JP2536414B2 - Printer - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer for forming (printing) images, characters, symbols and the like on paper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-165270 discloses
There is described a printer that conveys a sheet at a preset speed while the temperature of the thermal head is low, and controls so that the conveying speed increases as the temperature rises.
In addition, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 132481/1990 describes a printer that controls the conveying speed of a sheet in accordance with the pressure applied to the sheet.

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a conventional example of a printer.

A CPU 125 for controlling the system controls a mechanical section 126 via a data bus 130 and a latch 115.
Control data is sent to the mechanical operation control unit 127 therein. The mechanical operation control unit 127 controls the operation of a mechanism (not shown) based on this control data. The sheet discrimination sensor 110 is attached to the mechanical section 126 and is used to feed sheets (OH
P paper, long special paper, special paper, plain paper) is determined. This detection data is temporarily stored in the latch 114,
Further, it is sent to the CPU 125 via the data bus 130. The CPU 125 monitors whether or not an appropriate sheet is fed, and if an inappropriate sheet is fed, it is displayed as an error by an LED (not shown) or the like. Address signals of the latches 114 and 115 and peripheral devices (not shown) are sent from the CPU 125 to the address bus 131. Further, in this printer, when an error such as a paper jam is detected by various sensors, an LED or the like is displayed.

[0005]

In the above-mentioned conventional printer, the speed of each mechanical operation (feeding, conveying, printing, discharging) is controlled for various purposes, but malfunction of the mechanism is prevented. There was no speed control. For example, when the environmental temperature is low or high humidity, water droplets may be generated on the ink ribbon, paper, etc. Therefore, it is not possible to carry (feed or return) the paper at the same speed as at normal temperature and normal humidity. A slip is possible. From this,
In particular, during full-color printing, misalignment of the head of the ink ribbon, skewing of the sheet in which the sheet is conveyed obliquely, or paper jam occurs. In addition, during continuous printing and full-color printing,
Depending on the paper, static electricity is generated between the ink ribbon and the paper, and the operation of the mechanism may become unstable.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a printer capable of preventing the malfunction of the mechanism by controlling the conveying speed of the sheet to be variable according to the type of sheet and the environmental temperature. The purpose is to provide.

[0007]

A printer according to the present invention comprises a sheet discriminating means for discriminating a sheet, a temperature detecting means for detecting an environmental temperature, a conveying means for conveying the sheet, and a conveying means for conveying the sheet. Printing means for printing on the printed paper, and control means for controlling the carrying speed of the carrying means according to the result of discrimination of the paper and the result of detection of the environmental temperature.

The temperature detecting means is, for example, a thermistor.

[0009] The conveying means may be one for feeding and returning the paper. Further, the printing unit may be one that prints a color on the sheet conveyed by the conveying unit.

Further, the printer of the present invention includes a sheet discriminating means for discriminating the sheet, a temperature detecting means for detecting the environmental temperature, a humidity detecting means for detecting the humidity, and a conveying means for conveying the sheet. A printing means for printing on the sheet conveyed to the conveying means; and a control means for controlling the conveying speed of the conveying means according to the discrimination result of the sheet, the environmental temperature detection result and the humidity detection result.

[0011]

In other words, in the present invention, various types of paper are automatically discriminated in order to eliminate malfunction of the mechanism, which is an important element in the printer, and the paper conveyance speed is adjusted according to the result and the environmental temperature (and humidity). It was decided to decide.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a printer of the present invention.

The CPU 25 for controlling the system controls the paper feed control unit 21, the conveyance control unit 22, the print control unit 23, and the paper discharge control in the mechanical unit 26 via the data bus 30 and the latches 15, 16, 17, and 18. Control data (MOEN, STPON) is sent to each unit 24. The paper feed control unit 21, the transport control unit 22, the print control unit 23, and the paper discharge control unit 24 use the control data to feed and transport a mechanism (not shown).
Each operation of printing and discharging is controlled. The six paper discrimination sensors 10 (only one is shown in the figure) are attached to the mechanical section 26 and discriminate the paper (OHP paper, long special paper, special paper, plain paper) before feeding. The sheet discrimination data indicating the discrimination result is temporarily stored in the latch 14 and further sent to the CPU 25 via the data bus 30. The CPU 25 monitors whether or not an appropriate sheet is fed, and if an inappropriate sheet is fed, it is displayed as an error by an LED (not shown) or the like. Address bus 3
Address signals of the latches 14 to 18 and peripheral devices (not shown) are sent from the CPU 25 to 1. The printer further displays an LED or the like to detect an error such as a paper jam by various sensors, and variably controls the operation speed of the mechanical unit 26 according to the detection result of the thermistor 12, as described later. Is configured.

2A and 2B are views for explaining the relationship between various types of paper and the paper discrimination sensor 10. FIG. 2A is a view showing a case of plain paper, FIG. 2B is a view showing a case of special paper, and FIG. C) is O
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a case of HP paper, and FIG. 7D is a diagram showing a case of long special paper.

