JPS6157374A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enhance reliability of a sensor, by providing a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element of a photo-sensor through optical fibers. CONSTITUTION:For example, a paper sensor 101 comprises a reflection-type paper detecting part 40 obtained by fitting an end part of each of a light-emitting fiber 102 and a light-receiving fiber 103 to a support 104 at predetermined angles, the part 40 being adhered or detachably fitted to a lower surface of a deflector 39. The other end parts of the fibers are connected to the light-emitting element 107 and the light-receiving element 108 on a controlling board 16 through optical fiber connectors 105 and 106, respectively. Thus, the detecting part 40 of the paper sensor 101 is fitted in a narrow space beneath a platen 22, and breakage of the sensor due to static electricity on a paper is prevented by separating the photo-sensor from the detecting position by extending the optical fiber cable. Accordingly, reliability of the sensor can be enhanced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a printer, and more particularly to a sensor for detecting a predetermined state of the printer.

In general, various types of printers, such as type wheel printers, thermal printers, dot impact printers, and electronic typewriters, use paper sensors to detect the presence or absence of paper, cover open sensors to detect if the cover is open, and ink ribbon sensors. Predetermined printer conditions such as a ribbon end sensor that detects the presence or absence of a ribbon cassette, a ribbon cassette sensor that detects the presence or absence of a ribbon cassette, a wheel identification sensor that detects the type of type wheel, and a carriage home sensor that detects the home position of the carriage. It is equipped with the necessary sensors to detect.

In conventional printers, these various sensors are arranged directly at each detection position by using a microswitch or a photo sensor.

However, when the sensor is a mechanical sensor, adjustment is difficult and high reliability cannot be obtained, and installation is disadvantageous in terms of space and cost.

In addition, when the sensor is configured with a photo sensor, there are inconveniences such as the installation of some sensors being difficult due to space constraints, and the possibility of damage due to the effects of static electricity, making it impossible to obtain sufficient reliability. arise.

l-Sail This invention was made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to improve the reliability of a sensor.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention arranges a light emitting element and a light receiving element of a photosensor via an optical fiber.

Hereinafter, a detailed explanation will be given based on one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an example of a printer embodying the present invention.

This printer 1 has a form tractor 2 at the rear upper part.
It is equipped with.

The outer casing of the printer 1 is composed of a lower case 3 and an upper case 4 that house a structure and a control section, and an openable and closable cover 5 for replacing ribbon cassettes and the like.

The operation panel 6 provided on the front of the upper gamer 4 of this printer 1 also includes various switches such as an online/offline switch and a form feed (FF) switch, a ribbon end indicator, and a paper end indicator (not shown). Various display devices such as these are installed.

As shown in FIG. 2, the upper case 4 is equipped with a transmissive type optical fiber having one end connected to a light emitting element and a light receiving element of a photosensor (not shown), which is a cover open sensor, and the other end thereof facing each other. Cover open sensor detection section 7
On the other hand, a light shielding plate 8 is provided on the lower surface of the front end of the cover 5 at a position corresponding to the cover open sensor detection section 7.

Note that the cover open detection section 7 can be configured as a reflective type, but a transmissive type is more reliable when considering the influence of external light.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the basic unit arrangement of this printer.

This printer includes a frame unit 11 and a platen unit 12 for setting printing paper.

A line feed unit 13 that drives this platen unit 12, a type wheel, and a print hammer.

A carriage unit 14 equipped with parts necessary for printing such as a selection motor, a ribbon feed motor, and a ribbon cassette, a space unit 15 for moving this carriage unit 14, and a control board 16 on which a control section of this printer is attached. We are prepared.

Each component mounted on the carriage unit 14 and the control board 16 are connected by a flat cable 17 made of, for example, a flexible printed circuit board.

Further, light emitting elements and light receiving elements of various sensors including the above-mentioned cover open sensor and a photosensor in this printer described later are installed on the control board 16, and each light emitting element and light receiving element is connected to the above-mentioned cover open sensor. Similarly to section 7, it is extended substantially to each detection position by an optical fiber.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are a schematic plan view and a front view showing the mechanism of this printer. Note that since the illustration is simplified, there are some parts that are different from FIG. 3.

In this mechanical section, a platen 22 is rotatably mounted between frames 21 and 21, which wraps and feeds paper to be printed.

This platen 22 is moved by a motor gear 24. An idle gear 25, a gear 26° that moves together with the idle gear 25, a timing belt 27, and a platen gear 28 are driven to automatically feed the paper.

