JPH044178A - Ink ribbon movement control method in color printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce a printing time by a method wherein after a motor for conducting a ribbon feed action is rotated at a fixed speed, it is immediately brought to a stop without decelerating. CONSTITUTION:An ink ribbon movement control action means sets the rotating direction of a ribbon moving motor 6 to a forward direction for a ribbon feed action SI or to a reverse direction for a color change-over action S II. This means accelerates the motor 6 for a time T1 in the set direction, thereafter rotating the motor at a speed V1 for a predetermined fixed time T2 in the ribbon feed action SI or for a time T7 required until the part of the required color of an ink ribbon 4 is opposed to a printing head 7 in the color change-over action S II. Then, the means judges whether a deceleration is executed. If the result is NO, it immediately stops the rotation of the motor. If the result is YES, it stops the rotation after a deceleration for a time T1 and continues to excite the motor for a fixed time (a required time T3) at a speed 0 or more. In this manner, a ribbon feed action and a color change-over control action, which have been conducted by different control modes in a prior art, are carried out by one type of control mode.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a method for controlling the movement of an ink ribbon in a color printer that performs color printing using an ink ribbon on which inks of different colors are sequentially applied in the width direction. "Prior Art" A conventional method for controlling the movement of an ink ribbon in a color printer will be explained using FIGS. 3 to 6. FIG. 3 shows an overview of this type of color printer. The ink ribbon is made of paper and moves in the six directions shown in the figure as the platen 3 is rotated by the paper moving motor 2. 4 is an ink ribbon, and as shown in FIG. , black (B), blue (BL),
Red (R) and yellow (Y) color inks are applied in order. 5a, 5b, and 5C are a reel for supplying the ink ribbon 4, a reel for taking up the ink ribbon 4, and an ink ribbon 4, respectively.
With the guide roller, the ink ribbon 4 is moved in the direction C shown in the figure as the take-up reel 5b is rotated by the ribbon moving motor 6. (Hereinafter, this operation will be referred to as a ribbon feeding operation.) 7 is a print head arranged so as to be in contact with the platen 3 with the printing paper 1 and the ink ribbon 4 interposed therebetween, and the belt 9 is moved by the head feeding motor 8. As shown in FIG. 3, it moves back and forth in the E direction. Note that 9a is a guide roller of the belt 9. Further, a stepping motor is used as the ribbon moving motor 6, and a ribbon feeding/switching mechanism described later moves the ink ribbon 4 in the width direction so that a desired color portion of the ink ribbon 4 faces the print head. (directions F and H shown in FIG. 4). (Hereinafter, this operation will be referred to as the color switching operation.)
7. The ribbon feeding/switching mechanism is as shown in Figure 5.
A gear 10 attached to the rotating shaft 6a of the ribbon moving motor 6, a first one-way clutch gear coupled to the gear 10]1 and a second one-way clutch gear 12, and a gear coupled to the second one-way clutch gear 12. The output shaft of the first one-way clutch gear 11 is connected to the take-up reel 5b shown in FIG. 6a in one direction (J shown in Figure 5)
Hereinafter, this direction will be referred to as the positive direction. ), the ribbon feeding operation is performed by rotating the cylindrical cam ]3's follower 13a.
is the opposite direction of the rotating shaft 6a of the ribbon moving motor 6 (
The direction shown in FIG. 5 is hereinafter referred to as the opposite direction. ), the ink ribbon 4 shown in FIG. 3 can be moved by a predetermined amount in directions F and H shown in FIG. 4. Next, the operation of the color printer having the above configuration will be explained. For example, when printing in blue, first, the first one-way clutch gear 11 is turned OFF, the second one-way clutch gear 12 is turned ON, and then the ribbon moving motor 6 is turned in the reverse direction (direction shown in FIG. 5). The rotational motion is transmitted to the cylindrical cam 13 via the gear 10 and the one-way clutch gear 12, and the cylindrical cam 13 converts the rotational motion into linear reciprocating motion, and the follower 13a rotates the ink ribbon 4. The color switching operation is performed, and as shown in FIG.
to face each other. Next, the second one-way clutch gear 12 is changed to 0FFL, the first one-way clutch gear 11
is turned ON, the ribbon moving motor 6 is further rotated in the forward direction (J direction shown in FIG. 5), and the rotational movement is transferred to the gear 10.
