JPS61146584A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a small-size, simple printer capable of reducing the consumption of power by using a system in which the end of a ribbon is detected by the same sensor and also the presence and absence of a ribbon cassete is likewise detected. CONSTITUTION:A carriage 1 moves bilaterally along a guide rail 3 in parallel with a platen 2. A reflection-type photo sensor 4 detects the end of an ink ribbon 6 in an ink ribbon cassette 5 set on the carriage 1 as well as the presence and absence of the cassette. The light from the sensor 4 is reflected on a mirror 7. On the carriage 1, a ribbon winding shaft 8 is provided to wind up the ribbon guided to front of a thermal head 9 as the carriage 1 moves. The constitution of the printer can thus be simplified, the consumption of power can be reduced, and the size of the printer can be miniaturized. The processing time for control can be reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Technical Field) The present invention relates to printers (including printers that record images) that use an ink ribbon cassette.

(Prior art) In general, printers, such as transfer-type sabre printers, use a microswitch to detect when a ribbon cassette is installed in the carriage, and start operating as a transfer printer. It is detected whether the part is possible to print, and if it is possible to print, the printing operation starts. Further, even during printing, the ribbon end sensor detects the end of the printable area. The printing operation is performed by operating the ink ribbon winding shaft in synchronization with the movement of the carriage, and pressing the thermal head against the recording paper while winding up the ink ribbon.

Conventionally, this type of printer was equipped with a ribbon cassette.
Since sensors for detecting non-attachment and ribbon end detection were provided separately, the structure was complicated, and there were drawbacks such as requiring a large amount of power consumption and installation space.

Furthermore, since the detection was performed individually for each sensor, there was also the drawback that it took a long time from detection to control as a whole.

(Objective) The present invention eliminates the above-mentioned conventional example, and aims to provide a printer whose configuration can be simplified, power consumption can be reduced, and the overall size can be reduced. Another object of the present invention is to provide a printer that can shorten the processing time from detection to control.

(Embodiment) FIGS. 1 to 7 show a first embodiment of the present invention, in which a carriage 1 moves left and right along a guide rail 3 parallel to a platen 2. FIG. 4 is a reflective photosensor that detects the end of the ink ribbon 6 in the ink ribbon cassette 5 placed on the carriage 1 and detects whether the cassette is attached or not.

7 is a mirror that reflects the light from the photosensor 4. A ribbon winding shaft 8 is provided on the carriage 1, and winds up the ink ribbon guided to the front surface of the thermal head 9 as the carriage moves.

Figure 2 shows the electrical block configuration of the printer.
The central processing circuit 10 reads recording data etc. from the interface IT, and drives the carriage motor 16, thermal head 9, and ribbon winding motor 17 via drivers 13 to 15, respectively, according to the control procedure stored in the ROM 1Z. to execute a series of recording operations.

Here, the detection unit 18 has a detection circuit described later in addition to the photosensor 4 described above.

FIG. 3 shows the relationship between the ink ribbon 6 and the photosensor 4. The ink ribbon 6 is inserted between the photosensor 4 and the mirror 7 with the cassette mounted on the carriage.

FIG. 4 shows the end portion of the ink ribbon 6, following the recording portion 6a coated with black ink.

A lipo l end indicating portion 6b is formed. The end indicating portion 6b has silver foil portions 6b-1 and black portions 6b-2 arranged alternately in a mottled manner.

FIG. 5 shows the circuit configuration of the detection section 18.
The light from a reaches the phototransistor 4b only when it is reflected by the mirror 7. The output of the phototransistor 4b is shaped by a Schmitt trigger 19 and sent to the CPU10.

FIG. 6 shows the output waveform of the Schmitt trigger 19, and (a) is the waveform when the ribbon cassette 5 is not attached to the carriage 1, and is at a high level. (b) shows a waveform in a state where the ribbon cassette 5 is attached and the recording section 6a of the ink ribbon 6 is facing the photosensor 4, and is at a low level. (C) shows a state in which the ribbon cassette is attached and the end indicator 6b has passed in front of the photosensor 4, and has a short pulse waveform. By detecting the above three waveforms, the CPU 10 controls the printer according to the procedure stored in the ROM 12.

FIG. 7 shows a control flowchart in the ROM 1Z, in which a certain amount of data in the interface 11 is read out in step S1, and then the photosensor 4 is read out in step S2.
The output from the Schmitt trigger 19 is detected, and different processing is performed depending on the output waveform from the Schmitt trigger 19. That is, when the detected waveform is as shown in FIG. 6(a), it is determined that it is thermal printing, and the amount of heat generated by the thermal head 9 is adjusted to perform the printing operation so that recording is performed on thermal paper in step S3. . When the detected waveform is as shown in FIG. 6(b), it is determined that the printing is of the transfer type, and in step S4, the amount of heat generated by the thermal head is adjusted to transfer the ink from the ink ribbon 6 onto the recording paper, and the printing operation is performed. Execute. When the detected waveform is shown in Figure 6 (C),
It is determined that the remaining amount of ink ribbon is low, and the process proceeds to step S5.
Thermal head 9, gear ridge motor 16. The ribbon feed motor 17 is stopped, and a lamp (not shown) or the like is used to prompt the ribbon cassette to be replaced.

(Second Embodiment) Figure 8.9 shows a second embodiment that is modified from the first embodiment. In this example, a transmissive photosensor is used instead of a reflective photosensor. The LE04a and the phototransistor 4b are arranged facing each other with the ink ribbon 6 interposed therebetween. Also, the end indicator 6 of the ink ribbon 6
C also has transparent portions 6C-1 and black portions 6C-2 arranged alternately in a mottled manner. This also allows the phototransistor 4
From b, a pulse waveform is obtained for the ribbon end.

(Effects) As described above, according to the present invention, the ribbon end detection and the attachment/non-attachment detection of the ribbon cassette are performed using the same sensor, which simplifies the configuration and reduces power consumption. The overall size can be reduced. Furthermore, the processing time for control can also be reduced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 7 show a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the surroundings of the carriage, FIG. 2 is a block circuit diagram, FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the relationship between the photosensor and the ribbon, and FIG. Figure 4 is an explanatory diagram of the ribbon end, Figure 5 is a circuit diagram of the detection section, and Figure 6 is a diagram of the ribbon end.
The figure is an output waveform diagram of the Schmitt trigger, Figure 7 is a flowchart diagram, Figures 8 and 9 show the second embodiment, Figure 8 is a sectional view showing the relationship between the ink ribbon and the photosensor, and Figure 9 is the ink ribbon. An explanatory diagram of the end portion of the ribbon.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A printer characterized in that ribbon end detection and ribbon cassette mounting/non-mounting detection are performed using the same sensor. (2) The printer according to claim 1, wherein the sensor outputs three different signals depending on detected contents.