JPH04241973A - Printer and ink ribbon to be used therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer and an improvement in an ink ribbon used in the printer.

0002

[Prior Art] Generally, the ink ribbon feeding mechanism of a printer has a ribbon feeding motor such as a stepping motor attached directly or indirectly to the center of a core for winding the ink ribbon, and the core is rotated by driving the motor. The ink ribbon is fed by winding the ink ribbon. Therefore, at the beginning of winding, the winding diameter of the ink ribbon including the core is small, so the amount of ribbon feed per unit time is small, but at the end of winding, the winding diameter is large, so the amount of ribbon feed per unit time is small. will increase.

On the other hand, in this type of printer that prints a preset amount intermittently, such as a ticket issuing machine, the ribbon feed motor is always operated for a certain period of time for each print. It was controlled like that. For this reason, the amount of ink ribbon fed for one printing was increased at the end of winding compared to the beginning of winding.

0004

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the printer that intermittently prints a preset amount of characters as described above,
Even though the amount of ink ribbon taken up per unit time depends on the size of the ribbon winding diameter, the ribbon feed motor was controlled so that it always operated for a certain period of time for each print. At the final stage of ink ribbon winding, the amount of feed increases compared to the early stage of winding, resulting in a waste of ink ribbon.

[0005] Accordingly, the present invention has been developed to produce an optimal ribbon at all times by varying the winding amount of the ink ribbon per unit time based on the size of the ribbon winding diameter when printing a preset amount intermittently. The present invention aims to provide a printer that can secure a feed amount, prevent wasteful use of ink ribbons, and reduce costs. Further, the present invention aims to provide an ink ribbon that can be used efficiently without waste by being used in the above-mentioned printer.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The printer of the present invention includes a mark detection means for detecting marks placed on an ink ribbon at regular intervals in the feeding direction, and an ink cartridge based on the mark detection output from the detection means. The ribbon feed motor is equipped with an energization time determining means for determining the energization time for the ribbon feed motor required to feed the ribbon by a predetermined amount, and a motor control means for controlling the drive of the ribbon feed motor in accordance with the energization time determined by the determination means. be. The ink ribbon of the present invention is provided with marks for determining the feed amount at equal intervals in the feed direction.

[0007]

[Function] With the printer of the present invention, by using the ink ribbon of the present invention, which has marks for determining the feed amount at equal intervals in the feed direction, the marks placed on the ink ribbon by the mark detection means can be used. Mark is detected.

At the beginning of the ink ribbon winding, the amount of ribbon winding per unit time is small, so, for example, the detection interval between adjacent marks is long, but at the end of the winding, the amount of ribbon winding per unit time is small. Since the amount removed is large, the detection interval between adjacent marks becomes short. Therefore, by adjusting the energization time of the ribbon feed motor for one printing based on the mark detection interval, it is possible to always keep the ribbon feed amount at an optimal constant amount.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In this embodiment, a case will be described in which the present invention is applied to a ticket issuing machine that prints and issues a passenger plane boarding pass 1 having a length s and a width d as shown in FIG. Here, on the surface of the boarding pass 1, as shown in the figure, the flight number of the aircraft, the destination,
Monochrome printing section 1 with width d1 where seat numbers etc. are printed in black letters
a, and the airline name and seat class in colored letters other than black for each seat class (in this example, first class is in red letters, business class is in blue letters, economy class is in green letters, and super business class is in brown letters) ) and a multicolor printing portion 1b having a width d2.

FIG. 4 shows an ink ribbon 2 used in the ticket issuing machine of this embodiment, which is based on "black" and has a width d2 on one longitudinal side of the multicolor printing area 1b of the boarding pass 1. A multicolor ink area 2a is formed with a slightly wider width. In this multicolor ink area 2a, "red", "
Four colors of ink are repeatedly arranged in the order of ``blue,''``green,'' and ``brown.'' Here, the length of one color of the multicolor printing area 2a is a constant length L that is slightly wider than the length s of the boarding pass 1. When this ink ribbon 2 is properly attached to the ticket issuing machine of this embodiment, the multicolor printing area 2a is placed on the multicolor printing area 1b of the boarding pass 1, and the black ink area is placed on the monochrome printing area 1a. It is now compatible.

