EP0785078A2 - Dispositif d'entraînement pour imprimante de ruban - Google Patents

Dispositif d'entraînement pour imprimante de ruban Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0785078A2
EP0785078A2 EP96115209A EP96115209A EP0785078A2 EP 0785078 A2 EP0785078 A2 EP 0785078A2 EP 96115209 A EP96115209 A EP 96115209A EP 96115209 A EP96115209 A EP 96115209A EP 0785078 A2 EP0785078 A2 EP 0785078A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
tape
text
printed
motor
printing
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
EP96115209A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP0785078B1 (fr
EP0785078A3 (fr
Inventor
Mathew Richard Palmer
Anthony Roy Dunn
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Esselte NV
Original Assignee
Esselte NV
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Esselte NV filed Critical Esselte NV
Publication of EP0785078A2 publication Critical patent/EP0785078A2/fr
Publication of EP0785078A3 publication Critical patent/EP0785078A3/fr
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0785078B1 publication Critical patent/EP0785078B1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J3/00—Typewriters or selective printing or marking mechanisms characterised by the purpose for which they are constructed
    • B41J3/407—Typewriters or selective printing or marking mechanisms characterised by the purpose for which they are constructed for marking on special material
    • B41J3/4075—Tape printers; Label printers

Definitions

  • the invention relates to a tape printing device according to the preamble of claims 1 and 2.
  • Devices of this type have a housing which contains a data input device in the form of a keyboard for inputting a message to be printed, and a printing mechanism and a drive system.
  • the housing also includes a cassette accommodating space for accommodating a cassette containing the tape and ribbon to be printed.
  • the cassette receiving space receives two separate cassettes, one of which contains the ribbon and one of the ribbon to be printed, as described, for example, in our earlier European patent application 0 573 187. The content of these earlier applications is incorporated by reference herein.
  • the ink ribbon and the ribbon to be printed overlap between a print head and a platen of the printing mechanism.
  • the ink ribbon between the printhead and the platen is pressed against the ribbon to be printed, and picture element data to be printed are transferred to the thermal printhead.
  • the thermal printhead includes a series of print elements to which data is sequentially transferred and printed.
  • the ribbon to be printed is moved through the printing zone defined by the thermal print head and printing roller, so that adjacent rows are printed sequentially in the direction of movement of the ribbon to be printed, forming characters to be printed.
  • the tape to be printed is a multi-layer tape with an image-receiving layer and a backing layer attached to the image-receiving layer by an adhesive layer.
  • the label printing device includes a cutting mechanism for separating a portion of the multilayer tape after printing to produce a label. The backing layer of the label can then be removed to allow the label to be stuck to any object.
  • belt is driven through the pressure zone by a stepper motor under the control of a micro controller.
  • the system is based on the assumption that the motor and belt will move as expected while ink is deposited on the belt to be printed from the printhead once the microcontroller has sent the correct stepper motor drive and strobe signals in response to the reference clock.
  • the belt becomes jammed on the platen as a result of high levels of friction, or elsewhere, such as in the transmission. In this case, the engine will stop advancing and adjacent rows of picture elements will overlap, resulting in an unusable label.
  • a stepper motor is a relatively expensive component of printers and has a relatively high power requirement. This is particularly disadvantageous if the printer is to be operated with batteries.
  • EP 0 652 111 by Esselte Dymo N.V. discloses a label printer in which tape is moved through the printing device by means of a DC motor instead of a stepper motor.
  • a DC motor is a cheaper component, but can nonetheless provide equivalent print quality without the problems associated with a stepper motor discussed above.
  • the speed of the DC motor is set to a certain value and an encoder is used to measure the speed of the motor and to control the printing of rows in order to adjust the time between dots so that the spacing of printed rows on the tape is the same remains used.
  • Printing devices of the type described above can now operate with a wide variety of widths of tape to be printed.
  • a new machine can operate with bandwidths of 6mm, 9mm, 12mm and 19mm.
  • tapes of different widths can hold text of different heights.
  • a tape printing device according to the teaching of claim 1 is proposed.
  • the motor can be a DC motor or a stepper motor.
  • a DC motor drives the belt continuously past the printing mechanism.
  • Ribbons of different widths can hold text of different heights, the height being measured in the direction of the width of the ribbon.
  • Large text heights require more power to print than text of smaller heights and require slower tape speed. If a motor has only one speed for all bandwidths, it must be set to the speed required to allow text of the greatest possible height to be printed. In the absence of the above aspect of the invention, this would mean that text of smaller height that fits on a narrower band would be printed unnecessarily slowly.
