JPS6189875A - Multi-head printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform a plurality of kinds of printing differing in printing form or color by a single printer, by mounting printing heads having different printing functions or ink ribbon cartridges on carriages moved independently in parallel with a platen. CONSTITUTION:The printing heads 5a, 5b and detachable ink ribbon cassettes 6a, 6b are mounted on the carriages 4a, 4b. By retracting the head 4a to a retraction area 7a, the head 5b can be moved from the left end to the right end of a printing paper 2, and by retracting the head 4b to a retraction area 7b, the head 4a can be moved from the left end to the right end of the paper 2.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is an improvement of a serial type multi-head printer equipped with a plurality of carriages each carrying a print head and an ink ribbon cassette and moving parallel to a platen. It is related to.

[Conventional technology]

In conventional wire dot printers, the pursuit of higher performance and lower prices has led to faster printing.

Optimized designs are being made to match the miniaturization and miniaturization of devices and the functions of each printer.

For example, Patent No. 3358 by the present applicant.
No. 234331), this has two carriages that move parallel to the platen, and a print head and an ink ribbon cassette are respectively mounted on these carriages, and by moving the carriages individually, it is possible to input printing. Since data can be divided into each print head and printed simultaneously, the printing speed can be increased.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, although the above-mentioned technique is satisfactory in speeding up printing, it has the problem that it cannot support other printing formats because each print head and ink ribbon cassette are common.

For example, when the printing formats are different, such as printing that requires more copies and printing that does not require more copies, if the former requires more copies, the print wire of the print head is connected to the printing paper. The impact must be made with sufficient printing pressure, and this requires a larger impact force than when copying is not required, resulting in printing noise, that is, the sound of the printing wire colliding with the printing paper, and other printing wires. As the driving sound becomes louder, the power consumption also increases.

On the other hand, in the latter case where copying is not required, the impact force of the printing wire may be smaller than in cases where copying is required, and the printing sound can be lowered by using a highly sensitive ink ribbon that can print even with a small impact force. At the same time, power consumption can also be reduced.

However, in the conventional technology described above, the printer used is set to handle either cases where a large number of copies are required or cases where no copies are required, resulting in high printing noise. This results in either high power consumption or problems in which printing with copying is not possible.

In addition, there are cases where the characters printed in the copy form are mixed in size, and in this case, in the conventional technology, there is a problem in that the small characters have a rough quality.

Furthermore, there is no support for cases where it is desired to change the inclination of printed characters, or when it is desired to change the color of printing.

These different printing formats require conflicting functions, which makes it difficult to use a single printer due to differences in print head systems, ink ribbons, control systems, and applied power. , printers were used for each printing format.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the present invention provides a multi-head printer that has the ability to support a plurality of printing formats.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention includes mounting print heads or ID ink ribbon cartridges with different printing functions on a carriage that moves independently and parallel to the platen.

For example, the inclination angle of the print wire array of each print head may be different. The diameter and pitch of the print wires of each print head are made different. The printing pressure of each print head is assumed to be different. The ink ribbons of each ink ribbon cartridge may have different colors, and the ink ribbons may be composed of a plurality of colors.

The printing operation is performed by one control unit.

[Effect]

According to the above-mentioned means, information for switching the printing function of the printer is input to the control section, and the control section selects a carriage equipped with a print head or an ink ribbon cartridge corresponding to the printing form according to the information. Thereafter, printing can be performed by controlling one carriage, print head, and ink ribbon cartridge.

For those with different inclination angles of the printing wire arrangement, it is possible to change the font of the characters, for those with different diameters and pitches of the printing wires, the size of the characters can be changed, and for those with different printing pressures, it is possible to change the size of the characters, and for those with different printing pressures, it is possible to change the size of the characters. Noise printing and multicolor printing can be performed using ink ribbons of different colors.

