JPS6287381A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enhance printing quality in the case of using such a ribbon that the same part thereof can be used plural times, by providing a ribbon feed controlling means for determining a feed quantity of a ribbon based on the ambient temperature of the ribbon detected by a temperature-detecting means. CONSTITUTION:A master microcomputer checks a detection output Vo from a temperature-detecting circuit 98, and discriminates whether or not Vo='H'. When the ambient temperature of a ribbon is lower than a preset temperature To, that is, Vo='L', the ribbon is fed by a feed quantity L1. When the ambient temperature of the ribbon is not lower than the preset temperature To, namely, Vo='H', the ribbon is fed by a feed quantity L2 which is greater than the feed quantity L1. Thus, when the ambient temperature of the ribbon reaches or exceeds a temperature at which the quantity of an ink transferred is increased to give an unsatisfactory printed density, the ribbon feed quantity is increased. Accordingly, since the number of times of printing by the same part of the ribbon is determined by the ratio (character width)/(feed quantity), the number of times of overlap printing at the same part of the ribbon is reduced.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Technique god 1 minute ￥f This invention relates to a printer using ribbon.

In general, some type printers, dot impact printers, etc. use so-called multi-strike ribbons that can be used multiple times at the same location.

With this multi-strike ribbon, even when printing is performed with the same printing pressure, the amount of ink transferred to the printing paper varies depending on the temperature, and the higher the temperature, the more the amount of ink transferred tends to increase.

Therefore, when using a multi-strike ribbon, the print density differs between the part printed multiple times and the part newly printed within one printed character, and the difference in density becomes larger as the temperature rises. Print quality deteriorates.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to improve printing quality when using a ribbon that can be used multiple times at the same location.

Configuration 5 In order to achieve the object of this invention, the temperature around the ribbon is detected and the ribbon feeding amount is changed based on the detection result.

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

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

In this printer, the ambient temperature of the ribbon A is detected by the temperature detection means B, and the ribbon feed control means C determines the feed amount of the ribbon A based on the detection result of the temperature detection means B. The ribbon A is fed by the determined ribbon feed amount by controlling the drive.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing an example of a type wheel type printer embodying the present invention.

The outer casing of this printer consists of a lower case 1 and an upper case 2 that house the mechanical section and the control section, and a cover 3 that can be opened and closed for replacing type wheels, ribbon cassettes, etc. is equipped with character scale 4.

In addition, the operation panel 5 attached to the front of the upper case 2 has
Although not shown, various switches such as an online/offline switch and a line feed switch, and various indicators such as a paper end indicator and a ribbon end indicator are arranged.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are a schematic plan view and a front view showing an example of the mechanism of this printer.

In this mechanical section, a platen 12 for winding and feeding paper to be printed is rotatably mounted between the plates 11 and 11.

This platen 12 is moved by a motor gear 14. An idle gear 15, a gear 16° that moves together with the idle gear 15, is driven via a timing belt 17 and a platen gear 18 to automatically feed the paper.

Additionally, knobs 19 and 19 are provided at both ends of the platen 12.
This knob 19.19 can be rotated manually when loading or removing paper.

Further, on the opposite side of the platen 12 from the platen gear 18, a platen gear 20 for an ASF (automatic paper feeder) is provided.
It is equipped with.

Furthermore, in front of this platen 12, as shown in FIG.
It is biased toward the two-hair platen 12 side and is swingably disposed.

On the other hand, the rod 30. fixed between the frames 1s11.11.
A carriage 32 is mounted on the platen 31 so as to be movable parallel to the platen 12 in its axial direction. Note that details of this carriage 32 will be described later.

A space motor 35 consisting of a stepping motor is attached to the subframe 33, and a space gear 36 is attached to the rotating shaft of the Konoshus motor 35.

Further, on both sides of the sub-frame 33, 33', a pulley 39 integrally formed with a gear 38 that meshes with a space gear 36 of a space motor 35 is rotatably mounted, and a guide pulley 4o is rotatably mounted. .

A space wire 41 is stretched between these pulleys 39 and guide pulleys 40, and this space wire 41
The end of the carriage 32 is fixed to the side of the carriage 32, and the carriage 32 is moved by a space motor 35.

Further, a platform detection plate 32a is provided at the bottom of the carriage 32.
While installing, it is transparent to frame 11 on the carriage home side! (A gear ridge home sensor 43 consisting of a first shoe sensor is installed.

Next, details of the carriage 32 will be explained with reference to FIG. 5.

This carriage 32 has a gear jj block 51 slidably attached to the rod 30 in FIG.
3 are integrally fixed.

Note that FIGS. 3 and 4 are shown in H-book format.

These carriage blocks 51. A selection motor 5 consisting of a stepping motor 5 having a type wheel 55 mounted on a rotating shaft on a carrier frame 53-1-.
7, a printing hammer 58 for hitting the type on the type wheel 55, and a ribbon feed mechanism 60 for feeding the ribbon.

