JPS6398475A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To effectively cool a printer to an appropriate temperature and reduce noise, by so controlling that the rotation of a cooling fan is continued when the number of dots printed is not less than a reference value for stopping the rotation of the fan, and the fan is stopped when the number of dots printed is less than the reference value. CONSTITUTION:A cooling fan driver 47 is electrically connected to a CPU 1, and a cooling fan 49 is electrically connected to the driver 47. Such a control is performed that the number of dots printed in a printing operation and the number of printed dots obtained by conversion from the quantity of heat generated by conversion from the quantity of heat generated through a paper-feeding operation are serially added, whereas the newest number of dots obtained by subtracting a predetermined dot number N2 from the sum is periodically compared with a reference value N3 for deciding whether the cooling fan 49 is to be stopped, and the rotation of the cooling fan 49 is stopped when the newest number of dots is judged to be not more than the reference value N3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a printing device equipped with a fan control means for controlling a fan that cools a heat generating section caused by a dot printing operation.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, a cooling fan provided in a printing device for dot-type printing is configured to rotate in conjunction with, for example, a carriage drive motor, and the cooling fan rotates only when the printing device is performing a printing operation. On the other hand, there is a method in which the cooling fan is rotated at the same time as the power is turned on to the printing device, regardless of the drive of the carriage drive motor.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) Among the conventional cooling fan rotation drive systems described above, in the previous system in which the cooling fan is rotated only during the printing operation of the printing device, the printing is If the duty is large, the amount of heat generated from the print head is large, so
Rotate the cooling fan only while the printing device is printing.C
There was a problem with the print head not being able to cool down to an appropriate temperature.

On the other hand, in the latter method, which rotates the cooling fan at the same time as the power is turned on to the printing device, the cooling N1 fan rotates even when the printing device is in an idle state, that is, the power is turned on but no printing is being performed. Because it is rotating,
The problem was the noise generated by the rotation of the cooling fan.

Therefore, in the present invention, the number of printed dots is added, a predetermined value is subtracted from this added value every time a predetermined time elapses, and the number of printed dots after the subtraction is the standard for stopping the rotation of the cooling fan. The technical problem is to solve the above problem by controlling the cooling fan to continue rotating when the calculated value is greater than the reference value, and to stop the cooling fan when the calculated value no longer satisfies the reference value. It is something.

(Means for solving the problem) The technical means for solving the above problem is to provide a fan to cool the heat generating part, and to move the print head by a print head movement mechanism and to move the paper by a paper feed mechanism. Alternatively, a printing device that prints figures etc. in dots can be used as a storage means,
an addition means for sequentially adding the number of dots printed in accordance with the printing operation of the print head to a value stored in the storage means; a time measurement means for constantly measuring time; and each time the time measurement means measures a predetermined time. a subtraction means for subtracting a predetermined value from a value stored in the storage means; and a determination means for comparing the stored value in the storage means with a set reference value to determine whether the stored value is equal to or greater than the reference value. , when the determination means determines that the stored value is greater than or equal to the reference value, the fan continues to rotate, and when it is determined that the stored value is less than the reference value, the fan stops rotating. The purpose is to have a configuration that allows the fan control means to be clearly depicted.

(Function) According to the printing device having the above configuration, when a printing operation is started in accordance with the movement of the print head by the print head movement mechanism and the movement of paper by the paper feed mechanism, the addition means adds the number of printed dots during the printing operation. The numbers are added and the added value is stored in the storage means. On the other hand, each time the time measurement means measures a predetermined time, the subtraction means subtracts a predetermined value from the added value stored in the storage means, and stores the value obtained by subtracting the predetermined value from the added value as a new stored value. Store it in your means.

The determining means compares the new stored value with a reference value that is a reference for stopping rotation of the cooling fan, determines whether the stored value is greater than or equal to the reference value, and outputs the result of the determination. The information is transmitted to the fan control means. When the determination means determines that the stored value is equal to or greater than the reference value, the fan control means causes the fan to continue rotating; when the determination means determines that the stored value is less than the reference value, the fan control means rotates the fan. stop the rotation.

(Example) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1 showing the control configuration of a printing device according to the present invention, an external device (not shown) such as a host combination coater is connected to a central processing unit (hereinafter referred to as CPU) 1 via an interface 3. Print data from external device,
Various data such as print command data are input to the CPUI.

