KR20050021559A - Printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

When printing on a card, printing misalignment or printing defects such as printing elongation or stretching due to the appearance of platen rollers or conveying rollers, variations in rubber hardness, and feed pitch errors due to gear trains, etc. To provide a printing device that can be prevented.

The conveyance auxiliary member 4 which has the printing head 11 which prints image data, the holding part 41 which hold | maintains one card-shaped to-be-printed object C, and the conveyance auxiliary member 4 are printed head ( 11) and conveying means 13, 14 for conveying at a constant conveying speed with respect to 11) and position detecting means 17 for detecting a position on the conveying path of the conveying auxiliary member 4, and based on the detected card position. In this way, the conveyance means at the beginning and the printing of the card-shaped to-be-printed object is controlled.

Description

Printing device {PRINTING DEVICE}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing apparatus for printing on a to-be-printed object which requires precise printing in a predetermined range, and more particularly, to a printing apparatus for printing a predetermined form on a card-shaped to-be-printed object such as a plastic card or resin plate.

In recent years, the printing of predetermined characters or illustrations on plastic cards (hereinafter referred to as "cards") or resin plates having predetermined dimensions for issuance of membership cards and the like has been increasing. These cards and resin plates often print image data having a large amount of information in a small printing area, and precise printing is required. In this case, the printing apparatus includes, for example, a printing head for printing image data, the platen roller being formed opposite to the printing head, and the printing head and the platen roller constitute a printing portion. On the upstream side and the downstream side of this printing section, first and second conveying means each consisting of a pair of upper and lower rollers which are driven together and the other side are rotated by pressing the card are formed. As a drive source of the drive roller of these 1st and 2nd conveying means, a pulse motor is used and it is comprised so that a card may be conveyed at a constant conveyance speed. Further, a tip detection sensor is provided between the first conveying means on the upstream side and the printing portion to detect the tip of the card.

When the card is supplied to the first conveying means on the upstream side, first, the card is conveyed by the first conveying means until the card tip is detected by the tip detecting sensor. Further, the first conveying means is driven by the theoretical distance from the tip detection sensor to the print head (the distance from the installation design position of the tip detection sensor to the installation design position of the print head), whereby the position of the card front end and the print head is obtained. Matching (hereinafter, referred to as "find head") is performed to start printing. When printing is performed, the card is then discharged to the outside of the printing apparatus by the second conveying means on the downstream side.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure explaining the structure of the printing apparatus of this invention.

2 is a cross-sectional view of the printing apparatus.

3 is a view for explaining movement of a reciprocating transport tray. (A) of FIG. 3 is a set position, (b) of FIG. 3 is a discharge position.

4 is a cross-sectional view of the transport tray.

5 is a top view of the conveyance tray.

6 is a diagram showing a relationship between an application state of an electric signal generated by a bar mark and a linear sensor and a control signal of a printing head.

7 is a block diagram showing a control system of the printing apparatus.

8 is a flowchart showing the printing operation of the apparatus.

9 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a driving pulse of a motor and an application state of a control signal of a print head.

Disclosure of the Invention

In this conventional printing apparatus, however, when the card is first found and the card is printed, the card is conveyed at a constant conveying speed by the first and second conveying means. Errors may occur due to the outer shape of the roller, variations in rubber hardness, feed pitch errors due to the gear train, and the like. For this reason, there is a problem that printing defects such as stretching or stretching of the printing of the image data due to a misalignment caused by the conveyance distance error or the conveyance distance error during printing are generated.

In particular, when a plurality of printing areas are set on the card, the printing area is narrow and the printed character size is also small, so even if a small amount of printing misalignment or stretching of image data can be clearly recognized as printing defects, There was a need to print correctly.

Accordingly, in view of the above problems, the present invention provides printing such as printing misalignment, stretching or stretching of printing, when printing on a printed matter that needs to be precisely printed in a predetermined range, such as a card-like printed matter. An object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus capable of preventing the occurrence of defects.

In order to solve this problem, the printing apparatus of this invention conveys the conveyance auxiliary member which has a printing head which prints image data, the holding part which hold | maintains a to-be-printed object, and this conveyance auxiliary member with a constant conveyance speed with respect to a printing head. And a position detecting means for detecting a position on a conveying path of the conveying auxiliary member.