The ribbon feed mechanism 60 includes a ribbon feed motor 61 consisting of a stepping motor, and a drive gear 62.
, a feed gear 63 and a filter tube 64.

Also, the carrier frame 53 of this carriage 32''-
A ribbon cartridge (ribbon cartridge) 66 loaded with a multi-strike ribbon 65 is detachably mounted thereon.

Corresponding to the ribbon cassette 66, a ribbon end sensor 67 is provided on the carrier frame 53-1-, and is constituted by a transmission type photosensor consisting of a light emitting element and a light receiving element.
At the same time as installing this ribbon end sensor 67-f-
, a temperature sensor 68 consisting of a thermistor or the like is attached to.

FIG. 6 is a plan cross-sectional view showing an example of the ribbon cartridge 66.

On the 6th day of the ribbon cartridge, the ribbon body 65a formed by winding the ribbon 65 into a roll is attached to the reel post 71 of the cassette 70, and the reel 72 is rotatably attached.

Then, the ribbon 65 is taken out from the ribbon body 65a.
after hanging it on the tip of the clip 73, the guide roller 74
．． 75 and is led out from the cassette 1-70 through a lead-out roller 77 at 176.

Thereafter, it is introduced into the cassette 70 from the introduction roller 79 of the introduction roller 1178 on the opposite side, which is located opposite to the introduction roller 77 .

The 11-bond 65 is fed by a feed mechanism 83 consisting of a feed gear 80 rotated by the feed gear 63 of the ribbon feed mechanism 60 described above, and a follower gear 82 pressed against the feed gear 80 by a holder 81. The film is taken up by a take-up reel 85 attached to a take-up shaft 84 which is rotated in the same direction as the feed gear 80 via a belt (not shown).

Furthermore, on the lower surface of the cassette 1 70, there is a sensor hole 70a into which the ribbon end sensor 67 and temperature sensor 68 on the carriage 32 enter when the ribbon cartridge 66 is installed.
It is formed.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of a control section of this printer.

In this control section 90, a mask microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as "master microcomputer") 91 has a CP
It has built-in U, ROM, RAM, Ilo, etc., and controls all controls of this printer other than space and line feed.

This mask microcomputer 91 receives various data such as print character data transferred to the l1092 from a host system such as a word processor, personal computer, or office computer, space data for instructing carriage movement, and line feed data for instructing line feed. The received data is taken in, stored in the reception buffer of the RAM 93, and processed based on the received data.

That is, this master microcomputer 91 outputs a hammer drive pulse signal to the hammer driver 95 via l1094, and outputs a hammer drive pulse to the hammer magnet 58 that constitutes the printing hammer 58.
A is driven and controlled, and the type wheel 5 is driven by the hammer 5BB.
Have them hit the number 5.

In addition, this mask microcomputer 91 outputs selection drive data to the selection driver 96 via I1094, drives and controls the selection motor 57 to rotate the type wheel 55 in a predetermined direction by a required amount,
The desired type is placed in a position where it will be struck by the printing hammer 58.

Furthermore, this master microcomputer 91 inputs the detection output VO from the moisture level detection circuit 98 via I1094, determines the feeding amount of the ribbon 40 according to the level of this detection output Vo, and sends the ribbon 40 via T1094. Feed driver 9
7 outputs a ribbon feed drive pulse to drive and control the ribbon feed motor 61 to drive the ribbon cartridge 6.
The ribbon 65 of No. 6 is fed by the determined feeding amount.

Note that details of the temperature detection circuit 98 will be described later.

This mask microcomputer 91 also operates a cover open switch 1 that detects a cover open via T1099.
00 detection signal and other state signals of switches attached to the operation panel 5 (not shown) are input, and the T10 detection signal is input.
99 controls the lighting of a ribbon end display 101 that displays the ribbon end and other paper end displays attached to the operation panel 5.

jf, slave microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as "slave microcomputer") 1o2 has CPU, ROM, R
Built-in AM, Ilo, etc.

It controls the line feed (paper feeding) operation and the space (carriage movement) operation among the printer controls.

This slave microcomputer 102 outputs line feed drive data to the line feed driver 103,
The line feed motor 13 is driven and controlled to feed the platen 12.
control rotation, and control line feed and back line feet.

The slave microcomputer 1o2 also outputs space drive data to the space driver 104, rotates the space motor 35, and moves the carriage 32 by a required amount in a predetermined direction.

FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram showing an example of the temperature detection circuit 98.

The temperature detection circuit 98 includes a resistor R1 connected in series with the 11Δ degree sensor 68 for converting a change in resistance value of the temperature sensor 68 into a detection voltage Vs, a resistor R2 and a resistor R3 that generate a reference voltage Vref, Voltage Vs and base i'l'
! It consists of a comparator COM that compares the voltage Vrel' with the voltage Vrel'.