〔Example〕

Below, first to fourth embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of essential parts of a multi-head printer showing a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a carriage drive mechanism, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a control circuit.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a platen rotatably supported by a pair of left and right side plates, 2 is printing paper set on the platen 1, and 3a and 3b are arranged parallel to the platen 1 and supported by a pair of left and right side plates. Guide shaft 4a, JbU guide shaft 3a.

3b, each of which has a driving source for spacing, as will be explained later. 5a and 5b are carriages 4a.

4b are respectively mounted print heads; 5a and 5b are ink ribbon cassettes that are removably mounted on carriages 4a and 4b; 7a and 7b are evacuation areas for print heads 4a and 4b provided on both sides of platen 1; Evacuation area 7
By retracting the print head 4a to a, the print head 5b can move from the left end to the right end of the print paper 2, and by retracting the print head 4b to the evacuation area 7b, the print head 4a can move from the left end of the print paper 2. You can move from to the right edge.

Next, the carriage drive mechanism will be described based on FIG. 2, and since the drive mechanism is the same for the carriages 4a and 4b, the carriage 4a will be used as a representative.

: In the M2 diagram, 8a is a space motor such as a flat DC brushless motor fixed to the bottom surface of the carriage 4a with screws, etc. (The space motor of the carriage 4b is designated by the symbol 8b) 9 is the rotation of the space motor 8a This is an optical sensor that detects corners, and is placed across the outer periphery of a disk attached to the space motor 8a.It detects the movement of the many small holes provided on the outer periphery of the disk. The rotation angle of 8a is detected. 10 is a pinion attached to the rotor shaft of the space motor 8a, and 11 is a rack that meshes with the pinion 10, and is fixed to the frame 12 in parallel with the platen 1 shown in FIG. 1 described above. This rack 11 is also commonly used for the carriage 4b. 13 is a flexible cable attached to the carriage 4a together with the space motor 8a;
The flexible cable 13 is connected to a control circuit to be described later, and supplies power to circuit components mounted on the carriage 4a and sends and receives signals between the circuit components and the control circuit.

In the above embodiment, the space motors 8a and 8b are mounted on the carriages 4a and 4b, respectively, but the invention is not limited to this. For example, the space motors 8a and 8b may be individually driven by two motors fixed to a frame or the like and two sets of transmission mechanisms. You may also do so. Further, the number of print heads may be three or more, but in view of the complexity of the mechanism and control circuit, two or three print heads are preferable.

In this first embodiment, in order to have a function that corresponds to both printing forms when copying is required and when performing low-noise printing that does not require copying, the printing head 5a shown in FIG. The wire has a strong impact force to enable printing on copy paper, and connects the print head 5a and platen 1.
In order to correspond to the thick printing paper 2, the gap between the printing paper 2 and the printing paper 2 is adjusted to be wider by the thickness of the printing paper 2, and the printing wire of the printing head 5b is applied with a weak impact force in order to perform low-noise printing. A highly sensitive ink ribbon is used for the ink ribbon cassette 6b in order to obtain an appropriate print density against this weak impact force.

Note that because the print heads 5a and 5b have different functions, it is impossible for the print heads 5a and 5b to mix in printing within at least one line.

In FIG. 3, 4a and 4b represent the carriages shown in FIG. 1, the head shown on the carriage 4a is the print head 5a, M represents the space motor 8a,
The head shown in b is the print head 5bt-1M, and the space motor 8b is shown in the print head 5bt-1M. Although not shown in FIG. 1, 14 is a line feed motor for moving the printing paper 2.

15 is a control unit that controls the entire printer, and mainly controls the C
It consists of a PUXr10 board, timer, memory, etc. 16 is a signal line for inputting print commands and print data to the control section 15; 17 is a function switching switch for selecting the carriages 4a and 4b;
It is connected to the.

