TWI261550B - Thermal printer apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A thermal printer apparatus includes a platen roller (26), a thermal head elevating cam (30), a rotation sensor (41), and a paper sensor (40). The cam (30) is positioned in parallel with the roller (26). The rotation sensor (41) is provided for detecting the cam (30) being lifted or lowered, to determine whether a thermal head (27) is in a lowered state or in a lifted state. The paper sensor (40) detects whether paper is being properly transported. The thermal printer apparatus also includes a control device. The control device operates to stop power supply to the thermal head (27) when the thermal head (27) is in the lifted state or when paper is not properly transported.

Description

1261550 IX. Description of the Invention: [Technical Field] The present invention relates to a thermal printing device having a thermal head (or a thermo 1 head), a so-called thermal printer. 0 [Prior Art] A thermal printing device is a printing device that causes a current to flow in a thermal head of a heating element and then heats it to form an image on the thermal paper.

A thermochromic printing device is proposed to have a color-developing reversible thermal recording material such as a colorless (1 euc 〇) dye and a reversible color developing agent (for example, refer to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2 0 0 4 - 1 0 6 3 0 8 A thermal printing device capable of continuously performing a printing process and an image erasing process on a thermal paper (for example, refer to Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 2 0 0 2 - 3 3 169 7). Since the formation of the image is dependent on the heat generated by the thermal head, it is important to control the heat of the thermal head. Also, when the paper is heated excessively, the paper may be ignited. Further, there is a similar risk when the paper guide is clogged or the paper is clogged. Therefore, it is very important to control the heat of the thermal head from the point of safety. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION (Problems to be Solved by the Invention) When an image is to be printed on a sheet of paper, when the thermal head is not pressed to the flat pressure roller (p 1 atenr ο 1 1 er ), the heat head is applied to the heat head. When the thermal current is applied to the port, since it is only heated in a state where it is not exothermic, the thermal head may be overheated and damaged. 5 312XP / issued invention manual (supplement) / 9^08/94112332

1261550 In addition, in the state of clogging, when the thermal head is energized, the sensor is continuously heated only at the same position of the paper, so there is a problem of temperature rise. The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and provides a thermal printing apparatus capable of detecting a heating position of a thermal head and a conveyance state of a paper, thereby enabling heating head heating control. (Means for Solving the Problem) The present invention is characterized in that: a sensor head capable of printing an image on paper; and a platen roller opposed to the thermal head; and the pair of thermal heads a thermal head lifting device for lifting and unloading the flat roller; and a thermal head lifting position sensor capable of detecting a lifting state of the flat roller of the thermal head; and a head capable of supplying a heating current to drive the thermal head driving circuit of the thermal head; and, when the thermal head lifting position sensor detects that the thermal head is not pressed by the flat roller, The control method of the dynamic stop of the thermal head. The thermal head of the present invention is constructed to be raised or lowered by a thermal head lifting device. The thermal head lifting position sensor can detect the rising state of the thermal head, and when the thermal head is not pressed against the flat roller, it can prohibit energization of the thermal head even if it is timing. Further, the present invention is a heat-driven head 312XP/inventive manual (supplement)/94-08/94112332 which is capable of printing an image on paper.