  • the above aspect of the invention allows the advantage of using smaller text heights at a higher speed while not affecting the print quality of larger text heights on wider tapes.
  • the label printing machine allows the use of the higher speed when printing a small height text on a wide band, even though a wide band is used.
  • the printing device preferably includes data input means for inputting information defining an image to be printed and processor means for generating pixel data defining the image.
  • the data entry device could be part of the housing that includes the printing mechanism, or could be located outside the housing, with pixel data being transferred from the data entry device to the printing device.
  • the processor means may include means for determining the width of the tape loaded in the label printing device and means for calculating the height of the image to be printed so as to determine the desired speed of rotation of the motor selected by the means for selecting.
  • the zone for receiving tape to be printed is a cassette accommodating space for receiving a cassette containing tape.
  • the cassette can also include image transfer tape.
  • the image transfer belt can be contained in a separate cassette or can be dispensed with entirely if the labels are printed using a thermal direct technique.
  • the printing device includes a cutting mechanism for cutting printed portions of the tape to produce a label.
  • a cutting mechanism for cutting printed portions of the tape to produce a label.
  • the printing device can be further simplified by providing two set speeds of the motor, fast and slow.
  • the text height can then be determined to determine whether the text height is large or small so that the target speed can be selected accordingly.
  • the selection of the target speed of the motor based on the text height enables the effective printing of a label with text of a high quality.
  • it is not necessary to calculate how many print elements to activate in each print series since the target speed of the motor is chosen based on the total height of the text to be printed, regardless of whether the text is dense or thin or not.
  • the present invention can be advantageously used in a printing device in which the motor is used in conjunction with means for monitoring the speed of rotation of the motor, which is used with the print head controller to control the sequential printing of the groups of picture element data Dependent on the speed of the engine.
  • the direct current motor preferably drives a printing roller in rotation, which moves the tape to be printed by friction.
  • the print roller cooperates with the thermal print head to print the image.
  • the means for monitoring the speed take the form of a wave encoder, for example comprising a slotted disc arranged for rotation with the shaft of the DC motor, and a light source and a light detector on opposite sides of the disc.
  • the printhead controller uses signals from the wave encoder to control the sequential printing of the groups of pixel data and to ensure that adjacent groups of pixel data are printed in correct relationship with one another, depending on the speed of the tape to be printed.
  • the drive system When the drive system is used in a printing device that receives a tape cassette in which the tape to be printed is wound on a spool, the drive system can serve to provide a tape end indicator. If the end of the ribbon to be printed is attached to the spool, so that a relative movement is prevented, the stopping can be determined by the means for monitoring the speed and an indication of the end of ribbon can be given accordingly. The cassette can then be replaced with a new cassette. This principle can also be used for the detection of other fault conditions, such as jamming or tearing.
  • the means for resisting movement at the end of the tape can be realized by attaching the tape to the supply reel.
  • Highly abrasive material can also end up on the belt be added so that it brakes the platen roller and the motor as soon as the belt movement is stopped.
  • FIG. 1 is a drawing of a printing device of the type with which the present invention is principally concerned.
  • the printing device comprises a housing 200 which carries a data input device 202 in the form of a keyboard which has a multiplicity of keys 204.
  • the printing device includes a print button 206 for activating a printing process after a label has been defined using the input device 202.
  • the printing device further includes a display 208 and a cutter activation button 128 for actuating a cutter to cut a portion of the tape on which an image has been printed to define a label.
  • the input device 202 is connected to a microcontroller (microcontroller) 12 which controls the display 208 through a display control circuit 212 and controls a printing mechanism PM through a feedback loop to be discussed below.
  • a microcontroller microcontroller 12 which controls the display 208 through a display control circuit 212 and controls a printing mechanism PM through a feedback loop to be discussed below.
  • Figure 3 illustrates the elements of a drive system of a printing device.
  • Reference numerals 2 and 4 denote a printing roller and a thermal printing head, respectively, which are the main components of the printing mechanism PM.
  • Reference numerals 6 and 7 denote the ribbon 6 and the ribbon 7 which are passed for overlapping printing between the platen and the printhead.