18 is a head switching circuit for selecting the print heads 5a, 5b; 19 is a motor switching circuit for selecting the space motors 8a, 8b; 20 is a motor for switching feedback signals from the space motors 8a, 8b. Feedback signal switching circuits 21a and 21b are connected to the print head 5.
a, 5b and the head switching circuit 18, 22a, 22b are motor drive circuits respectively intervening in the space motors 8a, 8b and the motor switching circuit 19, and 22c is the line feed motor 14. 23a is the space motor 8a and 23b is the space motor 8b 23C.
The feedback signal of the line feed motor 14 is transmitted to the control section 1.
5, 24 is a switching signal inputted from the control unit 15 to the head switching circuit 18, motor switching circuit 19, and motor feedback signal switching circuit 20, and 25 is the entire control circuit.

As mentioned above, the print heads 5a and 5b do not appear in the same print line due to their different functions, so one of the carriages 4a and 4b is always moving, and the other is retracted to the evacuation area 7a or 7b. In order to ensure that the carriage 4a or 4b is always controlled,
In the control circuit 25, one control section 15 corresponds to the head switching circuit 18, motor switching circuit 19, and motor feedback switching circuit 20 for switching one signal.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be explained.

Before causing the printer to perform a printing operation, select the function of the printer using the function changeover switch 1γ. The control section 15 performs the following operations depending on the state of the function changeover switch 11.

When the state of the function changeover switch 17 and the function selected by the control unit 15 are the same, for example, when the function changeover switch 17 selects low-noise printing, the control unit 15 selects a low printing pressure that allows low-noise printing. The print head 5b is adjusted to
and its spacing motor 8b are connected to the head switching circuit 18.
, motor switching circuit 19, motor feedback signal switching circuit 2
When selected by 0. Alternatively, with the function changeover switch 17 selecting copy printing, the control unit 1
5 is a print head 5a adjusted to a high printing pressure capable of copy printing and a space motor 8at head switching circuit 1
8. In some cases, the motor switching circuit 19 and the motor feedback signal switching circuit 20 are selected. In the former case, the carriage 4a has retreated to the left retreat area 1a shown in FIG. 1, and the carriage 3b is in a state where it can be moved by the space motor 8b. In the latter case, the carriage 3b is retracted to the right evacuation area 7b shown in FIG. 1, and the carriage 3a is movable by the space motor 8a.

If the functions selected by the function changeover switch 17 and the control unit 15 are different, for example, the function changeover switch 17 selects low noise printing and the control unit 15 selects the print head 5a capable of copy printing and its space motor 8a. When the RAID switching circuit 18, motor switching circuit 19, and motor feedback signal switching circuit 20 select "Gold", the control unit 15 applies a drive signal to the space motor 8a to move the carriage 3a to the evacuation area 7a. Back, head switching circuit 1
8. By inverting the switching signal 24 that controls the motor switching circuit 19 and the motor feedback signal switching circuit 20, the control section 15 controls the print head 5b and the space motor 8b.
Select and enable the operation. In the opposite case, the same procedure is followed, and after the carriage 4b is evacuated to the evacuation area 7b, the switching signal 24 is inverted and the head switching circuit 18, motor switching circuit 19, and motor feedback signal switching circuit 20 are activated. The control unit 15 selects the print head 5a and the space motor 8a and enables their operation. To select the function in the printer, use the function selector switch 1 as described above.
In addition to the method described in 7, functions can be selected by a control signal from the signal line 16 that is input to the control unit 15 from the outside, or by information from a detection means for detecting the thickness of the printing paper 2 shown in FIG. A method of making a selection, etc. can also be performed.

After completing the function selection as described above, the printer performs a reverse printing operation for the selected function in accordance with print data input from the outside via the signal line 16.

It is assumed that the print head 5b and the space motor 8b are selected by the head switching circuit 18, the motor switching circuit 19, and the motor feedback signal switching circuit 20.

In order to operate the carriage 3b, the control unit 15 provides a drive signal to the motor drive circuit 22b to rotate the space motor 8b.