According to the present invention, since the position on the conveying path of the conveying auxiliary member is detected by the position detecting means, it is possible to indirectly detect the position of the object to be held in the conveying auxiliary member. For this reason, control of conveyance means at the beginning of the to-be-printed and at the time of printing based on the detected position of the to-be-printed material prevents the occurrence of print defects such as printing misalignment when printing to the to-be-printed material. can do.

In addition, a plurality of codes are provided in the conveying direction in the conveying auxiliary member, and the position detecting means includes predetermined portion detecting means for detecting a predetermined portion of the conveying auxiliary member, and code detecting means for detecting a sign of the conveying auxiliary member. And detecting a predetermined portion of the conveying auxiliary member by the predetermined portion detecting means to determine that the conveying auxiliary member is at a predetermined position on the conveying path, and then conveying the conveying auxiliary member to the code detecting means. It is preferable to configure so that a position on the conveyance path | route of a conveyance auxiliary member may be detected by detecting a code | symbol and detecting the conveyance distance of a conveyance auxiliary member. Moreover, a some code | symbol is provided in a conveyance direction by the said conveyance auxiliary member, The said position detection means is equipped with the code detection means which detects the code | symbol of the said conveyance auxiliary member, and detects the predetermined | prescribed code among a some code | symbol, and conveyance assistance It may be determined that the member is at a predetermined position on the conveyance path, and when the conveyance auxiliary member is conveyed thereafter, a sign is detected and the conveyance distance of the conveyance auxiliary member is detected to detect the position on the conveyance path of the conveyance auxiliary member. In these cases, the code | symbol of the said conveyance auxiliary member is comprised by the bar-shaped mark of a predetermined | prescribed width, and it can be considered to arrange | position this bar-shaped mark at predetermined intervals.

Moreover, the said conveyance auxiliary member is equipped with the some code | symbol which shows the absolute position on this conveyance auxiliary member in a conveyance direction, The said position detection means is provided with the code detection means which detects the some code | symbol of a conveyance auxiliary member, If it is configured to detect the position on the conveying path of the conveying auxiliary member based on the position of the sign detecting means and the position on the conveying auxiliary member of the sign detected by the sign detecting means, the conveying auxiliary member is not formed even if the predetermined partial detecting means is not formed. It becomes possible to detect the position on the conveyance path | route of.

In addition, when printing control of the printing head is performed in synchronization with the detection of the code by the code detecting means, driving of the conveying means is caused due to the appearance of the platen roller or the conveying roller, the variation in the rubber hardness, the feed pitch error due to the gear train, and the like. Even if an error occurs between the distance and the actual conveyance distance, printing is performed in addition to the distance in which the to-be-printed object is actually conveyed, so that printing defects such as stretching or stretching of the image data do not occur.

The conveying means may be configured to be capable of conveying a to-be-printed object not held by the conveying auxiliary member at a constant conveying speed with respect to the printing head.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

With reference to FIG. 1, 1 is a printing apparatus which can print predetermined | prescribed letters and illustrations on to-be-printed objects, such as a plastic card and a tape, for example. In the printing apparatus 1, a control part (refer FIG. 7) which controls the operation | movement of an apparatus is provided. An external computer 2 for inputting print data such as fonts or character intervals is connected to this control unit via a communication cable 3.

With reference to FIG. 2, the thermal transfer printing head 11 which is free to move up and down is formed in the center part of the printing apparatus 1. As shown in FIG. Below this printing head 11, the platen roller 12 is formed in opposition, and this printing head 11 and the platen roller 12 form a printing part. On the upstream side and the downstream side of the printing sections 11, 12, first and second conveying means 13, 14 for sending a to-be-printed object at a constant conveyance speed are formed.

The 1st and 2nd conveyance means 13 and 14 are comprised by the drive rollers 13a and 14a and the idle rollers 13b and 14b which co-rotate with the drive rollers 13a and l4a by pressurizing the to-be-printed object. . Each drive roller 13a, 14a is driven by the drive motor M via the gear train 15. In this case, the platen roller 12 may be driven synchronously through the gear train 15. And when a to-be-printed object is put into the upstream conveying means 13, a to-be-printed object is sent to the printing parts 11 and 12 at a fixed conveyance speed, and predetermined printing is performed.

