JPH0455400B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION -Field of Industrial Application- The present invention relates to a pen control device for a drawing device such as a multi-pen type X-Y plotter or drawing machine.

-Prior Art- As is well known, a conventional multi-pen type X-Y plotter has a guide shaft 1 that is sent in the direction of arrow
A pen cartridge 2 is supported movably in the Y direction, and a selected one of the recording pens P located in the pen storage section 3a of the apparatus main body 3 is moved to the pen cartridge 2.
The pen cartridge 2 is moved in the X-Y direction to the recording start position, and the pen up-down control device provided in the pen cartridge 2 brings the pen into contact with the writing surface (pen down), and
The pen is moved in the X-Y direction according to the drawing figure, and the pen is moved away from the writing surface (pen-up) as necessary to record on the writing surface.

By the way, the present invention proposes a pen up-down control device that electrically controls the current of the pen up-down drive coil in order to improve responsiveness and reduce the impact between the pen and the recording surface, instead of the conventional plunger solenoid system. The applicant has already proposed this (for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 191837 and Japanese Patent Application No. 65636). These pen up-down control devices are constructed as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. The pen cartridge main body 11 is held movably in the Z-axis direction (pen up and down directions) by a sliding part 11A for sliding in the Y-axis direction along a guide shaft 12 and a sliding shaft 13, and a pen 14 Pen holding section 11 that holds
B. A drive coil 15, a speed detection coil 16, and a position detector (for example, a Hall element) 17 are provided in the pen holder 11B. In addition, a pair of plate-shaped permanent magnets 18 are attached to the paint cartridge main body 11.
A and 18B are arranged facing each other as illustrated in the cross section taken along the line A-A' in FIG.
5, a speed detection coil 16, and a position detector 17, the pen holder 11B is driven in the pen-up and pen-down directions according to the current polarity of the drive coil 15, and the driving force is adjusted by the magnitude of the current. At this time, a voltage proportional to the speed is detected by the coil 16,
The position detector 17 detects a position signal corresponding to the position of the permanent magnets 18A, 18B by changing the strength of the magnetic field due to the difference in the position of the permanent magnets 18A, 18B in the Z axis direction. 19 is a return spring when the pen is lifted up, and 11C is a stopper that determines the pen-up position. Further, 20 is a recording paper.

As shown in FIG. 8, the pen control circuit includes a current control circuit 21 that controls the polarity and magnitude of the current supplied to the drive coil 15, and includes a detection signal from a current detector 22 and a speed detection coil 16 as a feedback system.
The adder 23 adds the detection signals and the phase compensation circuit 24 performs phase compensation, and the position detection signal from the position detector 17 and the setting value from the pen pressure setting device 25 are selected as the drive current setting value. When the control signal from the pen-up-down control signal generation circuit 27 commands pen-down, the circuit 26 selects and takes in the drive current, and when the control signal from the pen-up-down control signal generating circuit 27 commands pen-down, the drive current is set according to the drive current setting value from the selection circuit 26. Feedback control is performed based on the value.

In _such a control circuit, for pen down control, as shown in _{FIG .} is selected by the selection circuit 26 as the drive current setting value, and the position
When P _B is exceeded, the selection circuit 26 selects the pen pressure setting signal V _B from the pen pressure setting device 15 and sets it as the drive current setting value. In addition, the phase compensation circuit 24
acts as a delay element. This allows the position
In the initial stage of driving with P _A , the signal V _A is high and the amount of feedback is zero (phase lag), so a relatively large drive current is obtained, increasing the pen-down response and positioning.
As the pen approaches P _B , the signal V _A decreases and a braking action is generated by the speed detection signal to reduce the impact when the tip of the pen contacts the recording surface.

During pen-up, the current control circuit 2 receives a pen-up command from the up-down control signal generation circuit 27.
1 is given a constant drive current set value with a polarity opposite to that when the pen is down, and the pen is brought up in cooperation with the return spring 19.