A ROM 5 and a RAM 7 are connected to the CPU 1, respectively, and the ROM 5 has a dot pattern memory area 9 and a program memory IJi! 11, a predetermined value memory area 13, and a reference value marking area 15. The dot pattern memory area 9 stores in advance dot pattern data corresponding to various print data such as characters and figures. A program for executing a printing operation is stored in advance in the program memory area 11. Data necessary for printing control and data necessary for cooling fan control are stored in advance in the predetermined value memory area -0-13.

The reference value memory area 15 also includes, for example, a cooling fan 4.
A reference value is stored which is a criterion for determining whether to continue or stop the rotation of 9.

The RAM 7 has an input buffer area 17, a print buffer area 19, and a print dot number memory area 21. The input buffer area 17 stores print data for one print line that is sequentially input from an external device. When print command data is input from an external device, the print buffer area 19 stores dot pattern data for one print line accessed from the dot pattern memory area 9 based on the print data stored in the input buffer area 17. be done. The number of printed dots memory area 21 stores the number of printed dots actually printed based on the dot pattern data of each dot row accessed from one print buffer area during the printing operation.

The CPUI is composed of a conversion means 24, a counter means 25, a time measurement means 27, a subtraction means 29, a determination means 31, and a print control means 33.

That is, the CPUI is a carriage drive motor 41 which will be described later.
After converting the amount of rotation when the paper feed drive motor 45 is driven into the number of printed dots, the converted number of printed dots is sequentially added to the number of printed dots stored in the number of printed dots memory area 21. .

In addition, the CPU 1 determines the number of print dots stored in the print dot number memory area 21 during the printing operation, based on the dot pattern data accessed from the print buffer area 19. Add the number of dots sequentially. Further, the CPLll measures time from the time the power is turned on according to the program, and successively subtracts the predetermined value stored in the predetermined value memory area 13 from the number of printed dots stored in the print dot number memory area 21 at predetermined intervals. Further, the CPU 1 determines whether the number of printed dots stored in the printed dot number memory area 21 is greater than or equal to the reference value stored in the reference value memory area 15. and C
When the PU 1 determines that the number of printed dots stored in the printed dot number memory area 21 is equal to or greater than the reference value, the PU 1 outputs a drive signal to a cooling fan drive device 47 (to be described later) to continue rotating the cooling fan 49. When it is determined that the number of printed dots stored in the printed dot number memory area 21 no longer satisfies the reference value, the cooling fan 49 is controlled to stop rotating.

A print head drive device 135 is electrically connected to the CPU 1, and a print head 37 is electrically connected to the print head drive device 35. This print head 37 has a plurality of print wires (not shown) arranged in a column direction perpendicular to the print rows, and each print wire is built in the print head 37 and is connected to a corresponding electromagnetic device (not shown). Selection driven. Further, a driving power source (not shown) is connected to the print head 37. A carriage drive device 39 is electrically connected to the CPU, and this carriage drive device 39 rotates a carriage drive motor 41 based on an input carriage drive signal. As a result, the print head 37 is driven by the carriage drive motor 41.
A carriage (not shown) carrying the image moves along the print line. A paper feed drive device 43 is electrically connected to the CPU 1, and this paper feed drive device 43 rotates a paper feed drive motor 45 based on an input paper feed signal to feed printing paper (not shown). feed the paper.

A cooling fan drive device 47 is electrically connected to the CPU, and the cooling fan drive device 47 has a cooling fan 4 connected thereto.
9 are electrically connected. This cooling fan 49 is
Heat generated by the printing operation of the print head 37 or heat generated by the drive of the carriage drive motor 41 and paper feed drive motor 45 may cause the inside of the printing device to reach 4 degrees of temperature, which may adversely affect the built-in electronic circuit or the operation of the print head. The rotation of the cooling fan 49 is controlled by an action based on flowchart 17-1, which will be described later.

Next, the operation of the embodiment will be explained according to the flowchart shown in FIG.

When the required power is supplied to the CPU 1, step S1 (
CP in (hereinafter simply referred to as S2, S3...816)
U1 is initialized. In S2, it is determined whether or not there is input data from the outside, and if it is determined to be No, the process directly proceeds to 812 described below, while if it is determined to be YES, it is determined in the next S3 whether or not the input data is print data. to judge. If the judgment result in S3 is YES, the print data is transferred to the input buffer 7 as shown in S4.
Store in area 19. On the other hand, if the determination result in S3 is No, it is determined in S5 whether or not it is a print command. If the determination result in S5 is YES, the cooling fan drive device 47 is controlled to rotate the cooling fan 49 as shown in S6, and then the carriage drive device 39 is controlled in S7 to drive the carriage drive motor 41. Furthermore, the print head driving device 35 is controlled to move the print head 37 to perform a printing operation. In S8, the number of printed dots N1 of the current printed line is counted, and this N1 is calculated as the number of printed dots DOT stored in the number of printed dots memory area 21.
The total number of N1 dots is added to C, and the new value stored in the memory area 21 is set to 00 C. Next step S9
, a value N5 obtained by converting the rotation amount of the carriage drive motor into the number of printed dots is added to the number of printed dots DOTC stored in the number of printed dots memory area 21, and the result is DOTC+
Print N5 New stored value DO in dot number memory area 21
TC.