2 and 3, in the present embodiment, in the case where predetermined printing is performed on the card C, the upstream side and the downstream side of the printing units 11 and 12 are reversed by the driving rollers 13a and 14a. The conveyance tray (conveyance auxiliary member) 4 which reciprocates between was used. Then, the set position S on the upstream side of the first conveying means 13 on which the card C is set and the discharge position on the downstream side of the second conveying means 14 for discharging the printed card C ( The card C is set in the holding part 41 of the conveyance tray 4 which moves between E), and it transfers to the printing parts 11 and 12 at a fixed conveyance speed, and performs predetermined printing.

With reference to FIG. 3, FIG. 4, and FIG. 5, the conveyance tray 4 is comprised from the thin plate made of synthetic resin, The thickness dimension T2 is set shorter than the thickness dimension of the card C. As shown in FIG. Moreover, the substantially rectangular opening part 41a larger than the external shape of the card C is formed in the predetermined position of the conveyance tray 4.

In the opening portion 41a, the thin plate 41b is pivoted freely downward through, for example, an adhesive tape-shaped support member 42 at the inner edge portion of the card C in the conveying direction upstream. 41a) and the thin plate 41b constitute the holding portion 41 of the card C. As shown in FIG. In this case, when the thin plate 41b is attached to the opening part 41a, the back surface of the conveyance tray 4 and the thin plate 41b is processed so that the recessed part across the opening part 41a and the thin plate 41b may be formed, and the conveyance tray 4 The support member 42 is accommodated in this recess so that it may not protrude from the back surface of the back side).

Then, the thin plate 41b is kept horizontal while moving from the set position S to the discharge position E, passes through the second conveying means 14, and the discharge position E outside the printing apparatus 1. ), It swings downward. In this case, in the discharge position E, the card C on the thin plate 41b slides down to its own weight as the thin plate 41b swings downward (see FIG. 3 (b)). Therefore, the automatic ejection of the card C at the ejection position E becomes possible.

Moreover, the thickness dimension T1 of the thin plate 41b is set shorter than the thickness dimension T2 of the conveyance tray 4, and the space which can accommodate the card C is formed on this thin plate 41b. It was. The horizontal width W of the opening portion 41a substantially corresponds to the horizontal width of the card C. FIG. Thereby, position shift of the left-right direction of the card C is prevented only by setting the card C in the holding | maintenance part 41. FIG. Further, the thin plate 41b is formed such that the tip of the card C protrudes from the space 41d of the inner edge of the thin plate 41b and the opening portion 41a in the horizontal state of the thin plate 41b, and the pivot thereof. An opening 41c through which the rear end of the card C protrudes is formed at the end of the putting portion side (see FIG. 5).

Moreover, the bar-shaped mark 43 of predetermined width is arranged in the conveyance direction at predetermined intervals from the front end of the conveyance tray 4 to the back of the opening part 41a on the upper surface of the width direction one end side of the conveyance tray 4. (Linear scale). This bar mark 43 is formed in the conveyance direction of the conveyance tray 4 at the rate of 150 line / inch, As shown also in FIG. 6, the formation part 43a of the bar mark 43 and The width | variety of the non-forming part 43b of the bar mark 43 is the same. This bar mark formation part 43a is easy to reflect light, and the bar mark non-formation part 43b is hard to reflect light.

In the vicinity of the conveying path between the printing head 11 and the first conveying means 13, the distal end of the conveying tray 4, the distal end of the card C protruding into the space 41d of the conveying tray 4, and A top sensor (predetermined partial detection means) 16 is provided which detects the rear end of the card C protruding from the opening 41c of the transport tray 4, and is located at approximately the same position as the top sensor 16. A linear sensor (sign detection means) 17 for detecting the bar mark 43 of the conveyance tray 4 is formed. The linear sensor 17 has a resolution of 300 dots / inch in the main scanning direction, and light is applied to the bar mark forming portion 43a and the bar mark non-forming portion 43b of the conveying tray 4. It irradiates, receives the reflected light, converts it into an electric signal, and detects the bar mark 43 in accordance with the waveform of the electric signal. At the time of conveyance of the conveyance tray 4, CPU51 mentioned later calculates how many bar-shaped marks 43 passed the linear sensor 17 position based on the waveform of this electrical signal, and conveys the conveyance tray 4 Detect distance In addition, on the upstream side of the first conveying means 13, a medium sensor 18 for determining whether the medium to be printed or the conveying tray 4 is set is formed.