Additionally, knobs 29 and 29 are provided at both ends of the platen 22.
is fixed, and can be manually rotated by turning the knobs 29 and 29 when loading or removing paper.

Furthermore, a platen gear 30 for the form tractor 2 is fixed to the opposite side of the shaft of the platen 22 from the platen gear 28, and as shown in FIG. The signal is transmitted to the attached pulley 31.

On the form tractor 2 side, the rotation of the geared pulley 31 is transmitted to the geared pulley 33 via the timing belt 32, the drive gear 34 rotates, and the paper feed shaft 35 rotates to feed the paper.

Furthermore, at the bottom of the platen 22, as shown in FIG. 7, there are two feed rollers 31 (multiple rollers in the column direction) for feeding paper. ! 1B and a paper guiding deflector 3 are installed.

The deflector 39 is equipped with a reflective paper sensor detection section in which one end of an optical fiber is connected at a predetermined angle to a light emitting element and a light receiving element of a photosensor (not shown), which is a paper sensor. 40 is provided.

This paper sensor detection unit 40 is not affected by external light when installed almost directly below the platen 22, improving the reliability of the detection results.
Positioning the platen 22 between the two leads to improved reliability of the detection results, and positioning the platen 22 in the axial direction to the left rather than in the middle makes it possible to detect the presence or absence of more types of paper.

Further, in front of the platen 22, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a paper pail 43 equipped with a pail roller 42 is disposed so as to be biased toward the platen and swingable.

On the other hand, a carriage 47 is mounted on rods 45 and 46 fixed between the frames 21 and 21 so as to be movable parallel to the platen 22 in its axial direction. Note that details of this carriage 47 will be described later.

A space motor 50 consisting of a stepping motor is attached to the subframe 48, and a space gear 51 is attached to the rotating shaft of this space motor 50.

Further, on both sides of the sub-frame 48, 48', a pulley 53 integrally formed with a gear 52 that fits into the space gear 51 of the space motor 50 is rotatably mounted, and a guide pulley S4 is rotatably mounted. There is.

And these pulley S3 and guide pulley 54rJ
A space wire 55 is stretched over the space wire 55 , the end of the space wire 55 is fixed to the side of the carriage 47 , and the space motor 50 moves the carriage 47 parallel to the platen 22 .

Next, details of the carriage 47 will be explained with reference to FIG. 8.

This carriage 47 includes a carriage block 61 which is slidably attached to the rod 45 shown in FIG.
carrier frame S3 with a guide 62 that engages with 6;
are fixed together.

In addition, in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the illustration is simplified and shown as a cylinder.

These carriage blocks 61. A selection motor 6B consisting of a stepping motor with a type wheel 65 mounted on the tip of the carrier frame 63;
An encoder S7 that detects the rotation of this selection motor 66 and a printing hammer 6 that hits the type on the type wheel 65.
8 and a ribbon feed mechanism 70.

The ribbon feed mechanism 70 includes a ribbon feed motor 71, a drive gear 72, a feed gear 73, and a feed knob 74.

Further, on the carrier frame 63 of the carriage 47, a ribbon cassette (ribbon cartridge) 76 loaded with an ink ribbon 75 is removably mounted.

Therefore, when the ribbon cassette 76 is mounted on the carrier frame 63, the ribbon cassette 76 is
A reflective ribbon end sensor that protrudes inward to detect the ribbon end, and is a reflective ribbon end sensor in which one end of an optical fiber is connected to a light emitting element and a light receiving element of a photosensor (not shown) and the other end is arranged at a predetermined angle. A detecting section 77 and a reflecting plate 78 facing the ribbon end sensor detecting section 77 are installed.

Note that the ribbon end sensor detection section 77 can also be configured as a transmission type, and whether it is a reflection type or a transmission type depends on the type of the ribbon end portion of the ink ribbon.

FIG. S is a plan sectional view showing details of the ribbon cassette 76.

This ribbon cassette 76 has a reel 82 rotatably mounted on a reel post 81 of a cassette 80, on which a ribbon body 75a formed by winding the ink ribbon 75 into a roll is mounted.

And this ribbon body 75. The ink ribbon 75 pulled out from the clip 83 is hung on the tip of the clip 83, passes through guide rollers 84, 85, and is then passed from the outlet 86' to the outlet roller 87.
and is led out of the cassette 80.

Thereafter, the cassette 8 is passed through the introduction roller 88 on the opposite side opposite to the introduction roller 87 from the introduction port 8th.
Ribbon feet in Figure 8 @ tM 7
The film is fed by the feed mechanism SO, which is moved once by the feed gear 73 of No.

