JPS61276017A - Printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To recognize easily the unprintable cause, to inform of a coping method and to improve widely the appealing degree by writing the pattern of the warning message beforehand and generating the suitable warning sound when an unprintable accident occurs. CONSTITUTION:First, an MPU (micro processor ) 1 discriminates the condition of a microswitch 5 and judges whether or not the paper exhaustion occurs. When the paper exhaustion occurs, while the data (preserved at an exclusive-use register, etc., as a part of the control program) to show how the paper is set are added, the pattern of the warning sound to inform the operator of the accident is loaded from a ROM of a sound composite circuit 6, the pattern is converted to the sound signal and outputted to a speaker 7. The MPU 1 judges the condition of a stop switch 10, when the stop is selected, the output of the sound is stopped, and while the stop is not selected, the warning sound is continuously generated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a printing device used as an external output means for computers, word processors, and the like.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems] Conventionally, for example, in printing devices, problems such as ``out of paper'' and [
If a mechanism abnormality (including software or hardware abnormality) occurs, an alarm lamp such as an LED is used to display that printing is not possible.

By the way, inability to print in a printing device occurs due to various causes, but in many cases, it is generally not possible to distinguish the cause of inability to print using only the above-mentioned alarm lamp. In other words, whether the inability to print is due to ``out of paper'' or ``mechanism failure,'' the message ``unable to print'' is displayed equally.

There are also models that distinguish between "out of paper" and "mechanism abnormality" and display an alarm lamp.
If it is a model that has several ways to load paper, you may need to know how to replenish paper when it runs out of paper (for example, whether to load continuous paper or single sheets). It is not possible to judge immediately.

For this reason, conventional models have had a problem in that once the inability to print occurs, it takes a considerable amount of time to recover.

[Purpose of the Invention] The present invention has been made to solve these conventional problems, and allows an operator to easily recognize the cause of printing failure that occurs in a printing device, and also prevents "out of paper". It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing device that can easily inform an operator of how to set paper even if this occurs.

[Summary of the Invention] That is, the printing device of the present invention includes a printing means for printing,
Unable to print cause detection means that detects the cause when the printing means is unable to print and outputs a detection signal for each cause, and a sound in which a warning sound pattern corresponding to the type of cause is written. a pattern storage means, a sound pattern selection means for selecting a pattern of the warning sound according to the detection signal, and a sound pattern output means for converting the selected sound pattern into a sound signal and outputting the sound pattern; It is characterized by being configured to indicate the status with audio when a "mechanism abnormality" occurs.

[Embodiments of the Invention] Hereinafter, details of embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

The main parts of the printing device of this embodiment include a microprocessor (hereinafter referred to as MPU) 1 that controls the entire printing device, a ROM 2 that contains a control program for the MPU 1, and when the program of the MPU 1 is executed,
A RAM 3 that temporarily stores character/graphic patterns input from a character generator (not shown), etc., a port 4 that inputs an output signal from a microswitch 5 that detects "out of paper", and a port 4 that supports "out of paper". A voice synthesis circuit 6 comprising a ROM in which multiple types of warning voice patterns are written, a circuit for converting each pattern into a voice signal according to selection, and a circuit for amplifying this voice signal, and a speaker 7 for vocalization. , a control circuit 8 that controls the mechanical drive part of the printing device, an interface circuit 9 that inputs and outputs data to and from a host computer (not shown), and a stop switch 10 that stops outputting the warning sound. .

Next, the operation of the printing apparatus of this embodiment when "out of paper" occurs will be explained with reference to FIG.

First, MPUI judges the state of microswitch 5 and
Step A)
If "out of paper" has not yet occurred, continue the process at that point (step B), and if "out of paper" has occurred, check how the paper was set. A warning voice pattern that informs the operator of the situation while taking into account the data shown (stored in a dedicated register, etc. as part of the control program), such as "I'm dying. Please set the settings." or "I'm dying. A message pattern such as "I'm going to set it" is loaded from the ROM of the speech synthesis circuit 6 (Step C), and the loaded pattern is converted into an audio signal, amplified, and output to the speaker 7 (Step D). Then, MPtJl determines the state of the stop switch] 0. In step E), the stop switch 10
If the switch 10 has selected to stop the warning sound, the output of the sound is stopped (step F), and the warning sound continues to be generated while the switch 10 has not selected stop.

In this way, in the printing device of this embodiment, when "out of paper" occurs, a warning sound indicating this situation along with the method to set the paper is generated, so that the operator can easily and reliably detect the situation. Can be done.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the case where the printing device does not perform printing operation is due to "out of paper" has been explained, but even if printing operation is not performed due to "mechanism abnormality" or defective wiring, etc., each condition Appropriate abnormality detection sensors are provided in each part to detect the abnormality, and the detection signals from these sensors are input to the MPU 1, and the MPU 1 selects a warning sound pattern indicating each situation stored in advance in the speech synthesis circuit 6. By configuring the output to be outputted from the speaker 7, the operator can easily determine the reason why printing is not performed, and can take prompt countermeasures. The operability of the apparatus can be further improved by configuring the system so that a warning voice such as ``Gorgeous pattern is coming. Shibarakomachikudasai'' is generated even while the external character pattern is being input from the host computer.

As the speech synthesis circuit 6 of this embodiment, a commercially available speech synthesis LSI is used as is, and each situation is assumed in advance, and in addition to the message mentioned above, it is possible to send messages such as "I'm sorry" or "Souchinokoshoudesai". All you have to do is write a voice pattern that corresponds to a warning message, such as "Serviceman is here for you." Various types of speech synthesis LSIs are available from various companies, but since the causes of printing failure in printing devices are relatively limited, the present invention uses a small capacity and inexpensive speech synthesis LSI. Can be done.

By writing a warning sound pattern in the language of the destination country to which the device will be exported to this speech synthesis LSI, the LSI can be replaced to correspond to the specifications of the destination country.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, in the printing device of the present invention, a pattern of a warning message when a situation where printing is not possible is written in advance in the speech synthesis circuit, and an appropriate warning message can be sent when the situation occurs. Since a sound is generated, the appeal level is greatly improved compared to a system that only indicates the situation by lighting an alarm lamp.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a main part of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the apparatus in an embodiment of the present invention. 1...MPU 2...ROM 3...RAM 4...Boat 5... ...Micro switch 6...
...Speech synthesis circuit 7...Speaker 8...Control circuit 9...
...Interface circuit 10...Stop switch Applicant Toshiba Corporation Patent attorney Satoshi Suyama - Figure 2

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A printing means that performs printing, a printability cause detection means that detects the cause and outputs a detection signal for each cause when the printing means is unable to print, and a warning corresponding to the type of cause. a sound pattern storage means in which a sound pattern is written; a sound pattern selection means for selecting the warning sound pattern according to the detection signal; and a sound for converting the selected sound pattern into a sound signal and outputting the sound pattern. A printing device comprising a pattern output means.