  • the ribbon is adjacent the thermal print head 4 and is wound from a supply roll onto a take-up roll, usually in a cassette.
  • the ink ribbon is moved past the print head 4 by the friction effect between the ribbon 6 to be printed and the ink ribbon 7, the intention being that the two should run together at the same speed.
  • the take-up roll is driven so that if allowed, the ribbon would pass the printhead faster than the platen would.
  • Slip coupling is normally provided to ensure that the ribbon 7 moves at the speed defined by the movement of the platen roller 2, the clutch ensuring that ribbon loops are always picked up and tension is maintained.
  • the take-up roll can be driven by the platen roller to ensure that the ribbon is wound, but other drive arrangements are possible.
  • the printing roller 2 is in any case driven to rotate and presses on one surface against the ribbon 6, the other surface being in contact with the ink ribbon 7.
  • the tape 6 is thus moved past the print head 4 by the frictional action between the tape 6 and the printing roller 2, which is normally made of rubber.
  • the pressure roller 2 is driven by a direct current motor 20 through a gear 21 (FIG. 4).
  • Motor 20 is driven by microcontroller 12 via a current buffer 22 using pulse width modulation to approximate a linear control voltage of DC motor 20 at its terminals 24, 26.
  • a DC motor rotates continuously at a speed related to the applied voltage. The rotation is continuous and not gradual.
  • the print head 4 comprises a shift register and a parallel storage register. Data is transferred serially to the print head 4, bit by bit time-controlled under the control of the microcontroller in the register of the thermal print head arrangement. At the end of the transmission of a series of pixel data, the data is stored in the memory register under the command of the micro controller. The memory register will hold this data until the next store operation of new shift register contents in the memory register. Later, the printhead 4 is 'strobed' by the microcontroller to turn on high current output drivers in parallel, which deposit melted ink from the ribbon 7 onto the ribbon 6 in pixel patterns corresponding to the data contained in the memory register.
  • the thermal printhead has a series of printing elements that are printed as a vertical line on the tape to be printed. A character is thus printed by printing a number of adjacent and slightly overlapping rows that contain different pixel data on the tape to be printed, as it moves past the thermal printhead.
  • a shaft encoder 28, shown schematically by reference numeral 28, is attached to the motor shaft 30 to monitor the speed of the motor 20.
  • the shaft encoder comprises a slotted disc 32, for example with nine slots 34 attached to the motor shaft, with one fixed optical sensor 36 comprising an infrared LED and a phototransistor, which comprises the passage of radiation from the LED to the phototransistor through the slots 34 of the slotted disc 32.
  • the optical sensor 36 sends pulses to the microcontroller via a feedback line 40, each pulse indicating the passage of a slot 34 of the slotted disc 32 past the optical sensor 36.
  • the microcontroller 12 can determine the speed of the motor 20 by measuring the frequency of the pulses from the optical sensor 36 fed back to it by line 40.
  • the elements of the shaft encoder are shown in more detail in FIG. 4, reference numeral 21 representing a gear for driving the printing roller 2 by the motor 20.
  • a crystal or ceramic oscillator 18 provides reference time signals for the microcontroller 12.
  • the microcontroller 12 supplies the thermal print head 4 with print data via the line 16. With each print strobe signal, the series of data contained in the memory register is printed.
  • reference numeral 15 represents a power supply for the current buffer 22 and the microcontroller 12.
  • the power supply can be the mains or batteries.
  • Figure 5 illustrates the view of a cassette receiving space of a printing device, which is located on the back of the device shown in Figure 1.
  • the cassette accommodating space is represented by the dotted line 102.
  • the cassette receiving space comprises the thermal print head 4 and the counter-pressure roller 2, which cooperate to define a printing zone P as described above.
  • the print head 4 is pivotally mounted about a fulcrum 8, so that it can be brought into contact with the print roller 2 and can be moved away from it in order to be able to remove and replace a cassette 10.
  • a cassette inserted into the cassette accommodating space 102 is generally provided with the reference number 110.
  • the cassette 110 contains a supply roll 112 with an image receiving tape 6, which comprises an image receiving layer which is attached to a peelable backing layer by means of an adhesive layer.
  • the image receiving tape 6 is guided through a cassette (not shown) through the cassette 110 and leaves it shortly after the printing zone P through an outlet O and then reaches a cutting location C.
  • the cassette 110 also contains a ribbon supply roll 116 and a ribbon take-up roll 118.
  • the ribbon 7 is led by the ribbon supply roll 116 through the printing zone P and wound on the ribbon take-up reel 118.
  • the platen roller 2 is driven to rotate and the image receiving belt 6 passes the printing zone P during printing. In this way, the image receiving tape 6 is printed and guided from the printing zone P to the cutting zone C.