If the judgment result in S5 is No, that is, in the case of a paper feed command, the cooling fan 49 is rotated in the same manner as in 86 as shown at 810, and the paper feed drive device 43 is controlled in the next step 811, and the paper feed is performed. The drive motor 45 is driven to perform paper feeding operation.

In the next step 812, a value N4 obtained by converting the rotation amount of the paper feed drive motor 45 into the number of printed dots is added to the number of printed dots DOTC stored in the print driver 1 to number memory area 21, and DOTC+N4 is stored in the number of printed dots memory. The new storage value of area 21 is assumed to be DOT.

In S13, it is determined whether a certain period of time t1 has elapsed since the previous time measurement. If the result of the determination in S13 is YES, it is determined in 814 whether the latest stored value DOTC in the print dot number memory area 21 satisfies the expression DOTC≦0. On the other hand, if the determination result in S13 is No, the process moves to 816, which will be described later. If the judgment result in S14 is No, as shown in S15, the number of dots N2 is subtracted from the latest stored value DOT every time t1 elapses.
Let TC-N2 be the latest stored value DOTC.

At 816, the latest stored value DOT is determined by the cooling fan 4.
It is determined whether or not the value is less than or equal to a reference value N3, which is a reference for determining whether or not to stop the motor. If the determination result in S16 is YES, the output of the cooling fan drive signal to the cooling fan drive device 47 is stopped in S17, the rotation of the cooling fan 49 is stopped, and then the process returns to S2. On the other hand, if the judgment result of 816 is No, S
Return to step 2 and repeat steps 82 to S17.

As described above, in this embodiment, the number of printed dots during the printing operation and the number of printed dots calculated by converting the amount of heat generated due to the paper feeding operation are added sequentially, and each time a certain period of time elapses, a predetermined number of dots is added from the added value. The latest number of dots obtained by subtracting the number N2 is compared with the reference value N3 for determining whether to stop the four cooling fans, and the latest number of dots 1 to 1 is determined as the reference value N3.
When it is determined that the temperature is 3 or less, the rotation of the cooling fan 49 is stopped.

It should be noted that the present invention is applicable not only to the dot type printing device as described above, but also to a thermal printer.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, each time a predetermined time elapses,
A predetermined value is subtracted from the added value of the number of printed dots of the print head, and the number of printed dots after the subtraction is compared with the reference value, which is the standard for stopping the rotation of the cooling fan, to find the same number of printed dots. The cooling fan continues to rotate when the temperature exceeds the standard value, and the cooling fan stops when the standard value is no longer met. When the cooling fan is in an idle state, the rotation of the cooling fan is stopped at a suitable time, which has the effect of reducing the noise generated due to the rotation of the cooling fan.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an electrical block diagram showing the control configuration of the printing device;
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation. 7... RAM 21... Print dot number memory area 24... Brightening means 25... Counter means 27... Time measuring means 29... Subtraction means 31... Judgment means 37... Print head 41... Carriage drive motor 45... Paper feed drive motor 47... Cooling fan drive device 49... Cooling fan

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A printing device that is equipped with a fan that cools a heat generating part and prints dots of characters or figures by moving the print head using a print head moving mechanism and moving paper using a paper feed mechanism, comprising: a storage means; and the printing device. addition means for sequentially adding the number of dots printed as the head prints to a value stored in the storage means; time measurement means for always measuring time; a subtracting means for subtracting a predetermined value from a value stored in the storage means; a determining means for comparing the stored value in the storage means with a set reference value to determine whether the stored value is greater than or equal to the reference value; Fan control that causes the fan to continue to rotate when the determination means determines that the stored value is equal to or greater than the reference value, and stops rotation of the fan when it is determined that the stored value does not meet the reference value. A printing device comprising means. (2) The addition means converts the operating amounts of the print head moving mechanism and the paper feeding mechanism into the number of printed dots, and adds the converted dots to the value stored in the storage means. Printing device as described.