Then, on the lower surface between the guide rollers 84 and 85 of the cassette 80 of the ribbon cassette 76, when the ribbon cassette 76 is mounted on the carriage 47, a ribbon end sensor detection section is fixedly installed on the upper surface of the carrier frame 63. 77 and a sensor hole S for protruding the reflecting plate 78
3 is formed.

As shown in FIG. 10, the ink ribbon 75 loaded in the ribbon cassette 76 is coated with an ink layer 7Sa on the film base layer 75C, and a reflective tape 75b is pasted on the ink portion 75Δ that does not transmit or reflect light and the film base 7SC. It consists of a ribbon end portion 75B.

Next, details of the various sensors mentioned above in this printer will be explained with reference to FIG. 11.

First, the paper sensor 101 will be explained.

Two light emitting optical fibers 102 and light receiving optical fiber 1
03 is attached at a predetermined angle (for example, 45 degrees) to a support 104 made of a rubber bush or the like, and the reflective vapor sensor detection section 40 is attached to or detached from the lower surface of the deflector '59 as described above. It can be installed freely. Note that the deflector 39 is provided with six through holes for the optical path.

On the other hand, an optical fiber connector 105 is attached to the other ends of the two optical fibers 102 and 103, and this optical fiber connector 105 is attached to an optical fiber connector 106 fixed to a control board (PCB) IEi.

A light emitting element 107 consisting of a light emitting diode or the like that emits light to one light emitting optical fiber 102 on the control board 16, and a light receiving element 108 consisting of a photodiode or the like that receives light from the light receiving optical fiber 103.
This is provided.

Note that the light-receiving element 108 is sealed integrally with the optical fiber or subjected to masking treatment such as covering with a cap to prevent the light emitted from the light-emitting element 107 and external light from entering the light-receiving element 108. There is. However, if control is to be performed that causes a problem when external light is incident on the light emitting optical fiber 102, the light emitting element 107 may also be subjected to masking processing.

In the paper sensor 101 configured in this manner, the light emitted from one light emitting element 107 is emitted from the end of the light emitting optical fiber 102 through the through hole of the deflector.

At this time, if there is no printing paper P, the light emitted from the light emitting optical fiber 102 will not be reflected by the platen 22, so it will not enter the light receiving optical fiber 103, and the light receiving element 108 will receive the emitted light from the light emitting element 107. does not receive light.

Therefore, at this time, if the form tractor 2 is installed like this printer.

It can be determined that there is a paper feeding error, and if the form 1-actor is not installed, it can be determined that there is no paper.

On the other hand, when there is paper P, the light emitted from the light emitting optical fiber 102 is reflected by the paper P, enters the light receiving optical fiber 103, and enters the light receiving element 108. It can be determined that the paper is normal or that there is paper.

Next, the cover open sensor 111 will be explained. It is a transmission type sensor in which one ends of two light emitting optical fibers 112 and two light receiving optical fibers 113 are attached to a support 114 with a gap formed so that their end faces face each other. The cover open sensor detection unit 7 is attached to the upper case 5 by adhesive or detachably as described above.

On the other hand, an optical fiber connector 115 is attached to the other ends of the two optical fibers 112 and 115, and this optical fiber connector 115 is attached to an optical fiber connector 116 fixed to a control board (PCB) IG.

On the control board 1S, there is a light emitting element 117 consisting of a light emitting diode etc. that emits light to one optical fiber 112 for light emission, and a light receiving element 117 consisting of a first diode etc. that receives light from the optical fiber 113 for light reception. Element 11
8.

Regarding 1 light emitting element 117 and light receiving element 118,
Similar to the paper sensor 101 described above, masking processing is performed.

In the cover open sensor 111 configured in this manner, light emitted from the light emitting element 117 is emitted from the end portion of the light emitting optical fiber 112 via the light emitting optical fiber 112.

At this time, if the light shielding plate 8 of the cover 5 is interposed in the gap between the cover open sensor detection section 7, the light emitting optical fiber 1
12 is blocked by the light shielding plate 8 and does not enter the light-receiving optical fiber 113, and the light-receiving element 118 is blocked by the light-emitting element 11.
Since the light emitted from 7 is not received, it can be determined that the cover is closed.

On the other hand, when the cover 5 is opened and the light shielding plate 8 is no longer interposed in the gap between the cover open sensor detection unit 7, the light emitted from the light emitting optical fiber 112 enters the light receiving optical fiber 113 and is received. Since the light is incident on the element 118, it can be determined that the cover is open.