1261550 and 'the above-mentioned thermal head opposite to the flat pressure roller; and 5 to the thermal head can supply a heating current to drive the thermal head driving circuit of the thermal head; and, can detect whether there is paper at the position of the thermal head And a paper sensor capable of detecting whether the flat pressure roller is in a swing state, wherein the control means is: when the paper sensor detects that there is no paper in the heat sensitive position, or the sense of rotation The detector detects that the flat pressure roller is not returned to indicate the control means for stopping the driving of the thermal head. According to the present invention, it is possible to detect whether or not the paper is correctly fed by the paper sensor, and when the paper is clogged, the supply of the thermal head can be blocked even at the timing of printing. (Effect of the Invention) According to the present invention, during the printing operation, the thermal head raising and lowering sensor is often used to monitor the raising and lowering state of the thermal head, and the thermal head is not placed at the lowering point, or the flat roller is not being pressed. In the state of the state, the power supply is stopped by the head, thereby preventing the thermal head from overheating and recovering the damage of the head. In addition, the paper sensor can detect whether the paper is in the transport state, and when the jam is blocked, the power supply is stopped by the thermal head, so that the temperature of the head can be prevented from rising to the allowable temperature range (-3 0 ° C~+ 7 0 ° C) Above [Embodiment] 312XP/Invention Description) /94-08/94112332 Sensing ΟΌ, the sense of heat in the position of the head when the power is turned off, the heat of the paper when the paper is sensitive 7 1261550 Figure 1 shows the invention An external view of the thermal printing device 1 of the embodiment. In FIG. 1, a paper feed tray 2 is disposed on the upper surface of the back surface of the thermal printing apparatus 1, and an upper cover 3 is disposed on the upper surface of the thermal printing apparatus 1, and an operation panel is provided on the upper right side of the thermal printing apparatus 1 ( Pane 1) 4, a paper discharge tray 5 is provided in front of the thermal printing device 1. The mechanism portion shown in Fig. 2 is housed inside the upper cover 3.

The thermal paper used in the thermal printing device 1 is, for example, a substrate; and a reversible thermal layer made of a leuco dye and a reversible color developing agent; and a protective layer; The color-developable reversible thermal recording material used herein is, for example, those described in Patent Document 1. The properties of the reversible thermosensitive layer are as follows. That is, as shown in Fig. 5, when the heat sensitive layer is heated to a molten state (heated to a temperature exceeding the melting point of 1 0 1 ), when it is cooled rapidly, it will travel to the path 1 0 3 to become a color developing state 1 0 2 . On the one hand, after the heating becomes molten, if it is slowly cooled, it proceeds to the path 1 〇 4 to become the achromatic state 1 0 5 . In the chromophoric state of 1 0 2, even if it is kept at a temperature slightly lower than the melting point 1 0 1 , it becomes a decolorized state. 2 is an internal cross-sectional view of the mechanism portion of the thermal printing device 1. In Fig. 2, a paper guide 2 2 is formed on the lower side of the rocking portion 21, and a paper conveyance path is formed between the rocking portion 21 and the paper guide 22. A process unit 28 for printing on the paper and a printing unit 29 are provided along the paper guide 2 2 from the paper supply side toward the paper discharge side. A cooling fan 25 is provided between the above-described erasing processing unit 28 and the above-described printing processing unit 29. The cooling fan 25 is configured to cool the heat-storing paper and the paper guide 22 by eliminating the temperature of the roller 23. By this, the printing density of the stable 312XP/inventive specification (supplement)/94-08/94112332 1261550 can be maintained. In the printing processing unit 2 9, a thermal head raising/lowering cam 30, a thermal head raising/lowering motor (not shown), and a thermal head lifting position sensor 31 are provided.

The thermal head lifting cams 30 are mounted in parallel on the paper discharge side of the flat roller 26. The thermal head raising/lowering cam 30 has a short diameter portion and a long diameter portion, and the thermal head raising/lowering cam 30 can be moved up and down by the rotation of the thermal head raising and lowering motor (not shown). That is, when the shorter diameter portion abuts against the thermal head holder, the thermal head 27 is lowered to be pressed against the paper, and when the longer diameter portion abuts against the thermal head holder, the thermal head 27 is It becomes a rising state. The thermal head lifting position sensor 31 is disposed at two positions around the above-described thermal head lifting cam 30. The thermal head lifting position sensor 31 is a photosensor, and is attached to the thermal head lifting cam 30, and the hub of the detecting disc (not shown) can be blocked from entering the thermal head lifting position sensing. The light of the device 3 1 detects the lifting position of the thermal head 27. The thermal head raising/lowering motor is disposed in parallel with the flat pressing roller 26 on the paper feed side of the flat roller 26. Thereby, the motor for lifting and lowering the head is rotated, and the cam for lifting the head 350 can be rotated. In the thermal printing apparatus 1, for example, when image removal and printing processing on paper are continuously performed, first, the operation of the operation panel 4 of Fig. 1 is selected. When the operation of the operation panel 4 is selected, the control unit 3 3 (see Fig. 3) transmits the material. Based on the transmitted information, the control unit 33 determines whether or not to start printing. When the control unit 33 determines to start printing, the self-control unit 3 3 drives the drive 9 312XP/invents the specification (supplement)/94-08/94] 12332 1261550