The conventional pen control devices described above are limited to changing the writing pressure (pressure) setting value according to the type of pen 14 (for example, ink pen, felt-tip pen, water-based ballpoint pen), so It was not possible to make the writing action appropriate for the selected pen type. In other words, in conventional pen down control, the descending speed is determined by the pen position detection signal and the pen pressure setting value, but depending on the type of pen, the impact caused by the contact between the pen tip and the recording surface has a characteristic that is not proportional to the pen pressure. is required. For example, a sharp pencil requires higher writing pressure than a ballpoint pen, but the impact must be smaller. In addition, in an ink pen, after the tip of the pen and the recording surface come into contact, the fluidity of the ink
Immediately moving the pen (in the X and Y directions) due to responsiveness issues will cause recording defects such as blurring and tapering. Furthermore, if the impact when lifting the pen is large, ink may drip from the pen.

-Object of the Invention- In view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a pen control device that always provides optimal pen up-down and writing operations regardless of the type of pen. .

-Structure of the Invention- The present invention is a multi-pen drawing device that is equipped with a control device that exchanges many types of pens and controls pen up-down and writing according to drawing data, which determines the type of pen picked up on a pen carrier. A pen discriminator that corresponds to the type of pen, and a descending speed that is set based on the durability against impact caused by contact between the pen tip and the recording surface, writing pressure, maximum writing speed as a writing speed limit, and writing from pen down. According to the storage means for storing each data of the time up to the start and the pen type discrimination symbol from the pen discriminator, the pen is brought down at a constant descent speed that varies depending on the pen descent speed data stored in the storage means, and then A pen control device comprising: a control means that, when it is determined that the tip of the pen has contacted a recording surface, waits for a time indicated by time data from pen down to start of writing, and then controls writing based on writing pressure data. This is what we propose.

-Embodiment- Fig. 1 shows a configuration diagram of a device based on the present invention, and parts having the same functions or the same configuration as those shown in Fig. 8 are designated by the same reference numerals. CPU30, ROM31, RAM
32 and an input/output circuit 33 receives drawing data via the input/output circuit 33.
DATA is taken in, position control data in the X and Y directions is given to the motor control circuit 34 according to this data DATA, and position control data is given to the motor control circuit 34 according to this data.
4 drives the pulse motors 35 and 36 to move the pen cartridge according to the drawing data and to change the pen according to the designation of the pen type used for drawing. In addition, the microcomputer sends pen up and down control signals UP/DOWN according to the drawing data.
and the drive current setting value via the D/A converter 37
V _S is applied to the current control circuit 21. The microcomputer also receives the position detection signal V _A from the position detector 17 through the A/D converter 38 .

In this microcomputer-based pen movement, exchange, and up/down control device,
A table 31A is provided in the ROM 31, and a pen discriminator 39 is connected to the input/output circuit 33. The pen discriminator 39 is for discriminating the type of pen in the replaced pen cartridge. For example, as shown in FIG.
The various types of pens 14 stored in the storage are coated with coded colored tape 14 that specifies the type (water-based ballpoint pen, ink pen, felt-tip pen, etc.), ink color, and grade (for example, the difference in the thickness of the lead of a sharp pencil).
A, 14B, 14C are applied, and the pen holding part 1
Colored tape 14 of pen 14 picked up by 1B
The pen discriminator 39 optically detects portions A, 14B, and 14C to obtain pen discrimination code data associated with the pen 14.

The table 31A stores data on the optimal descending speed, writing pressure, maximum writing speed, and time from pen down to start of writing in association with the pen discrimination code data discriminated by the pen discriminator 39. There is.

In this way, the pen discriminator 39 and table 31A
It is used to control pen-down and writing operations by the CPU 30. Pen control by the CPU 30 will be explained in detail below.

FIG. 3 shows the main part of a flowchart (subroutine) for pen exchange (including pen removal) according to the present invention. After executing pen exchange with the pen exchange command,
The CPU 30 takes in pen discrimination code data from the pen discriminator 39 (step S1), calculates the start address IX on the table 31A corresponding to this data (step S2), and extracts data for a predetermined word from this start address IX. It is read from the table 31A and stored in the RAM 32 (step S3). In the illustration, 4 words of data are prepared for one pen, where address IX is pen descent speed data, IX+1 is writing pressure data, IX+2 is maximum writing speed data, and IX+3 is from pen down to the start of writing. time data is allocated.