Next, with reference to the block diagram of FIG. 7, the control system of the printing apparatus 1 of this embodiment is demonstrated. The printing apparatus 1 includes a CPU51 that reads and executes a program to execute control of the entire apparatus, a ROM52 that stores a control program that the CPU5l reads and the like, and various data required for the CPU51 to execute a control program. RAM53 serving as a work area of the CPU51, a motor control unit 54 for supplying a driving pulse signal to the transfer motor M under the control of the CPU51, and driving the transfer motor M; A print control section 55 is provided to generate a control signal corresponding to the image data to be printed supplied from the CPU51, to supply it to the print head 11, and to print. The top sensor 16, the linear sensor 17, and the medium sensor 18 are connected to the CPU51, and the detection results of these sensors are transmitted to the CPU51. The CPU51 can be connected to an external computer 2 or the like through an appropriate interface 56, and various data can be transmitted and received between the external computer 2 and the like.

Next, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 8, the printing operation of the printing apparatus 1 of the said structure is demonstrated.

First, the CPU51 receives print data from an external computer connected via the interface (S1). Next, the CPU51 determines whether or not the printed medium or the conveying tray 4 is set in the printing apparatus 1 based on the signal from the medium sensor 18 (S2). When the medium to be printed or the conveying tray 4 is not set in the printing apparatus 1, an error message is displayed on the display unit (not shown) (S3). When the medium to be printed or the transfer tray 4 is set, it is subsequently determined whether the medium to be set or the transfer tray 4 is set based on a signal from the linear sensor 17 (S4).

When the thing to be set in the printing apparatus 1 is a normal to-be-printed medium, first, a pulse signal is supplied from the motor control part 54 to the conveying motor M by the control of CPU51, and the 1st conveying means 13 carries out a 1st conveyance means. It drives, and it carries forward (conveys to the conveyance path downstream side) until the front-end | tip of a to-be-printed medium is detected by the said top sensor 16 (S6) (S5). Subsequently, by the control of the CPU 51, the first conveying means 13 is driven by the theoretical distance from the front end detection sensor to the printing head, whereby the head of the printed medium is found (S7). Upon completion of the first search of the medium to be printed, the CPU 51 controls the first conveying means 13 and the second conveying means and simultaneously print-controls the printing head 11 (S8).

Specifically, printing S8 is performed by the control of CPU51 as described below. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, the drive pulse signal which consists of two phases A-phase and B-phase with respect to the conveyance motor M is supplied from the motor control part 54 by control of CPU51, and, thereby, conveyance motor M ) Is driven so that the medium to be printed is forwarded. The printing control unit 55 supplies a control signal corresponding to the image data to the printing head 11 in synchronization with the first start of these two-phase driving pulse signals under the control of the CPU51. The control signal corresponding to this image data is set to the resolution minimum dot pitch which requires the conveyance amount of the to-be-printed medium sent by one pulse of a carrier pulse motor. Thereby, printing is performed in conjunction with the drive distance of the conveying means 13 and 14.

In this way, when printing to one printed medium is finished, the CPU51 drives the conveying means 13, 14 to discharge the printed medium out of the printing apparatus 1 to finish the printing operation (S9), and Go to standby.

When it is the conveyance tray 4 set in the printing apparatus 1, first, a pulse signal is supplied from the motor control part 54 to the conveying motor M by control of CPU51, and the 1st conveyance means 13 is carried out. It drives, and the front end of the card C hold | maintained by the conveyance tray 4 is conveyed forward until it is detected by the said top sensor 16 (S11) (S10). Subsequently, under the control of the CPU51, the first conveying means 13 until the conveying distance detected based on the electric signal waveform obtained by the linear sensor 17 becomes equal to the distance from the front end detecting sensor to the printing head. ) Is driven to find the beginning of the card on the conveyance tray 4 (S12). When the beginning of the card search is completed, the CPU 51 controls the first conveying means 13 and the second conveying means and simultaneously print-controls the printing head 11 (S13).

