KR100331791B1 - Ribbon saving method and apparatus of receipt printer - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a ribbon saving method and apparatus for a receipt printer that can extend the service life of the ribbon by separating the ribbon up and down to allow the ribbon to be printed using each area of the top and bottom while moving the ribbon up and down. It is about.

The ribbon saving method of the receipt printer according to the present invention comprises the steps of determining the type of ribbon currently selected when printing; Processing the data to print one line when the currently selected ribbon is a single color ribbon; Repositioning the ribbon cassette up / down; And performing the next one-line printing at the changed position.

In addition, the ribbon saving apparatus of the receipt printer according to the present invention comprises: a ribbon cassette position sensing unit for outputting a first level signal if the position of the ribbon cassette is upper, and a second level signal if the ribbon cassette is lower; A ribbon cassette drive unit for adjusting a ribbon cassette upward or downward based on a predetermined control signal; And printing the ribbon cassette so that the ribbon cassette is positioned at the top when the first level signal is input from the ribbon cassette position sensing unit and the bottom when the second level signal is input. And a control unit for controlling the cassette drive unit.

Description

RIBBON SAVING METHOD AND APPARATUS OF RECEIPT PRINTER}

The present invention relates to a ribbon saving method of a receipt printer, and more particularly, a receipt printer that can extend the service life of a ribbon by dividing the ribbon into two parts, and using the entire upper and lower areas of the ribbon when issuing a receipt. Relates to a ribbon saving method and apparatus.

In general, a receipt printer is connected to a host such as a cash register, POS or PC-POS, and prints data received from the host to issue various documents such as a receipt.

Such a receipt printer uses a dot printer that electronically pushes the end of a bundle of wires individually driven by an electromagnet to form letters, and taps an ink ribbon to perform printing on a paper bar. Print the I symbol as a dot.

Receipt printers as described above are provided with two-color ribbons for printing in different colors to display important data, such as printing colors (for example, black and blue) and important data that are normally printed. In some cases, printing can be performed in a different color (for example, red) from the printing color that is normally printed in order to display the back.

As described above, in a receipt printer capable of color conversion of ribbons, when a single-color ribbon is used without using two-color ribbons due to the characteristics of the market, as shown in FIG. 1, the head strikes only the center of the ribbon. It is supposed to print.

Therefore, there is a problem of inefficiency that is not used except for the center portion among the ribbons in which ink is applied to the whole.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, the ribbon is logically divided into two upper and lower parts with respect to the width to enable the ribbon cassette to move in the width direction of the ribbon when printing to print using each of the upper and lower areas It is an object of the present invention to provide a ribbon saving method and apparatus for a receipt printer that can extend the service life of the ribbon.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a ribbon saving method of a receipt printer, the method comprising: determining whether a ribbon currently selected is a monochrome ribbon after receiving data to be printed from a host; If the presently selected ribbon is a single color ribbon, processing the received data and printing one line; Repositioning the ribbon cassette up / down; And performing the next one-line printing at the changed position.

In addition, the ribbon saving apparatus of the receipt printer according to the present invention comprises a receipt printer having a ribbon cassette for seating a single color ribbon or a multicolor ribbon; A ribbon cassette position sensing unit for sensing the ribbon cassette and outputting a first level signal when the position is at the top and a second level signal when the position is at the bottom; A ribbon cassette driver configured to adjust the position of the ribbon cassette to the top or the bottom thereof based on a predetermined control signal; And printing the ribbon cassette so that the ribbon cassette is positioned at the top when the first level signal is input from the ribbon cassette position sensing unit and the bottom when the second level signal is input. And a control unit for controlling the cassette drive unit.

1 is a view showing a conventional ribbon utilization.

Figure 2 is a system block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the ribbon saving device of the receipt printer according to the present invention.

3 is a schematic perspective view for explaining the driving of the ribbon cassette;

Figure 4 is a flow chart for explaining the ribbon saving method of the receipt printer according to the present invention.

5 is a view showing the ribbon utilization in accordance with the present invention.

*** Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawing ***

10: control unit 20: data receiving unit

30: key input unit 40: ROM

50: RAM 60: Ribbon Selection

70: ribbon cassette position detection unit 72: ribbon cassette

74: female rod 76: solenoid

78: spring

80: ribbon cassette drive unit 90: print head drive unit

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a system block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the ribbon saving device of the receipt printer according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, a receipt printer to which the present invention is applied includes a data receiving unit 20 for receiving print data output from a host such as a cash register, a POS, or a PC-POS, and various key codes for operating a receipt printer. Built-in key input unit 30, a control unit 10 for key scanning the key input unit 30 to perform overall system control, a program for system operation of the receipt printer and a program for implementing the ribbon saving method of the present invention is built in A font library (a mattress data of dots constituting letters or typefaces displayed by a CRT display or a printer) embedded in the ROM 40 for printing the ROM 40, the data received from the host, and the data received from the host. RAM (50), one of the one-color ribbon and two-color ribbon to store the typeface data created with Ribbon selection unit 60 for selecting, ribbon cassette position detection unit 70 for detecting the position of the ribbon cassette, ribbon cassette drive unit 80 for moving the ribbon cassette up and down when printing data under the control of the control unit 10 And a print head unit 90 for printing the data sent from the RAM 50.

In the above-described configuration, the ribbon selection unit 60 is for allowing the user to select the type of ribbon by using a predetermined selection switch. For example, when the user turns the selection switch on or off, the ribbon selection unit 60 controls the selection. The type 10 recognizes each type of ribbon as a single color or two colors. The ribbon cassette position detecting unit 70 detects whether the ribbon cassette which is moved up and down by a predetermined length is located at the top or the bottom of the ribbon cassette position detecting unit 70 and applies a signal having a predetermined level to the controller 10. When the printing of one line is finished on the basis of the level signal of the ribbon cassette position detecting unit 70, the controller 10 is located at the bottom when the current ribbon cassette is located at the top and at the bottom before the printing of the next line. The ribbon cassette drive unit 80 is moved to the upper end.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a position at which the ribbon cassette drive unit 80 is mounted. As shown in FIG. 3, the ribbon cassette drive unit 80 may be moved by an electromagnet force and a spring 78. One side of the female rod 74 for the retraction movement is the solenoid 76 coupled to the bottom surface of the ribbon cassette 72 to change the position of the ribbon cassette 72 to the top or bottom under the control of the controller 10. . The excitation rod 74 is advanced by the electromagnetic force of the solenoid 76, and is retracted by the compression of the spring 78. The solenoids 76 are fixed to the bottom plate 82 with two fasteners 84 extending downward from one side, respectively. As the ribbon cassette 72 is repositioned, the position of the ribbon R mounted on the ribbon cassette 72 is changed.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a ribbon saving method of a receipt printer according to the present invention.

First, in step S10, data to be printed is received from a host such as a cash register, a POS, or a PC-POS and stored in a data receiving buffer. In the next step S12, it is determined whether the ribbon currently being used is a monochrome ribbon. If it is determined in step S12 that the ribbon in use is not a single color ribbon, the process proceeds to step S13 to perform a corresponding function. If the ribbon in use is a single color ribbon, the process proceeds to step S14. With the support of the font library built in 40, the data to be printed on a single dot line is processed in a typeface type, and then the processed data is sent to a print head to perform one line printing. Subsequently, in step S16, the position of the ribbon cassette is changed to the top or the bottom. If the current ribbon cassette is located at the bottom, the ribbon cassette is raised to the top, and if the ribbon cassette is located at the top, the ribbon cassette is moved to the bottom. Get off. In the next step S18, the next one-line printing is performed by using the ribbon mounted in the ribbon cassette repositioned in step S16, and the flow advances to step S20 to determine whether there is more data to print. If there is more data to be printed as a result of the determination in step S20, the process proceeds to step S16 to print while continuously changing the ribbon cassette to the top or bottom of each line.

5 is a view showing the ribbon utilization in accordance with the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the ribbon is logically divided up and down, and as the position of the ribbon cassette is changed up and down in each line, the spot is moved by the head applied to the ribbon and the printing is performed while the entire area of the ribbon is changed. Can be used.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention.

According to the present invention as described above, it is possible to extend the service life of the ribbon by making it possible to use the entire area of the ribbon while changing the position of the ribbon cassette up and down every line.

Claims (4)

(Correction) A ribbon cassette position sensing unit for detecting a ribbon cassette and outputting a first level signal when its position is at the top and a second level signal when its position is at the bottom and a ribbon cassette at the top or bottom based on a predetermined control signal. The ribbon cassette drive unit for adjusting the position and the ribbon cassette to adjust the position of the ribbon cassette to the upper end when the first level signal is input from the ribbon cassette position sensing unit after printing one line in the data printing control, and the lower side when the second level signal is input. In a receipt printer having a control unit for controlling a cassette drive unit, The control unit selects a type of ribbon, and when the ribbon is a single color, a ribbon cassette drive unit in which one side of the female rod is coupled to the bottom surface of the ribbon cassette and the other side is coupled to the spring so that the female rod moves forward and backward by the solenoid and the spring. Ribbon saving device of a receipt printer characterized in that the drive. (delete) (delete) (delete)