JPH01195084A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To render a head gap appropriate and contrive higher reliability, by bringing a printing head and a paper into contact with each other when a manual mode or an automatic mode is designated and the paper is set, and thereafter controlling the gap between the head and the paper based on the result of detection by a detecting means. CONSTITUTION:When a paper is set after a control knob 6 is set to an automatic mode, a CPU 23 drives a stepping motor 20. With a carriage shaft 15 rotated, the center axis of the shaft 15 is displaced, and a printing head 3 on a carriage 12 is moved in the direction of an arrow (c) to make contact with the paper 9. Thereafter, the motor 20 is rotated reversely to move the head 3 in the direction of an arrow (d). Concurrently with the rotation of the shaft 15, a slit plate 17 is turned in the direction of an arrow (a) in a groove 19 of a photo-sensor 18. At this time, the CPU 23 sets the head 3 to a predetermined paper gap quantity, based on pulses sent from the photo-sensor 18 under the function of a slit part 16 and data stored in a memory 24. When the control konb 6 is switched to a manual mode, the CPU 23 sets the printing head to a gap quantity designated by the knob 6.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Purpose of the invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to a printing device.

(Prior Art) In recent years, printers using the Inbaku-1 method, for example, which print content output from a computer using a mechanical mechanism, have become popular (hereinafter referred to as Inbaku-1 printers).
.

Some of the above-mentioned impact printers are capable of manually adjusting the position of the print head using an adjustment lever depending on the thickness of the paper set on the platen roller.

However, in such an impact printer, if the adjustment lever is not adjusted properly, for example, if the tip of the print head is too close to the paper, there is a risk that the tip of the print head will come into contact with the paper. There are inconveniences in that the paper may be damaged, the paper may not be fed properly, or the paper may be damaged due to the print head getting caught.

To solve this problem, for example, when paper is set on the platen roller, the print head is moved away from the platen roller, and when paper is set on the platen roller, the tip of the print head is placed on the paper. There is an impact printer that makes contact with the paper and then moves the tip of the print head a predetermined amount away from the paper.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) However, in the above-mentioned impact printer, when the thickness of the paper changes, such as an envelope with a seam, the amount of gap between the envelope and the tip of the print head varies depending on the location to be printed. It will be different.

Therefore, for example, if the tip of the print head is too close to the envelope, there is a risk that the tip of the print head will come into contact with the envelope, which may damage the envelope or cause the envelope to be improperly fed by the platen roller. Alternatively, there is a problem in that the envelope gets caught on the tip of the print head and the print head is damaged.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention aims to provide a printing device that can reliably and appropriately maintain the gap between the paper and the tip of the print head.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a platen roller that serves as a backing for paper during printing, and a platen roller whose both ends are supported on different axes. a shirt I that rotates eccentrically, a print head mounted on a carriage that moves along the shaft, and a detection means that detects a gap between the paper and the tip of the print head as the shaft rotates; An instruction means for instructing the amount of gap between the tip of the print head and the paper by a manual mode or an O1 mode, and after the instruction means instructs the manual mode or the auto mode, the paper is transferred to the platen roller. and a control means for bringing the tip of the print head into contact with the paper and then controlling the amount of gap between the tip of the print head and the paper based on the detection result of the detection means.

(Function) In the printing device of the present invention, when paper is set on the platen roller after manual mode or O1-mode is instructed by the instruction means, the tip of the print head is brought into contact with the paper, and then the paper is detected. Since the amount of gap between the tip of the print head and the paper is controlled based on the detection result of the means, the gap between the paper and the tip of the print head can be maintained reliably and appropriately.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an impact printer.

As shown in the figure, the impact printer includes a main body case 2 in which a hole 1 is provided.

A print head 3 and a platen roller 4 are housed in the hole 1 of the main body case 2 . The operation surface 5, which has the upper surface of the main body case 2 inclined slightly toward you, has an operation knob 6, which will be described later.
A knob 8 is provided on the side surface 7 of the main body case 2 to be operated when manually rotating the platen roller 4.

Note that 9 indicates paper.

FIG. 2 shows the above operation knob 6 and this operation knob 6.
It shows the surrounding area.

As shown in the figure, there is a display section 1 around the operation knob 6.
0. ．． 10 are provided. In addition, each display section 10 has a manual mode for setting the gap between the tip of the print head 3 and the paper 9 according to the thickness of the paper 9, and a manual mode for setting the gap between the tip of the print head 3 and the paper 9 according to the thickness of the paper 9. The auto mode for automatically setting the gap amount is displayed.

FIG. 3 does not show the print head 3 and its surroundings.

As shown in the figure, a print head 3 mounted on a carriage 12 having holes 11 is provided at a position facing the platen roller 4 .

A carriage shaft 15 whose both ends are pivotally supported by a cam 14 via a side frame 13 is loosely inserted into the hole 11 of the carriage 12 . The carriage 12 can slide in the axial direction of the carriage shaft 15.