Specifically, printing (S13) is performed by the control of CPU51 as described below. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, when the conveying means 13 and 14 are driven by control of CPU51, the conveyance tray 4 is conveyed and the bar-shaped mark formation part 43a formed in this conveyance tray 4, and An electric signal waveform corresponding to the bar mark non-forming portion 43b is obtained by the linear sensor 17. The printing control unit 55 supplies the control signal corresponding to the image data to the printing head 11 in synchronization with the first start and the last of the electric signal waveform obtained by the linear sensor 17 under the control of the CPU51. . The control signal corresponding to this image data is set to a resolution minimum dot pitch that requires the length of the width portion of the bar mark 43. As a result, printing is performed in accordance with the number of bar-shaped marks 43 that have passed through the linear sensor 17 position, that is, the distance in which the card C is actually conveyed, so that the expansion or expansion of printing of image data, etc. The printing apparatus suitable for the to-be-printed object which does not produce a bad printing and needs to perform precise printing to a predetermined range can be comprised.

In this way, when printing to one card is complete | finished, conveyance means 13 and 14 drive by the control of CPU51, and conveyance tray 4 is conveyed downstream. And the holding part 41 of the conveyance tray 4 passes through the 2nd conveyance means 14, and reaches the carrying out position E of the exterior of the printing apparatus 1 (refer FIG. 3 (b)), 41b) The card C, which has been rocked downward, is slid off the thin plate 41b with its own weight and discharged (S14).

Then, the conveying means 13 and 14 are driven by the control of the CPU 51, and the conveyance tray 4 until the holding part 41 of the conveying tray 4 comes to the set position S which can set a card. ) Is returned (returned to the transport path upstream) (S15).

These are the electric signal waveforms obtained by the linear sensor 17, such as the forward conveyance for moving the forward conveyance and holding portion 41 for ejecting the card to the set position S, and the forward conveyance when searching for the first head. The conveyance distance is detected based on, and it is performed according to the detected conveyance distance.

When the holding unit 41 moves to the set position S in this way, the CPU 51 ends the printing operation and shifts to the standby state of the next job.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, the top sensor 16 which detects the predetermined part of the conveyance tray 4 (the tip of the conveyance tray 4 or the protruding position of a card | tip end), and the bar-shaped mark 43 of the conveyance tray 4 are shown. And a linear sensor 17 for detecting the position, the predetermined position of the conveying tray 4 is detected by the top sensor 16, and it is determined that the conveying tray 4 is at a predetermined position on the conveying path. When conveying 4), the linear sensor 17 detects the bar-shaped mark 43 of the conveyance tray 4, detects the conveyance distance of the conveyance tray 4, and conveys the conveyance tray 4 by this. Although the position on a path | route is detected, this invention is not limited to this. For example, instead of detecting the predetermined part of the conveyance tray 4 by the top sensor 16, the predetermined mark in the bar-shaped mark 43 of the conveyance tray 4, for example, the head of a downstream direction of a conveyance direction When the mark is detected to determine that the conveyance tray is at a predetermined position on the conveyance path, and after conveying the conveyance tray 4, the bar-shaped mark 43 is detected to detect the conveyance distance of the conveyance tray 4, Thereby, you may make it detect the position on the conveyance path | route of the conveyance tray 4. As shown in FIG. In this case, the predetermined mark in the bar-shaped mark 43 of the conveyance tray 4 may not be the mark of the head of a conveyance direction downstream side, for example, the mark of the predetermined position among the some bar-shaped mark 43. The width dimension may be changed from the width dimension of the other mark as much as possible, and when the mark of the width dimension different from the other marks is detected by the linear sensor 17, it may be determined that the conveyance tray is at a predetermined position on the conveyance path.