As shown in FIGS. 2A to 2D, plain paper 32, OHP paper 33, special paper 34, long special paper 35.
, Black marks 36 are applied at a plurality of predetermined positions to recognize each of them (however, plain paper does not have black marks 36). When the black mark 36 is recognized on the various types of paper, the black mark 36 is arranged at a position where the black mark 36 can be recognized.
Six sheet discrimination sensors 10 ₁ , 10 ₂ , 10 ₃ , 10
The output of ₄ , 10 ₅ and 10 ₆ (corresponding to the sheet discrimination sensor 10 of FIG. 1) becomes “1”, and the output causes the CPU 2
5 identifies each sheet.

The thermistor 12 in the thermal head 11 for printing and printing detects the ambient temperature of the apparatus, and temperature data is digitized by the A / D converter 13 and passed through the latch 19 and the data bus 30. CP
Sent to U25. Further, the ROM 20 stores control data for varying the speed of feeding and returning the paper according to the paper discrimination data and the temperature data.

FIG. 3 is a timing chart showing the control of a printing motor (not shown, hereinafter referred to as a printing motor). Considering the printing motor as 4-step 1-line feeding, in order to feed the paper by 1 line, it is necessary to feed 4 steps. Therefore, as shown in FIG. The signals relating to the control of the print motor are shown in FIG.
The line control signal Linec (1 to N lines) shown in (A), the step control signal STPC of the printing motor and the control signal STPON of the printing motor shown in FIGS. 3 (B), (C), and (D), respectively. Step control signal STPC
It is possible to control the speed of the printing motor to be variable by changing the cycle of (1), (B), (C), (D) in FIG.
In this order, the rotation speed of the print motor becomes slower.

FIG. 4 is a timing chart showing the control of each motor (not shown) for paper feeding, carrying, and paper discharging. Motor control for feeding, conveying, and ejecting each motor controls the rotation speed signal MOEN of the motor by the clock signal MOCK (1 to M times) as shown in FIG. 4, so that each motor is controlled by controlling the rotation speed signal MOCK. 4 can be controlled, and in FIG. 4, the rotation speed of the motor becomes slower in the order of (A), (B), and (C).

FIG. 5 shows the relationship between the ROM 20 and each data, FIG. 5A shows the ROM 20 and its signal lines,
(B) is an explanatory view of mechanical operation data, (C) is an explanatory view of paper discrimination data, and (D) is an explanatory view of environmental temperature data. Signals for controlling the mechanism Linec, MOC
The K and STPC data are stored as mechanical control data in the mechanical control data section 28, and the ROM 20 stores data such that these mechanical control data can be changed by the sheet discrimination data and the temperature data. The speed of the motor of the mechanical section 26 is made variable. That is, the mechanical control data, the sheet discrimination data, and the temperature data become parameters of the address of the ROM 20, and as shown in FIGS. 5A to 5D, the upper bit (MSB).
From the lower bit (LSB) to the lower bit (LSB), new mechanical control data is generated for each of the mechanical operation data at the time of paper feeding, transportation, printing, and paper ejection, paper discrimination data, and environmental temperature data.

In the ink ribbon of the color printer, the three colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan are applied to each other, so that the head speed of the ink ribbon, paper slip and skew of the paper are prevented by controlling the conveying speed, and the static electricity is reduced. You can Further, paper slippage and the like can be prevented by controlling the speeds of feeding, printing and discharging. With this parameter, the conventional mechanism operation performed feeding, printing, carrying, and discharging at a constant speed irrespective of changes in the environmental temperature, but in the present embodiment, the discrimination data of various sheets and the environmental temperature are low. At the time of high temperature and high temperature,
For printing, transporting, and discharging conditions, first, according to the paper discrimination data, plain paper, special paper, OHP have higher gloss in order, and the mechanical operation speed is slowed down due to slippage, and the environment is normal. Compared to the time, when the humidity is high or the temperature is low, the paper may have water drops, and during continuous printing, static electricity may cause malfunction of the mechanism.Therefore, by storing control data that slows the mechanism operating speed, paper slippage and The malfunction of the mechanism against static electricity can be suppressed. Therefore, it is more desirable to provide the humidity sensor in addition to the configuration of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5B, the mechanical control conditions are set by the CPU 25 at the time of paper feeding (0, 0), during transportation (0, 1), during printing (1, 0), and during paper ejection. By setting the 2-bit data of (1, 1) by the CPU 25, it becomes the control data for each of the paper feed, the conveyance, the printing, and the paper discharge.

As described above, the sheet discrimination data includes six sheet discrimination sensors 10 ₁ and 10 for discriminating various sheets.
The outputs of ₂ , 10 ₃ , 10 ₄ , 10 ₅ , and 10 ₆ are used. Sheet discrimination sensor 10 ₁ outputs the data "1" when the special paper, OHP sheet and long specialty media. Similarly,
The paper discriminating sensor 10 ₂ is dedicated paper and long special paper, the paper discriminating sensor is 10 ₃ special paper, the paper discriminating sensor 10 ₄ is special paper and OHP paper, and the paper discriminating sensors 10 ₅ and 10
₆ outputs data "1" for long special paper. FIG. 5C shows that the special paper is discriminated.