Since the space motor 8b is fixed to the carriage 4b as in FIG. 2, the carriage 4b is moved by the reaction force from the rack 11 with which the rotating pinion 10 is engaged. Thereafter, this movement of the carriage 4b is repeated until the print head 5b reaches the print start position.

When the print head 5b reaches the print start position, the control section 15 sends print data to the head drive circuit 14b, and the print wire of the reverse print head 5b is selectively driven by the signal, as shown in FIG. The printing wire collides with the printing paper 2 via the ink ribbon of the ink ribbon cassette 6b, and dot characters are printed on the printing paper 2. This operation is repeated for one line of print data.

- When the printing of a line is completed, the rotation of the space motor 8b is stopped via the motor drive circuit 22b in response to a command from the control unit 15, and the line feed motor 14 is rotated via the motor drive circuit 22c, as shown in FIG. Move the entire printing paper 2 and perform a line feed. Then, the next print data is waited for, and the above-mentioned operations are performed according to the print data.

Note that when the function is changed, the printing paper 2 set on the platen 1 is replaced in accordance with the function along with the function change operation.

Next, a second example will be described.

Fig. 4 shows an arrangement diagram of the printing wires of the print head showing the second embodiment, in which Fig. I shows the case where the printing wires are arranged vertically, and Fig. An example of printing is shown below each.

In the figure, 26 is a wire guide and 27 is a printing wire.

In this second embodiment, the print head 5a shown in FIG.
, 5b has the printing wire arrangement shown in FIG.
If the other printing wire is arranged as shown in FIG. 4H, the device can be tar-produced using the control procedure of the first example, and two types of printing can be used: printing a vertical font and printing a font tilted to the right. can.

Note that the printing paper 2 does not need to be replaced every time the function is changed, and the function can be changed by using the function changeover switch 11 shown in FIG.
There is a method to do this based on control information from an external device via an external device. Although it is possible to mix fonts within the same line,
This is not used very often.

Next, a third example will be described.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the diameter of the printing wire, its arrangement state, and a printing example in the third embodiment. FIG. , and ■ in the figure shows an example of printing. In the figure, 26.2
6' is a printing wire guide, and 27.27 is a printing wire.

In this third embodiment, the printing wire 21 shown in FIG.
The diameter of the printing wire 2γ shown in Fig. 5 ■ is smaller, and the arrangement pitch of the printing wire 27 is narrower than that of the printing wire 27. Figure 5 (■) shows the printing wire diameter and arrangement spacing suitable for printing particularly small characters such as subscript characters and superscript characters. There is.

By using the printing wire 27 in the state shown in FIG. 5I in one of the print heads 5a and 5b shown in FIG. 1, and using the printing wire 27 in the state shown in FIG. 5H in the other, the first embodiment By operating the device using the same control procedure as in the example, it is possible to distinguish between two types of letters: normal-sized letters and p-smaller letters.

In addition, by mixing the above-mentioned two printing functions in the same line, it is possible to print subscript characters and superscript characters such as H2SO (A + B) as shown in Figure 5 (■). . In this case, it is necessary to change the printing position of subscript characters and superscript characters with respect to ordinary characters, so the line feed motor 14 shown in Fig. 3 is rotated to print on the printing paper shown in Fig. 1. 2 by a predetermined amount to perform printing.

When subscript characters or superscript characters as described above are printed using the printing wire 21 shown in FIG. When printing with the printing wire 27 shown in FIG. 5H, the number of dots constituting a character is the same as that of a normal character, so small characters with high print quality can be printed.

In this third embodiment, the printing pressures of the print heads 5a and 5b and the ink ribbons of the ink ribbon cassettes 5a and 5b may be the same.

Note that as a means for changing the functional operation, the first
In the embodiment, the method using the function changeover switch 1γ is illustrated in FIG. The control unit 15 performs the function change operation and print position control according to the control information of the host device.
Follow the steps in the example below.