Further, on one side of the ink ribbon 2 opposite to the multicolor ink area 2a, there is a mark in the ribbon feeding direction (
Marks 3 for determining feed amount are equally spaced with respect to arrow A) in the figure.
is attached. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the mark 3 is formed by removing the black ink and making it transparent. The mark 3 is formed corresponding to the printing start position of the "red" ink area in the multicolor ink area 2a. That is, the intervals between adjacent marks 3 are equal intervals of 4L.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the general configuration of the ticket issuing machine of this embodiment, and shows a main CPU constituting the main body of the control section.
A sub CPU 13 for mechanical control is connected to U11 via an interface 12.

The main CPU 11 includes a ROM 14 in which program data etc. are stored in advance, a work RAM 15 in which various memory areas such as a feed time counter R1 and an energization time memory R2 are formed as shown in FIG. 2, and a host which is a host model. A transmission controller 17 that controls data transmission and reception with the device 16, and a download R that stores print data received from the host device 16.
AM18, a head driver 20 that applies print data line by line to a line thermal print head 19, an I/O device controller 24 that controls various input/output devices such as a keyboard 21, a display 22, a card reader/writer 23, etc.
Each part is connected to each other.

The sub-CPU 13 includes a motor driver 26 for the ribbon feed motor 25, which is attached directly or indirectly to the central portion of the winding core of the ink ribbon 2.
, a motor driver 28 of a ticket conveyance motor 27 that operates a boarding pass conveyance system that conveys the boarding pass 1 to a printing position by the print head 19 and discharges it to the outside after printing;
Each part of an A/D converter 30 that digitally converts the output signal of a mark sensor 29, which is, for example, a transmission type photo sensor, provided in the boarding pass conveyance system in order to detect the mark 3 attached to the ink ribbon 2, It is connected.

The main CPU 11 executes the initialization processing program shown in FIG. 5 in response to power-on (not shown). That is, when the initialization processing program is started, the ribbon feed motor 25 is activated by the sub CPU 13.
energization is commanded to cause the ink ribbon 2 to be fed emptyly. Further, the count value n of the sending time counter R1 is initialized to "0". Next, the output of the mark sensor 29 is monitored, and when it is confirmed that the mark 3 has been detected by the sensor 29, the counting operation by the feed time counter 29 is started. On the other hand, the empty feeding of the ink ribbon 2 continues. If the mark 3 is detected again by the mark sensor 29, the ribbon feed motor 25
The CPU 20 issues a command to de-energize the ink ribbon 2 to stop the empty feeding of the ink ribbon 2, and also stops the counting operation by the feeding time counter 29. Next, the count value n of the feed time counter R1 is read, n/4 is calculated, and the calculated value m is stored in the energization time memory R2 (energization time determining means). Thereafter, the count value n of the feed time counter R1 is initialized to "0". When the above initialization process is completed, the boarding pass 1 can be issued.

[0017] Then, the boarding pass 1 is sent from the host device 16.
When the main CPU 11 receives the ticket issuing command together with the print data for the sheet, the main CPU 11 transfers the received data to the downloading RA.
Store in M18. In addition, it commands the sub CPU 13 to energize the ticket conveyance motor 27 and removes one unprinted boarding pass 1.
is transported to the printing position. After conveyance, print data is read line by line from the downloading RAM 18 and applied to the print head 19, and the sub CPU 1
3, a ribbon feed motor 25 and a ticket conveyance motor 27
It controls the printing on the boarding pass 1 by commanding the energization of the boarding pass 1.