In this temperature detection circuit 98, the temperature sensor 68 has a characteristic that the resistance value decreases as the temperature increases, and the detection voltage Vs increases as the temperature increases, so the detection voltage Vs
and the reference voltage Vref, when V s < V ref, the detection output VO is set to low level “L”, and when Vs≧Vr
At the time of ef, the detection output VO is set to high level ``IT''.

Next, the operation of this embodiment configured as described above will be explained with reference to FIG. 9.

First, the reference voltage Vref of the temperature detection circuit 98 will be explained.

For multi-strike ribbons, as shown in Figure 9, the width of the characters to be printed is 'l + the ribbon feed pattern is p.
2, the same location on the ribbon R is repeated n times (n=z+/
y2) Used.

At this time, the amount of ink transferred in area B of the ribbon R that is printed for the first time is slightly different from the amount of ink transferred in area A that is printed multiple times, resulting in a difference in density within the -printed characters. This density difference becomes larger as the number of ink transfer devices increases and the temperature increases.

Therefore, the resistor R is set so that the detected voltage Vs at a temperature To that is slightly lower than the temperature at which the density becomes defective (this is called the "set temperature") coincides with the reference voltage Vref.
Select the resistance value of 2yR3.

Next, ribbon feed control executed by the master microcomputer 91 will be described with reference to FIG.

When the mask microcomputer 91 starts this ribbon feeding process, it checks the detection output Vo from the temperature detection circuit 98 to determine whether Vo=゛H'' or not.
It is determined whether the ambient temperature of No. 5 is greater than or equal to the set temperature of 1°.

Then, if V o is not "H", that is, if the ambient temperature of the ribbon 65 is lower than the set temperature To, which is slightly lower than the temperature at which printing quality - L density defect occurs, the ribbon feed depth (number of steps) is set as the feed depth L + (Ne1fr-
, = 3 steps), and the set sending mouse ■,
Feed (feed) the ribbon 65 by 1.

On the other hand, if Vo = ``1'', that is, the ambient temperature of the ribbon 65 is a set temperature T that is slightly lower than the temperature at which poor printing quality or density occurs. If that is the case,
Feed atL2 (L
2>LI; for example, L2=4 to 5 steps) is set, and the ribbon 65 is fed (sent) by the set feed 1142.

That is, as shown in FIG. 11, when the temperature around the ribbon is lower than the set temperature "0", the detection output VO is low.
Therefore, when the ribbon is fed by M1 bow and the temperature around the ribbon is less than the set temperature To, the detection output Vo becomes '11', so if the ribbon is fed by an amount greater than 1, Feed only 2.

As a result, when the temperature around the ribbon reaches a temperature higher than the temperature at which the amount of ink transferred increases and print quality becomes poor, the ribbon feed amount increases, and the number of times of printing at the same location on the ribbon increases as described above. Since it is determined by (character width/feed l), the number of erroneous prints at the same location on the ribbon is reduced.

That is, referring to FIG. 9 described above, the printing density of the region A of the ribbon R that is printed multiple times is corrected to become darker, and the difference in density from the region @B that is newly printed becomes smaller.

In this way, the Kome printer detects the ribbon surrounding temperature and changes the ribbon feed amount according to this detection result, which reduces the density difference within the same printed character due to temperature changes, improving print quality. The direction is 1-.

4. In the example described in 1- above, an example was described in which the temperature around the ribbon was divided into two stages and the ribbon feed rate was controlled in two stages. You may also do so.

In addition, in the embodiments described in -, an example was described in which the present invention was implemented in a type wheel type printer, but it can be similarly implemented in, for example, a dot impact printer, etc. However, the transfer rate varies depending on the temperature and can be applied to any printer that uses a ribbon.

Further, in the first embodiment, an example has been described in which the present invention is applied to a receive/only child (R,/C'l) printer, but the present invention can be similarly applied to, for example, an electronic typewriter printer.

As explained above, if this invention is applied, printing quality will be improved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment 1 & 1 of the present invention. Fig. 2 is an external perspective view showing an example of a two-character point type printer embodying the present invention, and Figs. 3 and 4 are schematic views showing the mechanical parts thereof.
Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of the carriage; Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional plan view showing an example of the ribbon cartridge; Fig. 7 is an example of the control unit of the printer. Block diagram; Figure 8 is a circuit diagram showing an example of the temperature detection circuit; Figure 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the difference in density of printed characters; Figures 10 and 11 are examples of ribbon feeding processing. FIG. 2 is a flowchart and an explanatory diagram for explaining the flowchart. 61... Ribbon feed motor 65... Ribbon 66... Ribbon cartridge 68... Temperature sensor 90... Control unit 98...
Temperature detection circuit-16~ Figure 8

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A printer using a ribbon, comprising: temperature detection means for detecting the ambient temperature of the ribbon; ribbon feed control means for determining the feed amount of the ribbon based on the detection result of the temperature detection means; A printer characterized by being provided with. 2. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the temperature detection means comprises a temperature sensor and a comparator that compares the detected value of the temperature sensor with a predetermined reference value.