Next, the ribbon end sensor 121 will be explained.
Two light emitting optical fibers 122 and light receiving optical fiber 1
23 to the support 124 at a predetermined angle (for example, 45
The ribbon end sensor detection section 77 is attached with
As described above, it is attached to the upper surface of the carrier frame 63 by adhesive or the like.

On the other hand, an optical fiber connector 125 is attached to the other ends of the two optical fibers 122 and 123, and this optical fiber connector 125 is attached to an optical fiber connector 126 fixed to a control board (PCB) IG.

On the control board 16, there is a light emitting element 127 made of a light emitting diode or the like that emits light to one light emitting optical fiber 122, and a photodiode that receives light from the light receiving optical fiber 123.

A light receiving element 128 consisting of a card or the like is provided.

Note that the light emitting element 127 and the light receiving element 128 are subjected to a masking process similarly to the paper sensor 101.

In the ribbon end sensor 121 configured in this way, the light emitted from the light emitting element 127 is connected to the light emitting optical fiber 1.
It is injected via 22.

Therefore, at this time, when the ribbon cassette 7 is mounted on the carriage 47 and the ink portion 7SA of the ink ribbon 75 is interposed between the reflection plate 78 and the ink ribbon 75, the light emitted from the light emitting optical fiber 122 is emitted from the ink ribbon 75. The optical fiber 12 for receiving light is not reflected by the ink portion 75A.
3 and is not incident on the light receiving element 128,
It can be determined that the ink ribbon is present.

On the other hand, the ribbon end portion 75 of the ink ribbon 75
When B is positioned between the reflective plate 68 and the light emitting optical fiber 122, the light emitted from the light emitting optical fiber 122 is reflected by the ribbon end portion 7511 of the ink ribbon 75 and transferred to the light receiving optical fiber 123.
Since the light is incident on the light receiving element 128, it can be determined that the ribbon is at the end.

Further, when the ribbon cassette 76 is removed from the carriage 47 and the ink ribbon 75 is no longer interposed between it and the reflection plate 68, the light emitted from the light emitting optical fiber 122 is reflected by the reflection plate 78, and the light reception light is reflected. Since the light enters the fiber 123 and enters the light receiving element 128, it can be determined that there is no ribbon cassette (no ribbon).

Next, the carriage home sensor, which is not shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, will be explained.

This carriage home sensor 131 has a carriage home sensor detection section 130 in which one ends of two light emitting optical fibers 132 and two light receiving optical fibers 133 are attached to a support 134 with their end faces facing each other with a gap formed therein. of,
It is attached to the frame on the home side of the carriage 47 by adhesive or the like. Note that a light shielding plate 47a is attached to the lower part or side surface of the carriage 47 at a position corresponding to the carriage home sensor detection section 130.

On the other hand, an optical fiber connector 135 is attached to the other ends of the two optical fibers 132 and 133, and this optical fiber connector 135 is attached to an optical fiber connector 136 fixed to a control board (PCB) 16.

On the control boat IS, a light emitting element 167 consisting of a light emitting diode or the like that emits light to one light emitting optical fiber 132, and a light receiving optical fiber 1! A light receiving element 16 consisting of a photodiode or the like that receives light from +3
8.

Note that one light emitting element 137 and one light receiving element 138 are as follows.

Like the paper sensor 101, it has been subjected to masking processing.

In the carriage home sensor 131 configured in this way, the light emitted from the one light emitting element 137 is emitted from the end portion of the light emitting optical fiber 1'52.

At this time, if the carriage 47 is at the home position, a light shielding plate 47a is inserted into the gap between the carriage home sensor detection section 130.
intervenes, the light emitted from the light emitting optical fiber 132 is blocked by the light shielding plate 47a and does not enter the light receiving optical fiber 133, and the light receiving element 138 does not receive the emitted light from the light emitting element 137. It can be determined that is at the home position.

In this way, in this printer, the light-emitting element and light-receiving element of the photosensor constituting each sensor are provided on the control board, and one end of the optical fiber is connected to the light-emitting element and the light-receiving element. By placing the other end in a predetermined state (reflective or transmissive) at the sensing position of the sensor.

A light emitting element and a light receiving element are arranged via an optical fiber.

As a result, especially when the paper sensor is composed of a photosensor, it must be installed in a narrow space below the platen, and there is a high risk that the sensor may be destroyed due to the effects of static electricity on the printing paper. In this way, it is extremely effective to solve these problems by arranging the light-emitting element and light-receiving element of the photosensor on the control board and substantially extending the optical fiber to the detection position (below the platen). .