．． Transmitted to take-up reel 5b via one-way clutch gear 11

[7. The rotational movement of the take-up reel 5b moves the ink ribbon 4 in the direction C shown in FIG. 3, and at the same time activates the head movement mode 98 to move the printing door in the direction D shown in FIG. At the same time, the print hand door is operated by a known means to print - lines of blue color on the printing paper. When the printing for the - line is completed, the head moving motor 8 is reversely rotated to move the print head 7 by a predetermined amount in the E direction shown in FIG. 3 to move the printing paper 1 in the six directions shown in FIG. At this time, if you want to print the next line in another color, for example yellow (Y), perform the same color switching operation as above to switch the yellow (Y) part of the ink ribbon 4 and the print head 7. Make them face each other. Next, regarding the method of controlling the movement of the ink ribbon 4, we will explain the sixth method for each of the ribbon feeding operation and color switching operation.
This will be explained using figures. Incidentally, FIG. 6 shows the relationship between the time required for each of the above operations and the speed of the ribbon moving mode 96 [7].
ing. (R1) Ribbon feed operation When printing is performed, that is, to print, Rad 7 is in the third
While the ink ribbon 4 is moving in the direction D shown in the figure, it is necessary to move the ink ribbon 4 at a constant speed (speed V+ of the ribbon movement motor 6) proportional to that speed. The time required to reach velocity ■1 (TI) in the J direction shown in Fig. 5 starts printing at this speed V. While the rad 7 is moving in the D direction shown in Fig. 3 (
The ribbon moving motor 6 is decelerated, the required time is the same as the acceleration time (T2), and stopped, and then the next operation (for example, color switching) is performed. In order to stably perform the operation (operation), the ribbon moving motor 6 is kept energized at zero speed for a certain period of time (required time T3) to settle. The total time RTI is the time required to perform the ribbon feeding operation. (R[I) Color switching operation Color switching operation is a positioning operation, so ink Jbon 4
In order to make the pad 7 face the part of the desired color and the printing area, the rotation speed of the ribbon moving motor 6 in the opposite direction (direction shown in FIG. 5) and the required time are determined, and the operation is as follows. Since it is more convenient to make the speed faster, first, the ribbon moving motor 6 is accelerated in the opposite direction (in the direction shown in FIG. 5) until it reaches a speed V2 faster than that during the ribbon feeding operation (required time T4), and at this speed V2. The print head 7 rotates until the desired color portion of the ink ribbon 4 faces each other (required time T5 is variable), and when the print head 7 and the desired color portion of the ink ribbon 4 face each other, the ribbon moving motor The ribbon moving motor 6 is decelerated (the required time is the same as the acceleration time (T)), then stopped, and in order to stably perform the next ribbon feeding operation, the ribbon moving motor 6 is kept energized at zero speed for a certain period of time (required time T6). and settle. The total time RTII is the time required to perform the color switching operation. Therefore, when printing the next line in a different color, start printing the next line after the total time RT■ of the time RTr required for the ribbon feeding operation and the time RT■ required for the color switching operation starts printing. (hereinafter referred to as the time required for -cycle). [Problems to be Solved by the Invention] j. As described above, since the ribbon moving motor 6 performs two operations (ribbon feeding operation and color switching operation), its control is inevitably sequence control; There is a problem in that the operation time is prolonged, and the time required for each cycle is long, resulting in a delay in color printing on the entire printing paper 1. Furthermore, since the speeds of the ribbon moving motor 6 are different in each of the ribbon feeding operation and the color switching operation, the time required for acceleration, deceleration, and settling of the ribbon moving motor 6 is different, making control complicated. Ta. The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a color printer that has a short color printing time on the entire printing paper and is easy to control. 