  • the cutting zone C is provided on the wall of the cassette 110 near the printing zone P. Since the belt 6 is driven out of the cassette by the drive of the platen roller 2, there is no need for another drive mechanism of the belt 6 and this allows the cutting zone C to be closer to the printing zone P.
  • a slot 24 is included in section 22 of the wall and the image receiving belt 6 is moved from the printing zone P to the cutting zone C, where it is supported by opposite wall sections on either side of the slot 24.
  • the tape printing device 1 comprises a cutting mechanism, generally indicated by the reference numeral 26.
  • This cutting mechanism includes the cutter actuator 128, which carries a blade 130. The blade 130 cuts the image receiving tape 6 and then enters the slot 124.
  • the cassette 110 can be selected from a set of cassettes, each of which contains a tape 6 of a different width to be printed. For example, widths of 6mm, 9mm, 12mm and 19mm can be made available.
  • the width of the tape inserted into the printing device is identified by a tape size switch 60 which is arranged at the bottom of the cassette receiving space and is shown in FIG. 5 with dashed lines.
  • the tape size switch 60 can be moved between its position shown in Figure 5 on the right to a position selected from two possible positions, one in the middle and one on the left.
  • the limit of movement of the band size switch 60 is illustrated by the dashed line 64.
  • the movement of the switch 60 is detected by the microcontroller 12 to determine which width of the band 6 is inserted in the device.
  • 6mm tape can only hold one line of small size text; 9mm and 12mm tape can hold up to two lines of small size text or one line of medium size text; 19 mm tape can hold up to four lines of small size text, up to two lines of medium size text, or one line of large size text or a bar code.
  • the target speed of the DC motor 20 is set according to the width of the tape used and the height of the text selected for printing. In the described embodiment, all labels are placed on a 6mm, 9mm or 12mm wide tape at a first tape speed printed. However, if 19mm wide tape is used, the speed of the motor may be the first speed or a second speed that is slower than the first speed. If the text selected for printing would also fit on tape of a smaller width, the first, faster speed is selected for printing. If the text selected for printing can only be printed on a 19mm tape, the second, slower speed is used.
  • the speed of the DC motor 20 is controlled by the microcontroller 12 using a simple algorithm that measures the number of reference clock pulses from the crystal oscillator 18 between successive encoder pulses applied to the microcontroller along the feedback line 40. The value obtained from this measurement is used to calculate the target speed, which is used successively to change the pulse width of the pulse-width-modulated drive signal fed to the current buffer 22, so that the speed is kept constant.
  • the target speed is used successively to change the pulse width of the pulse-width-modulated drive signal fed to the current buffer 22, so that the speed is kept constant.
  • maximum power is supplied to the motor. If the speed exceeds another, higher value, the motor is not driven.
  • a linear speed versus drive characteristic is used between these maximum and minimum values.
  • the microcontroller can take appropriate measures if the speed is outside certain limits, since it has knowledge of the approximate motor speed at all times.
  • strobe signals that control the printing of each row of data and the loading of the printhead with the next row of text depend on the encoder pulses which are supplied to the microcontroller along line 40.
  • a data strobe signal can occur for exactly one pulse, for every two encoder pulses, or for every integer number of pulses.
  • a series of data stored in the memory register of the thermal print head is printed.
  • the next strobe signal the next row of data transferred from the shift register to the memory register is printed.
  • the deposition of ink on the ribbon to be printed depends exactly on the rotation of the motor and thus on the movement of the ribbon.
  • Significant speed variations have no negligible impact on print quality because the print strobe signals sent to the printhead slow or accelerate depending on the current speed of the motor, and thus the speed of the ribbon.
  • step S1 labeled start.
  • a user uses data entry device 202 and its buttons 204 to define a label image with text height selected from among different possible text heights.
  • the height of a text can be selected by the user from three text heights, small, medium and large.
  • the user can also specify that more than one line can be arranged on the tape using keys on the input device.
  • a user has completely defined a label image with its text height and number of lines.
  • test step S7 is answered with a yes and a slow speed of the DC motor is set in accordance with block S8.
  • a rapid speed is set in accordance with step S9 if a 19 mm band is inserted, but the text does not fall under any of the above categories. From the flow chart in Figure 6 it can be seen that a high tape speed is used in all circumstances unless a 19mm tape is used.
  • the height of the printed text determines the tape speed, but the width of the tape determines the height of the available text.
  • the height of the printed text is a function of the user selected text size and the available width of the ribbon. The described embodiment of the invention thus maximizes the effectiveness of printing while maintaining good print quality for a variety of different text heights and widths of the volume.