Of course, by arranging the light-emitting element and light-receiving element for each sensor via an optical fiber as described above, it is possible to separate one light-emitting element and light-receiving element from the detection position, and the installation of each sensor is simple. Space is reduced,
Furthermore, the sensor is not affected by static electricity, etc., and the reliability of the sensor is improved.

Further, the light emitting element and the light receiving element constituting the photosensor may be arranged not on the control board but in other places, but mounting is facilitated by arrangement on the control board.

Next, regarding the control section of this printer, see Figures 12 and 1.
This will be explained with reference to FIG.

This control section includes a printer interface 141 consisting of a Centronics parallel interface or an R5232C serial interface, a mask control circuit 142 consisting of a microcomputer system, etc.
Consists of various control circuits and drive circuits.

Various data such as type code data (type information), space (carriage movement amount) data, line feed data, etc. are input to the printer interface 141 from the host system side.

The mask control circuit 142 includes a cPU as shown in FIG.
, ROM, RAM and I10, etc., a carnal microcomputer system 143, a data exchanger 110144 for data exchange with the host side, and an l1 for line feed space control.
0145, l1014S for No. 1 mm/ribbon feed/selection control, and ■/○14 for sensor/display control.
Consists of 7, etc.

The mask control circuit 142 controls the entire printer, and controls the printer based on various data transferred from the host system to the printer interface 141, busy signals from each control circuit described later, detection signals from various sensors, etc. ~) to control each part. Although not shown in each figure, a position signal from the encoder 67 of the selection motor 66 is also input to the mask control circuit 142.

In other words, this mask control circuit 142 controls the times of the platen 22! l! Line feed data LFD indicating the IJ amount and rotation direction, space data SPD indicating the moving amount and direction of the carriage 47, printing pressure data HMD indicating the drive of the print hammer S8, and pump eid indicating the feeding of the ink ribbon 7S. Data RBD, type wheel 65
Selection data 5EL indicating the amount of times and direction of rotation
D etc. are output to control each part.

The line feed control circuit 151 includes the mask control circuit 14
Based on the line feed data LFD from 2, a drive pulse is output to the line feed driver 152 to drive and control the line feed motor 23 to rotate the platen 22 by a required amount in a required direction, and to control the mask control circuit 142. outputs a line feed busy signal LFB.

The space control circuit 153 controls the space driver 1 based on the space data SPD from the mask control circuit 142.
54 to drive and control the space motor 50 to move the carriage 47 a required amount in a required direction, and output a space busy signal SPB to the master control circuit 142.

The hammer control i path 155 outputs a drive pulse to the hammer driver 156 based on the printing pressure data HMD from the master control circuit 142 to drive and control the hammer magnet e8A that constitutes the printing nozzle A comma 68, and the hammer 6BB drives the print character. The printed characters on the wheel 65 are struck with a required printing pressure, and a hammer busy signal HMB is output to the mask control circuit 142.

The ribbon control circuit 157 controls the ribbon driver 1 according to the ribbon feed data RBD from the mask control circuit 142.
A drive pulse is output to 58 to drive and control the ribbon feed motor 71 to feed the ink ribbon 75 by the required amount.

The selection control circuit 159 is the mask control circuit 142
Based on the selection data 5ELD from the selection data 5ELD, a drive knob is output to the selection driver 160 to drive and control the selection motor 66, the type wheel 65 is rotated in the required direction by the required amount, and the type to be printed is struck by the printing hammer 68. At the same time, the selection busy signal 5ELB is sent to the mask control port w1142.
Output.

The mask control circuit 142 also controls the cover open sensor 111. as shown in FIG. Paper sensor 1011 Ribbon end sensor 121. Carriage home sensor 13
ASF detects each detection signal from 1 and the presence or absence of an automatic sheet feeder (ASF) such as a form tractor.
A detection signal etc. from the switch 161 is input.

Then, based on each of these detection signals, the printer is stopped, restarted, and the carriage movement is controlled, etc.
Paper end indicator 162. It controls the display of the paper feed error indicator 163, ribbon end indicator 164, etc.

In addition to these sensors and switches, instruction signals from various switches provided on the operation panel are also input to the mask control circuit 142, but illustration thereof is omitted.

Next, an example of the control that this mask control circuit 142 executes based on the detection results of various sensors is shown in FIGS. 14 and 15.
This will be explained with reference to the figures.

First, referring to FIG. 14, the detection signal from the paper sensor 101 is checked, and if it is the paper end (or paper feeding error), the printer operation is stopped.