In this case, the main CPU 11
controls the feeding of the ink ribbon 2 according to the process shown in FIG. That is, when receiving a ticket issuing command from the host device 16, the color of the characters in the multicolor printing section 1b of the boarding pass 1 is determined from the contents thereof, and printing processing of the corresponding color is executed.

FIG. 7 shows the printing process when the characters on the multicolor printing section 1b are "red" (command for issuing a boarding pass for a first class passenger). In addition, when the characters on the multicolor printing part 1b are "blue" (boarding pass issuance command for business class passengers), "green" (boarding pass issuance command for economy class passengers), "brown" (super business class The printing process in the case of the boarding pass issuance command for the passenger (1) is the same process as in FIG. 7 except that the target color is different, so only the case of "red" will be explained, and the explanation of the cases of other colors will be omitted.

First, in step ST1, it is determined whether the printing start position of the "red" ink area in the multicolor ink area 2a of the ink ribbon 2 has reached the printing position by the print head 19. If it has not yet reached the ink area, the ribbon feed motor 25 is energized to feed the ink ribbon 2 and the printing start position of the "red" ink area is moved to the print head 19.
position to the printing position. In this case, since the distance between the print head 19 and the mark sensor 29 is fixed, and the mark 3 is provided corresponding to the printing start position of the "red" ink area, the detection output of the mark 3 allows accurate detection. Positioning is possible.

Here, in response to the start of empty feeding of the ink ribbon 2, a counting operation by the feeding time counter 29 is started. When it is confirmed in ST2 that mark 3 has been detected by the mark sensor 29, the count value n of the feed time counter R1 is read, n/4 is calculated, and the calculated value m is used as the content of the energization time memory R2. (energization time determining means). Thereafter, once the count value n of the feed time counter R1 is initialized to "0", the counting operation is continued.

In this way, when the printing start position of the "red" ink area reaches the printing position by the print head 19, the print data is read line by line from the downloading RAM 18 and applied to the print head 19 as described above. At the same time, it instructs the sub CPU 13 to energize the ribbon feed motor 25 and ticket conveyance motor 27 to control printing on the boarding pass 1.

At this time, the energization time for the ribbon feed motor 25 is measured, and in ST3, the energization time is compared with the time corresponding to the content m of the energization time memory R2. After energizing the ribbon feed motor 25 for a time corresponding to the content m of the energization time memory R2, the ribbon feed motor 25 is de-energized and the ink ribbon 2 is stopped. (Motor control means)

Note that the detection output of the mark sensor 29 is constantly monitored even while the time for energizing the ribbon feed motor 25 is being counted.
When it is confirmed that mark 3 has been detected, the count value n of the feed time counter R1 is read, n/4 is calculated, and the content of the energization time memory R2 is updated with the calculated value m (energization time determining means). . Thereafter, once the count value n of the feed time counter R1 is initialized to "0", the counting operation is continued.

In the ticket issuing machine of this embodiment constructed as described above, when the multicolor ink ribbon 2 having the construction shown in FIG. The marks 3 that have been placed are sequentially detected by the mark sensor 29, and the time n required to send between adjacent marks 3 each time is calculated by the sending time counter R1.
It is measured by

The time required to feed the ink ribbon 2 by a certain amount is long at the beginning of winding because the ribbon winding diameter of the ribbon winding core is small, but at the end of winding, the ribbon winding core takes a long time. Since the ribbon winding diameter of the core becomes larger, it becomes shorter than it was in the early stage of winding.

By the way, the mark 3 is the ink ribbon 2.
are attached at equal intervals in the feeding direction, and when the length of one color of the multicolor ink area 2a is L, the interval is 4L. On the other hand, the length s of the boarding pass 1 is the multicolor ink area 2
This length is slightly shorter than the length L of one color in a. Therefore,
The calculated time m obtained by dividing the measurement time n described above into four approximately corresponds to the time required to print one boarding pass 1.