Path 3 8 (refer to Figure 3) sends a signal. When the drive circuit 38 transmits a signal, the drive circuit 38 drives the motor 37 (see FIG. 3), and the paper loaded on the paper feed tray 2 is fed by the paper feed roller 20 (see FIG. 2). When the paper feed side is conveyed to the paper discharge side, that is, when the roller 2 3 side is conveyed, and the paper starts to be conveyed, the paper sensor 40 detects whether or not the paper is correctly conveyed. When the paper is correctly conveyed, the control unit 33 transmits a signal to the heat processing unit 36 (see Fig. 3). The heat treatment unit 36 heats the eliminating roller 23 and drives the eliminating roller 23 to drive. At the same time, the control unit 33 sends a signal to the drive circuit 38, and drives the flat roller 24 in accordance with the transmitted signal. When the roller 2 3 is removed to eliminate the image on the paper, the paper is transported to the position of the thermal head 27 . At this time, it is detected by the paper sensor 40 whether the paper is being conveyed reliably. When the paper is correctly conveyed, the rotation sensor 4 1 (see Fig. 3) detects the position of the elevation cam 30, and detects the elevation state of the thermal head 27. When it is detected that the thermal head 27 is pressed against the flat roller 26, the control unit 3 3 transmits a signal to the thermal head drive circuit 35 (see Fig. 3). When the thermal head drive circuit 35 is transmitting a signal, the thermal head drive circuit 35 heats the thermal head. At this time, the temperature sensor (not shown) built in the thermal head 27 reads and monitors the temperature rise of the thermal head 27 near the temperature. The allowable temperature range is -3 0 °C to + 70 °C, and when the printing process is terminated at the end of the upper limit of 70 °C, for example, over 68 °C, the next sheet of paper is read. Temporarily enters a stop state and continues to monitor the temperature. When the temperature drops to, for example, 6 5 °C, the printing can be resumed automatically. In the printing, the paper sensor terminal 4 0 10 312XP/inventive manual (supplement)/94-08/94112332 1261550 provided in a paper conveyance path (not shown) is used to detect the end of the paper, and the remaining printing amount is judged. When it is not possible to accommodate the paper terminal, the paper terminal that prevents the printing state is passed through the thermal head 27 by limiting the amount of remaining printing. When the printing of the paper is finished, the paper is accumulated on the paper discharge tray 5 (refer to Fig. 1). 3 is a block diagram of the above thermal printing device 1.