In addition, the bar-shaped mark 43 formed in the conveyance tray 4 may be peculiar to the position as it shows the absolute position on the conveyance tray 4. In this case, when the bar mark 43 is detected by the linear sensor 17, since the mark and the position on the conveyance tray 4 correspond to one-to-one, the conveyance tray 4 directly from the detection result. Position on the conveyance path can be detected. As a method of forming the bar mark 43 peculiar to this position on the conveyance tray 4, the width or space | interval of the bar mark 43 is gradually changed along a conveyance direction. When the bar mark 43 formed in this way is detected by the linear sensor 17, the position on the conveyance path of the conveyance tray 4 can be detected based on the pulse width or pulse interval of the obtained electric signal waveform.

In addition, the code | symbol provided in the conveyance tray 4 may not be the bar mark 43, and what kind of thing may be used as long as it can be detected by a well-known sensor.

In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various form can be taken as long as it does not deviate from the main point of invention. For example, the conveyance means may be formed in either the upstream side or the downstream side of the printing head, and the conveying means is not limited to the conveying roller, and may be a rack pinion, a conveyance belt, or the like.

As described above, in the printing apparatus of the present invention, since the position on the conveying path of the conveying auxiliary member is detected by the position detecting means, the position of the object to be held in the conveying auxiliary member can be detected indirectly. Therefore, based on the position of the detected to-be-printed object, control of the conveying means at the beginning of the to-be-printed object and at the time of printing can prevent the occurrence of printing defects such as printing misalignment when printing to the to-be-printed object. You can prevent it.

In addition, when printing control of the printing head is performed in synchronization with the detection of the code by the code detecting means, driving of the conveying means is caused due to the appearance of the platen roller or the conveying roller, the variation in the rubber hardness, the feed pitch error due to the gear train, and the like. Even if an error occurs between the distance and the actual conveyance distance, the printing is performed in addition to the distance in which the to-be-printed object is actually conveyed, so that printing defects such as expansion and contraction of the printing of the image data do not occur.

Claims (7)

A plate-shaped conveying auxiliary member having a printing head for printing image data, a holding portion for holding a to-be-printed object, at least one pair of rollers sandwiching the conveying auxiliary member from both sides thereof and conveyed at a constant conveying speed relative to the printing head; And position detecting means for detecting a position on a conveying path of the conveying auxiliary member. 2. The conveyance auxiliary member according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of codes are arranged in the conveying direction, and the position detecting means detects a predetermined portion detecting means for detecting a predetermined portion of the conveying auxiliary member and a sign of the conveying auxiliary member. And a code detecting means for detecting a predetermined portion of the conveying auxiliary member by the predetermined portion detecting means to determine that the conveying auxiliary member is at a predetermined position on the conveying path, and then conveying the conveying auxiliary member to the code detecting means. And a position on the conveying path of the conveying auxiliary member by detecting the sign of the conveying auxiliary member and detecting the conveying distance of the conveying auxiliary member. The said conveyance auxiliary member is provided with a some code | symbol in a conveyance direction, The said position detection means is equipped with the code detection means which detects the code | symbol of the said conveyance auxiliary member, The predetermined code | symbol of a some code | symbol is carried out. Detects that the conveyance auxiliary member is in a predetermined position on the conveyance path, and detects the position on the conveyance path of the conveyance auxiliary member by detecting the sign and detecting the conveyance distance of the conveyance auxiliary member when conveying the conveyance auxiliary member thereafter. Printing apparatus, characterized in that. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a plurality of symbols of the conveying auxiliary member are constituted by bar-shaped marks having a predetermined width, and the bar-shaped marks are arranged at predetermined intervals. 2. The conveyance auxiliary member according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of codes indicating an absolute position on the conveyance auxiliary member are provided in the conveying direction, and the position detecting means includes a code detecting means for detecting a sign of the conveying auxiliary member. And a position on the conveying path of the conveying auxiliary member, based on the position of the sign detecting means and the position on the conveying auxiliary member of the code detected by the sign detecting means. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein printing control of the printing head is performed in synchronization with the detection of the code by the code detecting means. The said at least one pair of rollers are comprised so that a to-be-printed object which is not hold | maintained by the said conveyance auxiliary member is conveyable at a constant conveyance speed with respect to a printing head. Printing apparatus.