1. Means for Solving the Problem] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a print head and an ink ribbon on which a plurality of different colors of ink are sequentially applied in the width direction, and a desired color of the ink ribbon is applied. According to the present invention, in a color printer, the part and the print head are opposed to each other, and the print head and the ink ribbon are moved in synchronization to print the desired color line by line on the printing paper. In the ink ribbon movement control method, in a ribbon feeding operation in which the ink ribbon is moved in the longitudinal direction in synchronization with the movement of the print head, a desired color portion of the ink ribbon is opposed to the printing area. The ink ribbon is rotated at a constant speed in synchronization with the print head by a motor that also performs a color switching operation of moving the ink ribbon in its width direction in order to rotate the ink ribbon in the opposite direction. When the ink ribbon reaches a constant speed, the motor is rotated at a constant speed, and when a part of printing is completed, the rotation of the motor is promptly stopped without decelerating. In another ink ribbon movement control method of the present invention, the rotational speed of the motor is made the same during the color switching operation and the ribbon feeding operation, and the acceleration time of the motor until the same speed is reached and the time after the motor is stopped. This is the minimum value of the retention time during which excitation is continued. [Function] In the ink ribbon movement control method for a color printer of the present invention, in the ribbon feeding operation, the motor that performs the operation is rotated at a constant speed and then stopped immediately without decelerating, thereby omitting the deceleration time. This reduces printing time. In addition, in the ribbon feeding operation and color switching operation described above, the speed of the motor, the acceleration time of the motor until the same speed is reached, and the minimum value of the holding time for continuing excitation after the motor is stopped are set to be the same. By doing so, the control mode for both operations is unified into one type, simplifying the control. [Example] Next, an example of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 1 and 2. Since this invention relates to a method for controlling the movement of an ink ribbon attached to a color printer, which has already been explained as an example of delivery, only this movement control method will be explained, and the parts equivalent to those of the conventional method will be explained. The description will be made using the reference numerals shown in FIGS. 3 to 6. FIG. 1 shows the relationship between the time required for the ribbon feeding operation and color switching operation and the speed of the ribbon moving motor 6 when using the ink ribbon movement control method of the present invention. Each case of the feeding operation and the color switching operation will be explained. (SI) Ribbon feed operation Since the speed of the ink ribbon 4, which is proportional to the speed of the print head 7, needs to be the same speed as in the past, first, as in the past, the ribbon moving motor 6 is moved in the forward direction at speed. The print head 7 rotates at this speed v1 while moving in the direction D shown in FIG. . Next, when printing is completed on the printing paper 1, the ribbon moving motor 6 is immediately stopped without decelerating, and the ribbon moving motor 6 is stopped in order to stably perform the next operation (for example, color switching operation). Continue excitation for a minimum of T2 time at zero speed to settle. The total time STI is the time required to perform the ribbon feeding operation. Note that the reason why the ribbon moving mode 96 can be stopped quickly without decelerating is because the ink ribbon 4 is made of cloth or plastic with little inertia, and therefore the ink ribbon 4 may come to a sudden stop due to operational friction. In addition, there are known methods of controlling the energy applied to a stepping motor that are used to rapidly change a stepping motor from a high-speed rotation state to a low-speed rotation state, such as increasing the current to the motor for a certain period of time during the stop operation. A method of absorbing damping may also be used. (SIT) Color switching operation First, the ribbon moving motor 6 is moved in the opposite direction to the same speed V as in the ribbon feeding operation described above. The time required to reach T is the same as the ribbon feeding operation, and printing begins at this speed K V + . The door rotates until the desired color portion of the ink ribbon 4 faces each other (required time T7 is variable), and when the print head and the desired color portion of the ink ribbon 4 face each other, the ribbon moving motor 6 is decelerated as required. The time is the same as the acceleration time, T,)
Then, in order to stably perform the next ribbon feeding operation, the ribbon moving motor 6 is kept energized at zero speed for a certain period of time T3 or more, which is the same as that for the ribbon feeding operation, and then stabilized. The total time 5Trl is the time required to perform the color switching operation. Note that since this color switching operation is a highly accurate positioning operation, it is necessary to reduce the speed of the ribbon moving motor 6. By the way, the speed of the motor during color switching operation is slower than before, so the time required for color switching operation is longer than before, but since the deceleration of the motor is omitted in the ribbon feeding operation, the time required for the cycle is shorter than before. will be shorter overall. According to the experimental results, the conventional model that required 851 asec for one cycle reduced to 794 m5e.
