JPS6282064A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to suppress power consumption in a stand-by state and, especially, to prevent noise in a printer with an air cooling fan, by supplying power to a printing mechanism from a power source for the first time when a main power source switch is turned ON and a printing order arrives. CONSTITUTION:When a main power source switches 10 is closed, power is supplied to a printing control circuit 7 from a power source through a transformer 6 to bring a printing order into receiving stand-by state. A switching circuit 11 is held to an OFF-state and no power is supplied to a printing mechanism 8 from a power source and unncessary power consumption is suppressed and the generation of heat can be eliminated and it is unnecessary to rotate an air cooling fan and a noise problem is solved. When a printing order arrives from a partner personal computer 2, said order is supplied to a power source control circuit 12 through an I/O port 9 and the switching circuit 11 is turned ON by the output from the power source control circuit 12 and power is supplied to the printing mechanism from the power source. The printing order is also supplied to the printing control circuit 7 to generate a ready signal which is, in turn, transmitted to the personal computer 2 through the I/O port 9. The personal computer 2 receives the ready signal to transmit data and the printing mechanism 8 is operated to perform printing.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a printer mainly used as a communication terminal.

[Prior Art] For example, a printer used as a communication terminal such as VIDEOTEX is equipped with only one power switch for turning the printer on and off.

[Problems to be solved by the invention] In the above case, since it is not known when data will be sent from the other party's personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a personal computer), the power switch is always turned on and the computer is in standby mode. I have to keep it. However, in this standby state, power is also being supplied to the printing mechanism.
This resulted in a large amount of wasted power consumption. In addition, in the case of devices equipped with an air cooling fan, this fan is constantly rotating, causing a large amount of noise, which is a problem.

The present invention aims to suppress wasteful power consumption.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention enables printing 1. by turning on the main power switch. The apparatus is equipped with switching means that puts the control circuit in a standby state for receiving a printing command and supplies power to the printing mechanism only when the printing command arrives.

[Embodiment] In FIG. 1, 1.2 is a personal computer, which sends and receives data to and from each other, and prints the data using a printer 3.4 provided in each.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the configuration of the printer 3. In the figure, 5 is a commercial power source, 6 is a transformer, 7 is a print control circuit with a built-in CPU, etc., and 8 is a print head, paper feed mechanism, etc. This is the printing mechanism. 9 is an I10 port, 10 is a main power switch, 11 is a switching circuit, and 12 is a power control circuit that controls on/off of the switching circuit 11.

Next, the operation will be explained. When the main power switch 10 is turned on, power is supplied from the transformer 6 to the print control circuit 7, and the print control circuit 7 enters a standby state for receiving a print command. At this time, the switching circuit 11 is turned off and power is not supplied to the printing mechanism 8, reducing unnecessary power consumption.
It is possible to eliminate fever. Therefore, there is no need to run an air cooling fan, which also solves the noise problem.

Therefore, when a print command arrives from the other party's personal computer 2, it is supplied to the power supply control circuit 12 via the I10 port 9. The switching circuit 11 is turned on by the output from the power control circuit 12 at this time, and power is supplied to the printing mechanism 8.

On the other hand, the print command is also supplied to the print control circuit 7, and upon receiving this print command, a ready signal is generated.

This ready signal is sent to the personal computer 2 via the I10 port 9. The personal computer 2 receives the ready signal and transmits the data. The printing mechanism 8 operates according to this data,
Printing is performed.

Incidentally, when data from the personal computer 1 is printed, the same operation as described above is performed.

Next, another example will be explained. In this example, the power source is switched to three states, on, off, and standby (STB) as shown in FIG. 3, and a switch 13 is added as shown in FIG. 4.

In the above configuration, in the off state, all switches 10, 11, and 12 in FIG. 4 are off. STB-like,
When the user becomes deaf, the main power switch 1o is turned on and the same operation as in the previous example is performed.

When turned on, the switches 10 and 13 are turned on. When the switch 13 is turned on, an output is generated from the power supply 1711 and the control circuit 12, and the switching circuit 11 is held in the on state. In other words, power is always supplied to the printing mechanism 8 even if no printing command has arrived. According to this, printing can be performed without necessarily sending a printing command at the time of starting printing.

Note that the present invention can also be used for transmitting data from a data source via a telephone line.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, power is supplied to the printing mechanism only when the main power switch is on and a printing command arrives, so power consumption during standby can be suppressed. , especially those with air cooling fans can solve the noise problem.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the connection relationship between a personal computer and a printer, Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the invention, and Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the connection relationship between a personal computer and a printer.
The figure is a side view showing another example of the printer, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing another example. 1.2... Personal computer 7... Printing control circuit 8... Printing mechanism 10... Main power switch 11... Switching means 12... Power control circuit

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim] A printer that receives data from an external data supply source and performs printing includes a main power switch, and a printer that is supplied with power when the main power switch is turned on and prints from the data supply source. A printer comprising a print control circuit that is in a standby state for receiving a command, and switching means that supplies power to a print mechanism when the print control circuit receives a print command from the data supply source.