As shown in FIG. 5D, the ambient temperature data is digitally converted by the A / D converter 13 with respect to the data detected by the thermistor 12, so that the bit precision of the temperature data is A / D converted. It depends on the accuracy of the container 13. For example, A
When the / D converter 13 has 6-bit precision, it can handle temperature detection data from 0 to 63 ° C.

During the paper feeding operation, the mechanical control data is set as follows.
Data is generated. First, when using special paper,
Sensor 10₁ , 10₂ , 10₃ , 10_Four "1" is output from
Then, the feeding condition (0, 0) in the mechanical operation is set.
Together with the thermistor 12 in the thermal head 11.
The mechanical control data
Is generated from the ROM 20. When using long paper
Is the paper discrimination sensor 10 ₁ , 10₂ , 10_Five , 10₆ Or
"1" is output, and the feeding condition (0,
0) is set and the thermal head 11
Because the thermistor 12 detects the ambient temperature,
Mechanical control data is generated. When using OHP paper,
Paper discrimination sensor 10₁ , 10_Four "1" is output from
When the condition (0, 0) for feeding paper in mechanical operation is set,
In addition, the thermistor 12 inside the thermal head 11
Generates mechanical control data by detecting temperature
Is done.

Similarly, the transport condition (0, 1) in the mechanical operation during the transport operation, the print condition (1, 0) in the mechanical operation during the print operation, and the mechanical sheet discharge during the sheet discharge operation. The conditions (1, 1) are set respectively, and the thermistor 12 in the thermal head 11 detects the ambient temperature to generate mechanical control data.

Further, the paper discrimination sensors 10 ₁ , 10 ₂ , 1
When 0 ₃ , 10 ₄ , 10 ₅ , and 10 ₆ all output "0", it is determined that the paper is plain paper, and mechanical operation of paper feed (0, 0), conveyance (0, 1), printing (1, The mechanical control data is generated by setting the respective conditions of 0) and paper discharge (1, 1) and detecting the temperature of the thermistor.

By these controls, the speed of automatic discrimination of various sheets and the speeds of feeding, conveying, printing, and discharging can be varied, and the reliability of the mechanism can be improved and an optimal printing control method can be realized.

[0029]

The present invention has the following effects by having the above-mentioned structure.

By variably controlling the conveyance speed of the paper in accordance with the result of the judgment of the paper and the detection result of the environmental temperature (further, humidity), the head misalignment of the ink ribbon due to paper slip,
Since skewing of the paper and paper jams can be prevented and static electricity can be suppressed during continuous printing or full-color printing, the reliability of the mechanism is improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a printer of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between various types of paper and the paper discrimination sensor 10, and FIG. 2A is a diagram showing a case of plain paper;
(B) is a diagram showing a case of special paper, (C) is a diagram showing a case of OHP paper, and (D) is a diagram showing a case of long special paper.

FIG. 3 is a timing chart showing control of a print motor.

FIG. 4 is a timing chart showing control of respective motors for feeding, carrying, and discharging.

FIG. 5 shows the relationship between the ROM 20 and each data, (A)
Is a diagram showing the ROM 20 and its signal lines, (B) is an explanatory diagram of mechanical operation data, (C) is an explanatory diagram of sheet discrimination data, and (D) is an explanatory diagram of environmental temperature data.

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a conventional example of a printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Paper Discrimination Sensor 11 Thermal Head 12 Thermistor 13 A / D Converter 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 Latch 20 ROM 21 Paper Feeding Control Section 22 Transport Control Section 23 Printing Control Section 24 Paper Ejection Control Section 25 CPU 26 Mechanism part 27 Mechanical operation control part 28 Mechanical control data

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A paper discriminating means for discriminating a paper sheet, a temperature detecting means for detecting an environmental temperature, a conveying means for conveying the paper sheet, and a printing means for printing an image on the paper sheet conveyed by the conveying means. A printer having: a control unit that controls the transport speed of the transport unit in accordance with the result of discrimination of the paper and the result of detection of the environmental temperature. 2. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the temperature detecting means is a thermistor. 3. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the transporting means transports and returns the paper. 4. The printer according to claim 3, wherein the printing unit prints a color on the sheet conveyed by the conveying unit. 5. A sheet discriminating unit for discriminating a sheet, a temperature detecting unit for detecting an environmental temperature, a humidity detecting unit for detecting humidity, a conveying unit for conveying the sheet, and a conveying unit for conveying the sheet. A printer having: a printing unit that prints on the printed sheet; and a control unit that controls the transport speed of the transport unit according to the determination result of the sheet, the detection result of the environmental temperature, and the detection result of the humidity.