Next, a fourth example will be described.

FIG. 6 shows a fourth embodiment, in which FIG. I shows a side view of the main part of the print head section, and FIG. 6 shows a part of the ink ribbon.

In FIG. 6, 6c and 6d are ink ribbon cartridges, and 28 is a rotational fulcrum thereof. Since the other parts are the same as the configuration shown in FIG. 1, they are designated by the same reference numerals and the explanation will be omitted.

In this fourth embodiment, the carriage 4a shown in FIG.
Ink ribbon cartridge 5a mounted on 4b,
The color of the ink ribbon of 5b is different,
It is conceivable to simply change the colors of the ink ribbon cartridges 5a and 5b to one color each, black and red, or black and blue, and in this case, the print head 5a is used as in the first embodiment described above.

By changing 5b, black printing and red printing can be performed.

Furthermore, in order to increase the number of colors, ink ribbons configured with two colors, upper and lower, as shown in FIG. 6H, are stored in ink ribbon cartridges 6c and 6d shown in FIG. It can be configured as follows.

In this case, a ribbon drive circuit is added to the control circuit 25 shown in FIG. 3, and the ink ribbon cartridge 6C shown in FIG. By operating the magnet and return spring, the ink ribbon cartridge 6C or 6d is rotated and shifted up and down as shown by solid and broken lines to change the color of the ink ribbon.

Selection of one of the ink ribbon cartridges 6c and 6d is performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment described above, and the selection of the carriages 4a and 4b for this purpose is performed using the method using the function changeover switch 17 shown in FIG. As shown in the third embodiment, there is a method using control information from a host device connected to the signal line 16.

In this fourth embodiment, the ink ribbon cartridge 6c
, 6d, two colors each for a total of four colors, the height dimension can be reduced compared to a conventional ink ribbon cartridge with four-stage, four-color ink ribbons, so the device can be made smaller. At the same time, the ribbon shift mechanism can also be made simple and easy.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, in the present invention, print heads or ink ribbon cartridges with different printing functions are mounted on a plurality of carriages that move individually, so a single printer can print multiple types of printing with different printing formats and colors. can be,
It is no longer necessary to use a printer that has the functions of each printing format every time the printing format changes, unlike in the past.

In addition, since the printing functions within the printer are not changed frequently, the function switching means allows a single control unit to control multiple carriages, making it possible to provide a multi-functional and compact device. be.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of essential parts of a multi-head printer showing a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a carriage drive mechanism, FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a control circuit, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the arrangement of the printing wires of the print head showing the second embodiment, FIG. 2 is a side view of a main part of a print head section and a diagram showing an ink ribbon 2 according to an embodiment. FIG. 1...Platen 2...Print paper 4a, 4b...
・Carriage 5a, 5b...Print head 6a~6
C... Ink ribbon cartridge 7a, 7b...
Evacuation area 15...Control unit 27.27...Printing wire patent applicant Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. Representative Patent Attorney Takashi Kanakura Nikaku 4= ABCD ABCD Open 6- (I) (n)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a multi-head printer in which a print head and an ink ribbon cartridge are mounted on each of a plurality of carriages that move parallel to the platen, a retraction area for the carriage is provided on the left and right sides of the platen, and a plurality of carriages move in parallel to the platen. A multi-head printer characterized in that at least one of the print head mounted on the carriage and the ink ribbon cartridge is different from the other carriage. 2. A multi-head printer according to claim 1, characterized in that each print head has a different printing pressure. 3. The multi-head printer according to claim 1, characterized in that the inclination angles of the print wire arrays of the print heads are different. 4. The multi-head printer according to claim 1, wherein the print wires of each print head have different diameters and wire pitches. 5. In claim 1, each ink ribbon cartridge has a desired number of ink ribbon colors, and each ink ribbon has a different color, and the ink ribbon can be shifted up and down as necessary. A multi-head printer featuring