At one end of the carriage shirts 1-15, a sleeve 1-sheet metal 17 having a slit portion 16.16 at the end is provided via a cam 14. Further, the end of the slit sheet metal 17 is inserted into the groove 19 of the photosensor 18.

Then, as the carriage shaft 15 rotates,
The end of the sleeve 1 to the sheet metal 17 is the groove 1 of the photosensor 18.
9 can be rotated in the directions of arrows a and b.

FIG. 4 shows the carriage shirts 1 to 15 and the surroundings of the carriage shaft 15.

As shown in the figure, the carriage shaft 15 is connected to the cam 1.
4 is fitted in an off-axis manner. That is, the position is displaced from the central axis of the carriage shirts 1 to 15 or the central axis of the cam 14.

The cam 14 has a gear 22 that meshes with a pinion 21 fixed to a rotating shaft (not shown) of a stepping motor 20.
or mated. When the carriage shirt 1-15 is rotated by the driving force of the stepping motor 20, the central axis of the carriage shaft 15 is displaced, and the print head 3 mounted on the carriage 12 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow c.
It is designed to move in the d direction.

FIG. 5 shows the main configuration of a control section that controls the operation of the impact printer described above.

As shown in the figure, the control unit includes a CPU 23 that controls the operation of each component to be described later, a memory 24 that stores the amount of gap between the paper 9 and the tip of the print head 3, and a memory 24 that stores the gap between the paper 9 and the print head 3. Photo sensor 1 that detects the amount of gap between the tip of the
8. An input boat 25 is provided.

The control unit also includes a drive circuit 26 that drives the stepping motor, a stepping motor 20, an adjustment knob 6 that switches to manual mode or auto mode, and a D/D converter 27 that converts analog signals from this adjustment knob 6 into digital signals. is provided.

Then, the CPU 23 drives the stepping motor 20 via the drive unit 26 based on the information stored in the memory 24 and the detection result of the photosensor 18 in accordance with the instruction by the adjustment knob 29.

Next, the operation of the above-mentioned impact printer will be explained.

First, after setting the adjustment knob 6 to Auto mode, the paper 9 is set on the platen roller 4.

After this, the CPU 23 drives the stepping motor 20. The driving force of the stepping motor 20 is then transmitted to the carriage shaft 15 via the pinion 21, gear 22, and cam 14. At this time, when the carriage shaft 15 rotates, this carriage shaft 15
The central axis of is displaced, and the tip of the print head 3 mounted on the carriage 12 is moved in the direction of arrow C and comes into contact with the paper 9.

Thereafter, the CPO 23 reverses the stepping motor 20 to rotate the carriage shaft 15 in the reverse direction. At this time, the print head 3 moves in the direction of arrow d.

Further, as the carriage shaft 15 rotates, the slit metal plate 17 rotates within the groove 19 of the photosensor 18 in the direction of arrow a. At this time, the CPII 23 moves the tip of the print head 3 back from the paper 9 by a predetermined gap based on the step pulse from the photosensor 18 through the slit portion 16 of the slit sheet metal 17 and the information stored in the memory 24. let

Further, in order to arbitrarily set the amount of gap between the tip of the print head 3 and the paper 9, the adjustment knob 6 is switched to manual mode. At this time, the CPII 23 moves the print head 3 backward from the paper 9 until the gap amount specified by the adjustment knob 6 is reached.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the amount of gap between the paper 9 and the tip of the print head 3 can be appropriately adjusted depending on the thickness of the paper 9 by using the adjustment knob 6 that specifies manual mode or automatic mode.

[Structure of the Invention] As described above, the printing device of the present invention can reliably and appropriately maintain the gap between the paper and the tip of the print head.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an impact printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view showing the main parts of FIG. 1, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an enlarged main part of the figure, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the main part of FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control section of FIG. 1. 3...Print head, 4...Platen roller, 6...
・Adjustment knob, 9...paper, 12...carriage,
15... Carriage shaft, 16... Slit part, 17... Slit sheet metal, 18... Photo sensor,
20... Stella Pink Motor, 23... CPU, 2
4...Memory. Applicant Toshiba Corporation Patent Attorney Sasa Suyama - Figure 5

Claims (1)

[Claims] A platen roller that serves as a backing for the paper during printing, and a shaft that rotates eccentrically with both ends supported on different axes.
a print head mounted on a carriage that moves along the shaft; a detection unit that detects a gap between the paper and the tip of the print head as the shaft rotates;
an instruction means for instructing the amount of gap between the tip of the print head and the paper in a manual mode or an auto mode; and after the instruction means instructs the manual mode or the auto mode, when the paper is set on the platen roller, bringing the tip of the print head into contact with the paper;
A printing apparatus characterized in that the printing apparatus further comprises a control means for controlling the amount of gap between the tip of the print head and the paper based on the detection result of the detection means.