The thermal printing device 1 is a thermal printing device 1 that can perform printing on a sheet of paper by heating the thermal head with a predetermined energization of the thermal head 27. The thermal printing device 1 is printed in accordance with the image data of the host computer (host) 43. The thermal print device 1 includes a control unit 33, a controller I/F 34' operation unit 32, a thermal head 27, a thermal head drive circuit 35, a paper sensor 40, and a rotary sensor. 41. The roller 2 3, the flat roller 2 4, the heat treatment unit 36, the motor 37, the drive circuit 38, and the lifting device 39 are eliminated. The instruction for the image data to be printed, the printing, or the like is supplied to the control unit 33 composed of a peripheral circuit necessary for the ROM, R A Μ, C P U or the like. The controller I / F 3 4 can convert a signal transmitted from the host computer (host) 43 to the control unit 3 3 or a signal transmitted from the control unit 33 to the host computer (host) 43. When the user selects an operation, the operation unit 32 transmits a signal to the control unit 33. Thereby, the thermal head 27 can perform dot unit printing on the paper. The thermal head driving circuit 35 generates a driving signal for heating the thermal head 27 in units of dots by the finger of the control unit 33. The paper sensor 40 can monitor whether the paper is being transported correctly. When the paper 11 312 ΧΡ/发 invention manual (supplement)/94-08/94112332 1261550 is not correctly conveyed, the control unit 3 3 blocks the driving voltage of the thermal head 27 and stops the supply of electric power to the thermal head 27. . The swing sensor 4 1 can monitor the lift state of the thermal head 27. The rotation sensor 4 1 can detect the position of the thermal head lifting cam 30 which is mounted in the parallel position of the flat roller 2 6 , and the control unit 3 3 will be sensitive to heat when the thermal head 27 is not completely lowered. The head 2 7 blocks the driving voltage and stops the supply of power to the thermal head 2 7 . Eliminating the roller 2 3 eliminates the heating of the image on the paper.

The heat treatment unit 36 can perform the heating of the elimination roller 23 by the instruction of the control unit 33. The motor 37 is placed on the paper guide 22 to transport the paper. The drive circuit 38 can drive the motor 37 by the instruction from the control unit 33. The lift device 39 can raise and lower the thermal head 27. For example, when the user selects the printing operation of the operation unit 32, the data is transmitted from the operation unit 32 to the control unit 33. According to the data, the control unit 3 3 determines whether or not printing is started. When the control unit 33 determines that the printing is started, the control unit 33 transmits a signal to the drive circuit 38. When the drive circuit 38 receives the signal, the drive circuit 38 drives the motor 37. When the motor 3 7 is driven, the paper feed roller 20 conveys the paper loaded on the paper feed tray 2 from the paper feed side to the paper discharge side, that is, the paper is conveyed toward the elimination roller 2 3 side. Next, the paper sensor 40 detects whether or not the paper is correctly conveyed. When the paper is correctly conveyed, the swing sensor 4 1 detects the lifting device 3 9 12 3 3 2 2/Inventive Manual (supplement) / 94-08/94112332 1261550

The position of the cam 30 for the thermal head lifting. As a result of detecting the position of the thermal head raising cam 30, when the thermal head 27 is pressed by the flat roller 26, the control unit 3 sends a signal to the thermal head driving circuit 35. When the signal is applied to the thermal head driving circuit 35, the thermal head 27 is heated within the allowable temperature range. When the thermal head 2 7 is heated within the allowable range, the thermal head 27 can perform printing on the paper. At this time, when the upper limit of the allowable range (-3 0 °C to + 70 °C) is 70 °C, for example, more than 68 °C, when the printing of the paper in the printing process is finished, the next time The reading operation of the paper is temporarily stopped, and the temperature is continuously monitored. When the temperature is lowered to, for example, 65 ° C, where printing can be resumed, the printing operation is automatically resumed. On the other hand, when the thermal head 27 is not pressed by the flat roller 26, the control unit 3 blocks the supply of electric power to the thermal head 27. When the printing of the paper is finished, the paper is stowed on the paper discharge tray 5. Next, the detailed operation of the thermal printing apparatus 1 will be described using FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing an embodiment of the thermal printing device 1. First, the control unit 3 3 receives and inputs the job (j 〇 b ) data (S 1 ) transmitted from the host computer (host) 43. At this time, when the canceled data is received or the printed data is erased, the elimination roller 2 3 is raised to a temperature that can be eliminated (1 2 0 to 2 0 0 ° C). Next, the control unit 3 3 determines whether or not the paper is starting printing in accordance with the input data (S 2 ). When it does not start, it returns to the starting point. On the other hand, when printing is started, the paper feed roller 20 transports the paper to the position of the thermal head 27 (S 3 ). When the paper reaches the thermal head 2 7 , it is detected whether or not the paper is being conveyed (S 4 ). When the detected data is input to the control unit 33, the control unit 3 3, in accordance with the input data, if the paper is not correctly transported, the paper is sent by the 312XP/inventive manual (supplement)/94-08/94112332 1261550. The power supply to the thermal head 2 7 is stopped (S 5 ). Next, an error stop is performed (S 6 ), the rocking portion 21 is opened, and the paper (S 7 ) is taken out and returned to the starting point. When the paper is correctly conveyed, the position of the thermal head raising cam is detected, and it is detected whether or not the thermal head 27 is at the falling point position (S 8 ). The detection data is input to the control unit 33. Next, the control unit 3 3 follows the input data.