・Then, the state of the ASF switch 161 is checked to determine whether the ASF is installed or not. If the ASF is not installed, the paper end indicator 162 is turned on to indicate that there is no paper, and the ASF is installed. If it is installed, the # paper error indicator 163 is controlled to light up, etc., to indicate that an error has occurred in paper feeding by ASF.

After that, when the paper is no longer at the end, the process moves to printer re-operation processing to start the printer operation.

Next, referring to FIG. 15, the ribbon end sensor 121
It checks the detection signal from the printer to determine whether the ribbon is at the end or not. If it is at the ribbon end, the printer immediately stops the printer operation, lights up the ribbon end indicator 164, etc., and prompts the operator to replace the ribbon cassette. vinegar.

Thereafter, the detection signal of the cover open sensor 111 is checked to determine whether the cover is open, and when the cover is open, the detection signal of the cover open sensor 111 is similarly checked to determine whether the cover is closed. do.

When the cover is closed, the detection signal from the ribbon end sensor 121 is checked to determine whether or not there is a ribbon, and when the cover is closed and the ribbon is present,
Shifts to printer restart processing.

Although not shown, the mask control circuit 142 also checks the state of the cover open sensor 111, stops the printer operation when the cover is open, executes a tape store operation when the cover is closed, etc. Process.

Furthermore, although not shown, the mask control circuit 142 includes:
During a restore operation or a carriage return, the state of the carriage home sensor 131 is checked to control the water entry position of the carriage 47.

FIG. 16 is a side view showing a carriage in another printer embodying the present invention.

Note that other mechanical parts such as the carriage moving mechanism in this printer are basically the same as in the previous embodiment, so
The explanation will be omitted.

Therefore, details of this carriage 170 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 17 and 18. Note that in each of these illustrations, illustrations of some parts are omitted for convenience of illustration.

First, the cassette support frame 171 of the carriage 170
As shown in FIG. 18, it consists of a cylindrical bearing portion 173 through which a rod 172 (corresponding to the rod 45 in FIG. 4) passes, and a frame portion 174 extending from the bearing portion 173.

A cassette holder 176 into which a cassette wheel 175 (described in detail later) is loaded is attached to the frame portion 174 of the cassette support frame 171 by screwing into a screw hole 174a.

Further, a hammer bracket 178 equipped with a printing hammer 177 is attached to the frame portion 174 by screwing into the screw hole 174b.

On the other hand, the bearing portion 173 of this cassette support frame 171
Caps 179 made of resin are fitted on both ends of the carrier frame 181, and the front lower end of the carrier frame 181 is placed on these caps 179.

This carrier frame 181 includes a bottom frame 182,
Consisting of a side frame 183 and a rear frame 184,
A roller 186 that is placed on a stay 185 (corresponding to the rod 46 in FIG. 4) and rolls on the stay 185 is rotatably attached to the rear frame 184.

In addition, a circular arc hole 183a centered on the rod 172 is formed in the front upper part of the side frame 13 of the carrier frame 181, and a circular hole 183a is formed at the tip of the frame part 174 of the cassette support frame 171. One connecting shaft 18 is formed by combining the provided through hole 174c and the connecting holes 188a drilled on both sides of the motor bracket 188.
Connected by 9.

The motor bracket 188 is integrally formed with an arm 191 extending rearward from one side, and has an engagement pin 192 implanted on the outside of the tip thereof. Frame 18 B circular arc hole 1
Long hole 1 drilled horizontally in a straight line slightly behind 83a
83b.

Further, toggle springs 1 are hung on both ends of the connecting shaft 189 on pins 193 whose other ends are fixed to the carrier frame 183.
94 so that the motor bracket 188 can be pressed against either the front or rear of the circular arc hole 183a and the elongated hole 183b. In addition, Figures 16 and 17
The figure shows a state in which it is pressed forward.

The motor bracket 188 is provided with a plurality of mounting holes 6b, and the selection motor IE17, which includes an encoder 196, is screwed into the screw hole 188b.
Two teeth 1S8 that mesh with the two teeth of the type wheel are fixed to the tip of the rotating shaft 1!37a of No. 7.

In addition, both side frames 183 of the carrier frame 181
A front frame 200 is placed in front of the cassette support frame 171 and the cassette holder 176.
(not shown in Figure 1S)
c, attached to 183d with screws.

A wheel identification sensor detection unit 201 is mounted on the front side of the front frame 200, which is formed by arranging at a predetermined angle the other end of an optical fiber whose one end is connected to a light emitting element and a light receiving element of a photosensor serving as a wheel identification sensor. are doing.

