing.
9,5R20 is executed repeatedly. When the end of one printing is detected in step 5R2o, the thermal transfer ribbon 6 is conveyed to the printing point of the next color in steps 5R21, 8R22 and SR23 as shown in FIG. Then, the paper Pc is reversely conveyed into a roll paper cassette (not shown) to the position immediately before printing).

Then, in step 8 R24, S R2s, the thermal head 5 is pressed to print the next color. Step SR,? In step 6, it is determined whether printing of all the colors specified by the color designation (m number) has been completed, and if not, steps 5R21 to 5R26 are repeatedly executed.Then, printing of remaining colors is performed. When the process is completed, the paper Pc is sent out to a paper discharge tray (not shown) in step SR, ?7.

Note that this case also concerned multicolor printing.

In the case of monochrome printing, the paper is ejected immediately after the first printing. This is controlled according to the type and color designation signal of the thermal transfer ribbon detected as described above, and the interrupter switch is not operated in the open state, making it possible to provide a printer device that can maintain safety in handling. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional front view showing the overall configuration of the device, FIGS. 2 and 3 are explanatory views showing the configuration of the main parts, and FIG. 4 5 is a front view showing the opening/closing operation state of the upper base assembly.
Figures (a) and (b) are explanatory diagrams for explaining the opening and closing operations of the interrupter switch in the power supply unit accompanying the opening and closing operations of the upper pace side assembly, and Figure 6 shows the structure of the main parts of the cut paper supply cassette. A sectional view, FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the brake means, FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration around the platen roller,
Figures 9(a) and 9(b) are explanatory diagrams for explaining overlapping feed detection, Figure 1O is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the thermal head contact/separation mechanism, and Figure 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the thermal head contact/separation mechanism. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the spring pressing force and compression load. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the thermal head and the platen. FIGS. 13 and 14 are side and front views showing the structure of the thermal head. , FIG. 15 is a plan view of the display operation section, FIG. 16 is a schematic longitudinal sectional side view of the roll paper supply cassette, and FIG. 17 is a W1 side view showing the roll paper core holding section. Fig. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing the installed state of the roll paper supply cassette, Fig. 19 is a block diagram schematically showing the control circuit, and Fig. 20 is a timing chart shown to explain the operation of the main control section and sub-control section. , Ng diagram. FIG. 21 is a plan view showing an example of a thermal transfer ribbon, FIG. 22 is a plan view shown to explain the barcode, FIG. 23 is a diagram showing the relationship between the type of thermal transfer ribbon and the barcode, and FIG.
Fig. 4 is a flow chart shown to explain the operation according to the type of thermal transfer ribbon, Fig. 25 is a plan view shown to explain the detection of the end of roll paper, and Fig. 26 is shown to explain the printing operation using cut paper. The flowcharts shown in FIGS. 27(a) to 27(h) each correspond to FIG. 26, but do not show the operation of each part, and are schematic diagrams of the pile structure. FIG. 28 is a flowchart shown to explain the printing operation using roll paper, and FIGS. 29(a) to (11) are schematic configuration diagrams showing the operation of each part corresponding to FIG. 28. 1... Apparatus main body, 2... Paper output tray, 3... Cut paper supply cassette, 4... Platen roller, 5...
Thermal head, 6°°° thermal transfer ribbon, 15. Z5
... Aligning roller pair, 16... Take-out roller,
Pa...Cut paper, I9...Roll paper cassette, p
c...°roll paper, 20...paper feed side pinch roller, 2
2... Cassette mounting section, 30... Paper discharge side pinch roller, 39... Ribbon detector, 40... Paper detector,
41... Paper leading edge detector, 42... Display/operation input section, 43... Pulse motor, 44... Pulse motor for paper feeding, 45... Pulse motor for manual paper feeding. 46...Pulse motor for ribbon winding, 47°48°
°゛Plunger type solenoid, 49...Power supply section, 50
. . . Control unit, 51 . . . Upper base fine and coarse solid, 52 .
・Lower pace side assembly, 53... Pivot shaft, 59... Interrupter switch, 65... Magnet, 66...
・Cassette detector, 7Z...brake plate, 73...
Plunger type solenoid, 74... Rotary lean lens, 90... Rotary encoder, 91... Detector, 106... Substrate temperature detector, 170... Magnet, 191... Main control unit, 192 ...Print medium temperature sensor, 194...Sub-control unit, 195...Datum, tuff, 196...Interface unit. 197...External connection device, 201...Barcode. 204...Through hole. Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 1 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 8 Figure 9 (a) (b) Figure 10 Figure 11 Figure 20 Figure 23 Figure 21 Figure 22 Figure 25 27 (a) (C) Article 27 (e) (h) 1. Display of the case %1 1982-182853 2. Name of the invention Printer device 3. Person making the amendment Relationship to the case Patent applicant (307) Toshiba Corporation 4, Embedded (by 11 people) 5, Voluntary Sanno 7, Contents of amendment fl,) From the last line of page 4 to the first line of page 5 of the specification, ``・
・Between cut paper Pa' or roll paper Pc・
``...'' which song has a roll paper PC...
” he corrected. (2) On page 5, line 3: “...has been done. Also”
The statement has been corrected to ".Furthermore, the paper guide path 210 that the cut paper Pa is guided through is formed by the upper surface of the second guide plate 25 and the lower surface of the third guide plate 27." do. (3) Page 5, lines 6 to 7, line 1: [142, 3rd guide plate] is corrected to ``3rd. Vermilion 4 guide plate.'' (4) From the last line of page 10 to the first line of page 11, “...
Cut paper Pa is the first. ``The cut paper Pa was formed by the second and third guide plates 25° and 27''.
"..." is corrected. (5) In the 5th line of page 11 of the same page, the text ``Arms Motor 44'' is corrected to ``/Cruise Smoke 43''. (6) On the last line of page 11, the text "counterclockwise" should be corrected to "clockwise." (7) On the last line of page 12, it says "clockwise". Does it mean "counterclockwise"? 1nill:, do. (8) Replace "aligning roller 16" with "aligning roller 15" in lines 3 to 4 of page 15 of lij.
and? 111 Correct. (9) On page 15, lines 5 and 6, there is a line ``aligning 16, 164.
Stop with 5j. tIQ On page 18, lines 3 and 4 of the same page, there is a line that says ``...is composed of a solenoid...''.
・It is configured as a solenoid...'' and corrected. 1.11. l On page 11, line 5 of the same page, the phrase "solenoid plate" was changed to "solenoid 73 and plate". (2) On page 199, Nos. 2 to 31, it says, ``... can save energy and reduce voltage.''"N..." I corrected myself. On page 19, line 4 of the same page, ``...can be done. Energy saving j'' should be corrected to read ``display section''. 4. On page 25, lines 3 and 4 of the same document, ``Pull out the...'' and insert the guide plate in the same way as for the count paper supply cassette
``Pull out the guide plate...''
and correct it. αQ On page 25, lines 18 and 19 of the same page, the words "counterclockwise" should be corrected to "clockwise." σ7) On page 31, line 17 of the same page, it says ``...it will be done quickly''. Correct it to ``...it will be done quickly.'' (f) The phrase "display device" in No. 1611 of the 39th shell is corrected to "display section."1.1'4 Correct the trace of Figure 1 on the attached sheet.

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a printer device in which one end of one assembly is rotatably provided with one end of the other assembly, and a power supply unit and a printing mechanism are provided inside these one and other assemblies,
A printer device characterized in that a switch means is provided inside the power supply unit to turn on and off the power supply unit in response to opening/closing operations of the other assembly.