Therefore, in this embodiment, each time the time n required for feeding between adjacent marks 3 is measured by the feeding time counter R1, the time m (=n/4) is automatically calculated and the energizing time is calculated. The latest calculation time m is always stored in the memory R2. Then, when there is a command to issue boarding pass 1,
After the printing start position of the corresponding color ink area in the multicolor ink area 2a is positioned at the printing position by the print head 19, the ribbon feed motor 25 is moved to the above-mentioned energization time memory R.
The feeding of the ink ribbon 2 is controlled by applying electricity for a time corresponding to the stored contents of 2. As a result, the amount of feed of the ink ribbon 2 when printing one boarding pass 1 is constant regardless of the size of the ribbon winding diameter. Therefore, ink ribbon 2
The feed rate can always be maintained at an optimal constant amount,
Wasteful use of the ink ribbon 2 is prevented, and costs are reduced.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, in the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to the boarding pass 1.
Although the case where the present invention is applied to a ticket issuing machine is shown, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to any printer that intermittently performs printing of a preset amount.

Further, in the above embodiment, the multicolor ink ribbon is based on black and has a multicolor ink area 2a formed on one longitudinal side, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. Even if the ink ribbon 41 has a plurality of colored inks arranged in order in the feeding direction as shown in a), the marks 3 for determining the feeding amount are placed at equal intervals in the feeding direction.
By adding this, the same effects as the present invention can be achieved. Further, as shown in FIG. 2(b), even if the ink ribbon 42 is of a single color (black in the figure), the present invention can be achieved by attaching marks 3 for determining the feed amount at equal intervals in the feeding direction. A similar effect can be achieved.

In this case, ribbon feeding control when the multicolor ink ribbon 41 is used is the same as in the previous embodiment. On the other hand, when using the single-color ink ribbon 42, the ribbon feeding control simply advances the ink ribbon 2 for a time corresponding to the stored content of the energization time memory R2 for each printing, as shown in FIG. There is no need to control the printing start position.

Furthermore, the control shown in FIGS. 5 to 7 in the above embodiment may be performed by the sub CPU 13 instead of the main CPU 11. In addition, it goes without saying that various modifications can be made to the intervals and positions at which the feed amount determining marks 3 are added without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0033]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, the amount of winding of the ink ribbon per unit time can be determined based on the size of the ribbon winding diameter in a device that prints a preset amount intermittently. By varying the amount of ink ribbon, it is possible to always ensure an optimum ribbon feeding amount, and to provide a printer that can prevent wasteful use of ink ribbon and reduce costs. Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an ink ribbon that can be used efficiently without waste by being used in the above printer.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a boarding pass issuing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a main memory configuration diagram of a work RAM in the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a format diagram of a boarding pass in the same embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a format diagram of an ink ribbon in the same embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing initialization processing of the main CPU in the same embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing ink ribbon feeding control by the main CPU in the same embodiment.

7 is a flowchart specifically showing the red printing process in FIG. 6. FIG.

FIG. 8 is a format diagram showing a modification of the ink ribbon in the present invention.

9 is a flowchart showing ink ribbon control when using the monochrome ink ribbon in FIG. 8. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1... Boarding pass, 2, 41, 42... Ink ribbon, 3... Feed amount determination mark, 11... Main CPU, 19... Print head, 25... Ribbon feed motor, 29... Mark sensor, R
1...Feeding time counter, R2...Electrification time memory.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A printer that performs printing using an ink ribbon fed by a ribbon feed motor, comprising: mark detection means for detecting marks placed on the ink ribbon at equal intervals in the feed direction; energization time determining means for determining the energization time of the ribbon feed motor required to feed the ink ribbon by a predetermined amount based on a mark detection output from the means; A printer comprising: a motor control means for controlling drive. 2. An ink ribbon characterized in that marks for determining the feed amount are attached at equal intervals in the feed direction.