FIG. 4 shows the main part of the pen-down flowchart. When the CPU 30 receives a pen-down command,
First, the pen lowering speed data stored in the RAM 32 is given to the current control circuit 21 as a current set value V _S through the input/output circuit 33 and the D/A converter 37, and at the same time, a pen down signal is given through the input/output circuit 33 (step S10). . The pen descending speed data at this time is such that if the pen is resistant to impact due to contact with the recording surface, such as a ballpoint pen, the pen is brought down at a high descending speed to perform a constraint pen down, and conversely, if the pen is resistant to impact such as a sharp pencil, pen is In this case, the pen tip and lead can be protected by lowering the pen at a low descending speed.

Next, the CPU 30 takes in the position detection signal V _A from the position detector 17 through the A/D converter 38,
It is determined that the tip of the pen has contacted the recording surface (step S11), and then the process waits for the time data stored in the RAM 32 from pen down to the start of writing (step S12). This is to wait until the ink flows out after coming into contact with the recording surface. next,
The CPU 30 reads the writing pressure data stored in the RAM 32 and transfers it to the input/output circuit 33 and the D/A converter 3.
7 to control the writing pressure of the pen as the current setting value of the current control circuit 21 (step S13). Then, the CPU 30 moves the pen by driving the pulse motors 35 and 36 in accordance with the drawing data DATA, and controls this movement. The maximum writing speed data stored in the RAM 32 is used as the writing speed limit value.

Therefore, the pen type is automatically determined for the pen picked up by the pen cartridge when the pen is replaced, and the optimum descending speed and writing speed for the pen are determined according to the data stored in the table in association with the pen type. Pen down and writing actions are performed depending on pressure, maximum writing speed, and time until writing starts. Specifically, it protects the pen tip and lead, allowing you to write with the optimal pressure with the minimum response time and without causing any scratches.

In addition, the control at the time of pen up is stored in the table as pen up speed data according to each type of pen,
By giving the current setting value according to the data to the current control circuit when the pen is raised, the pen is raised at the optimum raising speed for the pen, eliminating dripping of ink and allowing return operation within the minimum time. It can be carried out.

- Effects of the Invention - As described above, according to the present invention, data for obtaining optimal pen up, down and writing movements are prepared according to the type of pen used for writing, and pen up and down is performed according to this data. And since the writing control is performed, it is possible to obtain a good drawing operation by minimizing the impact while increasing the responsiveness as much as possible regardless of the type of pen that is replaced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a device based on the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating the pen discriminator 39 in FIG. 1, and FIGS. Flowchart for pen-down control; Figure 5 is a plan view of the multi-pen type X-Y plotter; Figure 6 is a partially cutaway side view of the pen cartridge; FIG. 8 is a conventional control circuit diagram, and FIG. 9 is a characteristic diagram for explaining conventional pen-down control. 2... Pen cartridge, 3a... Pen storage section,
11B...Pen holding part, 14...Pen, 14A,
14B, 14C... Colored tape, 15... Drive coil, 16... Speed detection coil, 17... Position detector, 21... Current control circuit, 30... CPU,
31...ROM, 31A...table, 32...
RAM, 33... input/output circuit, 34... motor control circuit, 35... pulse motor, 39... pen discriminator.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a multi-pen drawing device equipped with a control device that exchanges many types of pens and controls pen up-down and writing according to drawing data, a pen discriminator that discriminates the type of pen picked up on the pen carrier, and a pen discriminator that discriminates the type of pen picked up on the pen Corresponding to the type, each data is set based on the durability against impact caused by the contact between the pen tip and the recording surface, such as the descending speed, writing pressure, maximum writing speed as a writing speed limit, and the time from pen down to the start of writing. In accordance with the storage means to be stored and the pen type discrimination symbol from the pen discriminator, the pen is lowered at a constant descent speed that varies depending on the pen descent speed data stored in the storage means, and then the tip of the pen comes into contact with the recording surface. and a control means which waits for a time indicated by time data from when the pen is down until the start of writing, and then controls the writing based on the writing pressure data.