In addition, in front of the front frame 200, the type wheel of the cassette wheel 175 is connected to the selection motor IE.
] Leaf spring 202 and card holder 203 biasing towards the 7 side
is installed. In FIGS. 16 and 17, P represents paper, R represents ink ribbon, and Q represents platen.

Next, details of the cassette wheel 175 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1S to 21.

As shown in FIGS. 1S and 20, this cassette wheel 175 is made by housing the type wheel 205 in a cassette case made of an opaque material within 20 days.

The type wheel 205 has a central boss portion 20B formed with two teeth 207 that mesh with the crown gear of the selection motor 197 on the back side, and a plurality of spokes 20B extending radially, and the type 210 is supported at the tips of the spokes 209. It becomes.

As shown in FIG. 21, on the circumferential surface of the central boss portion 208 of the type wheel 205 on the platen side (front side), there is a home mark 211 consisting of a reflective plate serving as a home position identification mark on the same circumference. An identification mark 212 made of a reflective plate is attached as a wheel type identification mark.

Note that the mark 211 is formed to be wider than the mark 212 in the rotational direction of the type wheel 205, and the distance between the mark 211 and the mark 212 is predetermined according to the type of type wheel.

On the other hand, in the cassette case 206, this type wheel 2
Notches 206a are formed corresponding to the radial positions of marks 211 and 212 attached to 05.

Next, replacing the cassette wheel 175 in this carriage 170 will be briefly explained.

First, when the carriage 170 is in the state shown in FIG. 16, the rotation shaft 197a of the selection motor 197 is connected to the type wheel 205.
5 to select the desired type and hit it with the printing hammer 177 to print on the paper P.

When replacing the cassette wheel 175 from this state, the cassette support frame 171 is rotated rearward about the rod 172 against the toggle spring 194 and suspended from the connecting shaft 189, as shown in FIG. Retract the motor bracket 188 and move the type wheel 205
When disconnecting the selection motor 197 from the cassette support frame 171, the toggle spring 1
It falls backwards with the rod 172 as the center due to the urging force of 89,
The upper part of the cassette holder 176 is separated from the platen Q,
The cassette wheel 175 can be replaced.

Next, the wheel identification sensor in this printer will be explained with reference to FIG. 23.

The wheel identification sensor is connected to the carriage 17 as described above.
As shown in the figure, a wheel identification sensor detection section 201 is attached to the wheel identification sensor 201, which is formed by attaching one end of a light emitting optical fiber 222 and a light receiving optical fiber 223 to a support body 224 at a predetermined angle.

Similarly to the various sensors described in the embodiments, the light emitting optical fiber 222 and the light receiving optical fiber 223
Attach the connector to the other end.

It is connected to a connector fixed on a control board (not shown), and a light emitting element and a light receiving element are arranged on the control board.

Therefore, the light emitted from the light-emitting element on the control board is emitted from the end of the light-emitting optical fiber 222 toward the type wheel 205, and the reflected light becomes light-receiving light depending on the presence or absence of the mark 211 or mark 212. The presence or absence of the mark 211 or mark 212 can be determined because the light may or may not be incident on the fiber 22.

The wheel identification and hole position detection based on the detection results of the wheel identification sensor are performed by counting the pulse width of the detection output when the wheel identification sensor detects the mark, for example, to determine whether the detected mark is the home mark 211 or not. The home position can be determined by determining whether the

Further, by counting the distance between the home mark 211 and the identification mark 212, the type of wheel can be identified.

By configuring the wheel identification sensor in this way, the reliability of the sensor can be improved.

This embodiment is similar to the above embodiment, and is extremely effective especially in the case of a wheel identification sensor where mounting space is limited.

FIG. 24 is a schematic configuration diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

The sensor of this embodiment is designed to compensate for the amount of light emitted by one light emitting element. Note that the sensor may be any of the paper sensor, ribbon end sensor, carriage home sensor, cover open sensor, wheel identification sensor, etc. described in the above embodiments.

That is, in this sensor, first, a light emitting element 231 and a detection light receiving element 232 are arranged on a control board, and one end of an optical fiber 233 for detection light emission and an optical fiber 234 for detection light reception are connected.

These optical fibers for detection light emission 233 and optical fibers for detection and light reception 234 are extended to the detection position via connectors, etc., and their other ends are at a predetermined angle (reflection type) or at the detection position. They are placed facing each other (transmission type). Since this point is similar to the above embodiment, further explanation will be omitted.