When the thermal head 27 is at the falling point, printing is performed on the sheet (S9). When the printing process is finished, the paper is discharged to the discharge tray 5 (S 1 0). In the printing process, it is often monitored whether the paper is being conveyed, or whether the thermal head 2 7 is at the falling point, when the paper is not correctly conveyed, or when the thermal head 27 is not at the falling point, the power supply to the thermal head 27 is stopped. And the paper is discharged to the discharge tray 5. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a view showing the appearance of a thermal printing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the inside of the thermal printing device. Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the thermal printing device. Fig. 4 is a flow chart showing the judgment sequence of the printing permission of the thermal printing device. Fig. 5 is a graph showing the relationship between the color development density and the temperature of the reversible heat-sensitive layer of the paper which can be used in the above-described thermal printing apparatus. [Main component symbol description] 1 Thermal printing device 2 Paper feed tray 14 312XP/Inventive manual (supplement)/94-08/94112332 1261550 3 Upper cover 4 Operation panel 5 Paper discharge tray 2 0 Paper feed roller 2 1 Shake 2 2 paper guide 2 3 elimination roller 2 4 flat roller

2 5 Cooling fan 26 Flat roller 2 7 Thermal head 28 Elimination processing unit 2 9 Printing processing unit 30 Thermal head lifting cam 3 1 Thermal head lifting position sensor

3 3 Control Department

34 Controller I / F 3 5 Thermal head drive circuit 36 Heat treatment unit 3 7 Motor 3 8 Drive circuit 3 9 Lifting device 4 0 Paper sensor 312XP / Invention manual (supplement) /94-08/94112332 15 1261550 4 1 Rotary sensor 4 3 Main computer (main unit) 10 1 Melting point 10 2 Color status 1 0 3, 1 0 4 Path 10 5 Decolorization

312XP / issued invention manual (supplement) /94-08/94112332

Claims (1)

1261550 X. Patent application scope: 1. A thermal printing device, characterized in that it has: a thermocouple head (therma 1 head) capable of printing an image on paper; and, a flat pressure roller opposite to the aforementioned thermal head And a thermal head lifting device capable of lifting and releasing the heat-sensitive head to the flat-rolling roller; and detecting a lifting position of the thermal head of the thermal head to raise and lower the flat roller Detector; and, a thermal head driving circuit capable of supplying a heating current to the thermal head to drive the thermal head; and, when the thermal head lifting position sensor detects that the thermal head is not pressed by the flat roller, indicating The control means for stopping the heating head drive. 2 . A thermal printing device, comprising: a thermal head capable of printing an image on a paper; and a flat pressing roller opposite to the thermal head; and heating the thermal head a thermal head driving circuit for driving the thermal head; and a paper sensor capable of detecting whether there is paper at the position of the thermal head; and a rotation sensor capable of detecting whether the flat roller is rotating The control means has a control means for instructing to stop the driving of the thermal head when the paper sensor detects that there is no paper at the position of the thermal head, or when the rotary sensor detects that the flat pressure roller is not rotating. 17 312XP / issued invention manual (supplement) /94-08/94112332