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  • Printers Characterized By Their Purpose (AREA)
  • Handling Of Sheets (AREA)
EP96115209A 1996-01-19 1996-09-23 Dispositif d'entraínement pour imprimante de ruban Expired - Lifetime EP0785078B1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GBGB9601124.2A GB9601124D0 (en) 1996-01-19 1996-01-19 Drive system for a printing apparatus
GB9601124 1996-01-19

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0785078A2 true EP0785078A2 (fr) 1997-07-23
EP0785078A3 EP0785078A3 (fr) 1999-02-03
EP0785078B1 EP0785078B1 (fr) 2001-08-01

Family

ID=10787278

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP96115209A Expired - Lifetime EP0785078B1 (fr) 1996-01-19 1996-09-23 Dispositif d'entraínement pour imprimante de ruban

Country Status (4)

Country Link
US (1) US5816721A (fr)
EP (1) EP0785078B1 (fr)
DE (1) DE59607411D1 (fr)
GB (1) GB9601124D0 (fr)

Families Citing this family (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP3258878B2 (ja) * 1994-12-02 2002-02-18 セイコーエプソン株式会社 サーマルヘッドの駆動制御方法およびその装置
US6572211B2 (en) * 2000-06-22 2003-06-03 Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. Inkjet recording apparatus
US7128236B2 (en) * 2002-09-13 2006-10-31 Avery Dennison Corporation Versatile label sheet and dispenser
US6991130B2 (en) * 2002-09-13 2006-01-31 Avery Dennison Corporation Versatile label sheet and dispenser
JP4321331B2 (ja) * 2004-03-31 2009-08-26 ブラザー工業株式会社 テープ印刷装置
US7436418B2 (en) * 2005-07-25 2008-10-14 Seiko Epson Corporation Thermal printer, thermal printer control method, and printing system
CN114132093B (zh) * 2021-11-22 2022-09-20 宁波纽时达火花塞股份有限公司 一种用于火花塞的印花设备

Family Cites Families (12)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS63188059A (ja) * 1987-01-30 1988-08-03 Alps Electric Co Ltd 印字制御方式
JP2508356B2 (ja) * 1990-04-24 1996-06-19 株式会社精工舎 印字制御方法
GB2250716A (en) * 1990-11-20 1992-06-17 Esselte Dymo Nv Lid-responsive release of thermal printhead in printer using cassetted ink-ribbon.
MY124305A (en) * 1991-01-31 2006-06-30 Casio Computer Co Ltd Tape printer.
EP0573187B1 (fr) * 1992-06-01 1997-12-17 Esselte N.V. Dispositif d'impression thermique
US5458423A (en) * 1992-06-11 1995-10-17 Esselte Dymo N.V. Tape cutting apparatus
CA2107746A1 (fr) * 1992-10-06 1994-04-07 Masahiko Nunokawa Dispositif d'impression a ruban et cartouche de ruban pour ce dispositif
JP2768192B2 (ja) * 1993-01-07 1998-06-25 ブラザー工業株式会社 テープ印字装置
DE69431095T2 (de) * 1993-11-02 2002-11-21 Casio Computer Co., Ltd. Druckgerät
JPH07125338A (ja) * 1993-11-04 1995-05-16 Brother Ind Ltd テープ印刷装置
GB9322984D0 (en) * 1993-11-05 1994-01-05 Esselte Dymo Nv Drive system for a printing appratus
US5503482A (en) * 1993-12-29 1996-04-02 Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Tape printing apparatus

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP0785078B1 (fr) 2001-08-01
GB9601124D0 (en) 1996-03-20
US5816721A (en) 1998-10-06
DE59607411D1 (de) 2001-09-06
EP0785078A3 (fr) 1999-02-03

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