In this sensor, a compensation light receiving element 236 is also arranged on the control board.

Then, in the light emitting element 231 and the compensation light receiving element 236,
One end of the optical fiber 237 for compensated light emission and the optical fiber 238 for compensated light reception are connected, and the optical fiber 237 for compensated light emission and the optical fiber 238 for compensated light reception are also connected to a predetermined detection position via a connector or the like. and their other ends are extended to .

Under substantially the same conditions as those of the detection light emission optical fiber 233 and the detection light reception optical fiber 264, the emitted light of the light emitting element 233, which is constantly emitted from the compensation light emission optical fiber 237, is incident on the compensation light reception optical fiber 238. The light is arranged so as to be incident on the compensation light receiving element 236.

A light emission amount control circuit 240 is provided to control the light emission amount of the light emitting element 231 according to the output of the compensation light receiving element 23.

This light emission amount control circuit 240 is a volume VR.

It consists of a proportional-integral circuit consisting of an operational amplifier OP, an i resistor R1, and a capacitor C, and a transistor Q and a low resistor R2.
The base current of the transistor Q is controlled by the output of the proportional-integral circuit according to the output of the compensation light-receiving element 236, and the current flowing through the light-emitting element 231 is controlled so that the amount of light emitted by each light-emitting element 231 is constant. .

This improves the detection accuracy of this sensor.

In this way, even when controlling the amount of light emitted by a light emitting element constituting a photosensor, the light emitting element and the light receiving element can be substantially extended to the detection position using an optical fiber. This further improves the reliability of detection results.゛Not only when light intensity compensation is performed in this way, but also when light intensity compensation is not performed, the current flowing through one light emitting element is detected, and when the current value falls below a predetermined reference value, detection is performed. It is also possible to display an error message indicating that the detection is not possible, and this improves the reliability of the detection results.

Further, in the above embodiment, an example was described in which the present invention was implemented on a type wheel printer as an R10 (receive only) printer, but the present invention is not limited to this.

For example, the present invention can be applied to various types of printers such as thermal printers, thermal transfer printers, dot impact printers, and inkjet printers, as well as electronic typewriters.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to improve the reliability of a printer sensor.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an example of a printer embodying the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of essential parts for explaining the mounting position of a cover oven sensor. Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the arrangement of the basic unit of this printer, Figures 4 and 5 are a schematic plan view and front view showing the machine monument, and Figure 6 is the form tract. FIG. 7 is a schematic side view showing the lower part of the platen. FIG. 8 is a perspective view similarly showing the carriage unit. FIG. S is a plan sectional view showing the ribbon cassette as well. FIG. 10 is a plan view and a front view for explaining the ink ribbon, and FIG. 11 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the configuration of various sensors in this printer. FIGS. 12 and 13 are block diagrams showing the control unit of this printer, and FIGS. 14 and 15 show different examples of processing based on the sensor detection results executed by the mask control circuit. Flow diagram, FIG. 16, FIG. 17, and FIG. 18 are a side view, side sectional view, and exploded perspective view showing a carriage in another printer embodying the present invention. FIG. 1S and FIG. A front view and a side sectional view of the wheel. Fig. 21 is a front view of the type wheel, and Fig. 22 is a side view showing the state of the carriage when replacing the cassette wheel. Fig. 23 is a detection of the wheel identification sensor. 24 is a schematic configuration diagram of a sensor showing another embodiment of the present invention. 101...Paper sensor 111...Cover open sensor 121...Ribbon end sensor 131 ... Carriage home sensor 201 ... Wheel identification sensor detection section 102.103
,112.113,122゜122.132,133,
222, 223... Optical fiber 107. 117, 127, 137... Light emitting element 108
．． 118, 128, 138... Light receiving element Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 4 Fig. 5 Fig. 6 Fig. j Fig. 7 Fig. 8 Fig. 14 Fig. 15 To printer re-operation processing Fig. 16 Fig. 17 Figure 19 Figure 20 "Figure 21 Figure 22 Figure 23 Figure 11' [jl11

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A printer equipped with a photosensor for detecting a predetermined state, characterized in that a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element of the photosensor are arranged via an optical fiber. 2. A light emitting element and a light receiving element of a photosensor are arranged on a control board, and the other end of an optical fiber whose one end is connected to the light emitting element and the light receiving element is arranged at a detection position by the photosensor. The printer described in item 1. 3. The printer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the photo sensor is at least one of a paper sensor, a cover open sensor, a ribbon end sensor, a ribbon cassette sensor, a wheel identification sensor, and a carriage home sensor.