c, confirming a time reduction of approximately 6.7%. Next, the ink ribbon movement control operation procedure of the color printer of the present invention will be explained in the order of operation using FIG. 2. First, the ribbon feeding operation S1 is in the forward direction, and the color switching operation S Set the rotation direction of the ribbon moving motor 6 to (SP1.), accelerate in the set direction for T7 time SP2'), and then
If the ribbon feeding operation Sl is a predetermined fixed time T2,
If the color switching operation is S■, the time T7 until the desired color part of the ink ribbon 4 and the print head 7 face each other, and the speed V
, the rotation is started (5P3), then it is determined whether or not to perform deceleration (5P4), and if "NO", the rotation is stopped immediately (5P5), and if rYEsJ, the rotation is decelerated for T1 time (SF3).
), then stop the rotation (5P5), and then continue excitation for a certain period of time (required time T3) at least at zero speed to settle (SF3). Conventionally, each control mode of ribbon feeding operation and color switching control operation The invention of claim 1 and the invention of claim 2 do not need to be carried out at the same time, and even if only one of them is carried out, the following will be achieved. The effects described will naturally occur. [Effects of the Invention] As explained above, in this invention, the motor that performs the ribbon feeding operation is rotated at a constant speed and then stopped immediately without deceleration, so the operation time is shortened. Therefore, an excellent effect is produced in that the printing time for the entire printing paper is shortened. In addition, since the speed of the motor was kept the same during both the ribbon feeding operation and the color switching operation, the acceleration time of the motor until it reached the same speed and the settling time for continuing excitation after the motor was stopped were also reduced. The minimum value can also be made the same, which brings about the excellent effect that the control mode for both operations can be made common to one type.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are graphs showing the relationship between the time required for ribbon feeding operation and color switching operation and the speed of the ribbon moving motor, and a flowchart showing the ink ribbon movement control operation procedure, respectively, showing one embodiment of the present invention. , Figure 3~
Fig. 6 shows a conventional example in a smaller size, Fig. 3 is a schematic plan view showing a color printer, Fig. 4 is a partially enlarged view of an ink ribbon, and Fig. 5
6 is a side view showing the ribbon feeding/switching mechanism, and FIG. 6 is a top view and a graph showing the relationship between the time required for the ribbon feeding operation and color switching operation and the speed of the ribbon moving motor. 1st Ward 2nd L 1: Printing paper, 4: Ink ribbon, 6: Ribbon moving motor, 7: Print head, 8: Feed motor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A print head and an ink ribbon on which a plurality of different colors of ink are sequentially applied in the width direction, and a desired color portion of the ink ribbon faces the print head. The color printer is configured to print the desired color one line at a time on printing paper by moving the print head and the ink ribbon in synchronization, the printer comprising: a color switching operation in which the ink ribbon is moved in its width direction in order to make the desired color portions face each other, and a ribbon feeding operation in which the ink ribbon is moved in its longitudinal direction in synchronization with the movement of the print head. In a color printer that rotates one motor in forward and reverse directions, in the ribbon feeding operation, the motor is accelerated until the ink ribbon reaches a constant speed that is synchronized with the print head; An ink for a color printer, characterized in that the motor is rotated at a constant speed when the ink ribbon reaches a constant speed, and when one line of printing is completed, the rotation of the motor is promptly stopped without decelerating. Ribbon movement control method. 2. In the color printer according to claim 1, the speed of the motor during the color switching operation is made the same as the speed of the motor during the ribbon feeding operation, and the acceleration time of the motor until the same speed is reached and after the motor is stopped. A method for controlling the movement of an ink ribbon in a color printer in which the minimum value of the retention time during which excitation is continued is also the same.