JPH0534714B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a printing ticket issuing method for a vending machine that prints and issues a ticket each time a ticket issuing instruction is detected.

2. Description of the Related Art A printer section of this type of vending machine is constructed as shown in FIG. 1 is a wrapping body of heat-sensitive roll paper 2, 3a and 3b are heat-sensitive roll paper 2
The upper feed roller 3b is attached to one end of a lever 5 whose middle portion is pivotally supported by a pin 4, and is biased by a spring 6 toward the lower end feed roller 3a.
7 is a platen roller, and 8 is a thermal head as a printing head, one end of which is pivotally supported by a pin 9, and the other end of which has a heat generating surface urged toward the platen roller 7 by a head press spring 10. 11
is a discharge chute that guides the ticket to the outlet after printing is completed, and ticket discharge rollers 12a and 12b are located in the middle part.
is installed. The heat-sensitive roll paper 2 is pulled out from the winding body 1 via a guide pin 13, passed between feed rollers 3a and 3b, and hung between the platen roller 7 and the heat generating surface of the thermal head 8. ing. Further, 14 is a cutter disposed above the platen roller 7.

When issuing a ticket, the starting end of the thermal roll paper 2 is held between the platen roller 7 and the heat generating surface of the thermal head 8 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and when a ticket issuing instruction is detected, the cutter 14 is activated. It is driven to cut one ticket's worth of printing paper 2' from the thermal roll paper 2, and then driven by the pulse motor 15, the platen roller 7 and feed roller 3a synchronize and rotate forward [in the direction of arrow A]. Due to this forward rotation, the platen roller 7
The printing paper 2', which was held between the printer and the heat generating surface of the thermal head 8, is sent to the ejection chute 11 while being printed by the thermal head 8, and is driven by the pulse motor 1.
A ticket ejection roller 12 driven by a motor different from 5.
a, 12b forcibly send out to the outlet. Further, the starting end of the heat-sensitive roll paper 2, which was at the cutter 14 position at the start of the forward rotation, is already held between the platen roller 7 and the heat generating surface of the thermal head 8 at the end of the forward rotation. Then, it waits in this state until the next ticket issuing instruction is detected.

Note that the platen roller 7 is equipped with a
At least the surface is generally covered with an elastic material such as a rubber material.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention In such a conventional configuration, if the above-mentioned standby state continues for a long period of time, the starting end 16 of the printing paper 2' will touch the surface of the platen roller 7 as shown by the dashed-dotted line 17 in FIG.
It gets stuck in the position. When the printing ticket issuing operation is started in this state, the platen roller 7 rotates forward, and the printing paper 2' stuck to the platen roller 7 is moved between the platen roller 7 and the starting end of the discharge chute 11 as shown in FIG. This causes a problem in which the liquid gets into the gap 18 between the two and prevents normal discharge onto the discharge chute 11.

Therefore, even if the starting edge of the ticket sheet is stuck to the platen roller 7, there is a device configured as shown in FIG. 4 so that normal ejection can be performed.

In the flowchart of FIG. 4, first, the presence or absence of a ticket issuing instruction is checked [a-1], and if no ticket issuing instruction is detected, the ticket issuing standby state is maintained. [a-
1], when a ticket issuing instruction is detected, the platen roller 7
The platen roller 7 is reversed [a-2] in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 3 by supplying N pulses for instructing the retraction of the heat-sensitive roll paper 2 by a minute distance [several millimeters] to the pulse motor 15 that drives the platen roller 7. Next, N pulses instructing the printing paper 2' to move forward are supplied to the pulse motor 15 to cause the platen roller 7 to rotate normally [a-3]. Due to this reversal of [a-2], the starting end of the thermal roll paper 2 in the ticket issuing standby state is peeled off from the platen roller 7, and the thermal roll is retreated due to the forward rotation of [a-3]. Paper 2 returns to the ticket issuing standby position. [a-
3] is completed, the same printing ticket issuing operation as above is executed thereafter. That is, first, cutter 14
is driven to instruct cutting of one ticket's worth of printing paper 2' from the thermal roll paper 2 [a-4], checks whether this cutting is completed [a-5], and when the completion of cutting is detected. The pulse motor 15 is instructed to rotate forward for one sheet of printing paper 2', and the platen roller 7
While rotating in the normal direction, the thermal head 8 is driven according to the print content to perform printing [a-6].

However, when the platen roller is rotated back and forth each time a ticket issuing instruction is detected in this manner, there remains a problem that the time required for one ticket issuing process becomes long.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a printing ticket issuing method that allows normal ejection even when printing paper is stuck to the platen roller, and can shorten the ticket issuing time.

Means for Solving the Problems In the printing ticket issuing method of the present invention, a thermal head and a platen roller sandwich printing paper and wait for ticket issuing, and each time a ticket issuing instruction is detected, the thermal head rotates the platen roller in the normal direction. The platen roller is driven to perform printing ticket issuing operation, and when no ticket issuing instruction is detected for a certain period of time or more, the platen roller is reversed and rotated normally again prior to the next ticket issuing operation.

According to this configuration, only when no ticket issue instruction is detected for a certain period of time or more, the platen roller is reversed and then rotated forward again to remove the printing paper from the platen roller prior to the next ticket issuing operation. Because the paper is peeled off, the time required for each ticket issuance is shorter than that of a system in which the platen roller is rotated in reverse and forward rotation each time a ticket is issued, and then printed tickets are issued.

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 5 and 6. In addition, FIGS. 1 to 4 showing conventional examples
Components having the same functions as those shown in the drawings will be described with the same reference numerals.

FIG. 5 shows the printed ticket issuing method of the present invention.
Comparing this with the flowchart of FIG. 4 showing the conventional printed ticket issuing method, in FIG. ] and execute [a-4] → [a-5] →
Although the ticket issuing operation [a-6] was executed, in the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. Under normal operating conditions, [a-
2] and [a-3] are not executed.

First, check whether there is a ticket issuing instruction [a-1]
However, if no ticket issuing instruction is detected in [a-1], the contents of register R are incremented as a timer process [c-1] and [a-1] is executed again.
When a ticket issuing instruction is detected at [a-1], register R
The content of is compared with the set value n corresponding to the certain period of time, and it is checked whether the ticket issuing waiting time is within a certain period of time [c-2]. -2] → [a-3] is executed, and then the ticket issuing operation of [a-4] → [a-5] → [a-6] is executed. Also, if [a-2] determines that the certain time has not been exceeded, [a-2] and [a-2]
Jump over [a-4] → [a-5] → [a-6]
Execute.

With this configuration, sticking of the printing paper 2' to the platen roller 7, which occurs when the vending machine is left in the ticket issuing standby state for a long period of time, can be prevented from occurring outside of the ticket issuing operation of the poll motor 15. This can be avoided by slightly reversing and forward driving.

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment.

Here, check whether the commercial power voltage applied to the power supply circuit of the vending machine has been restored.
-1], and when a discharge is detected, [a-2] and [a-
3], and then checks whether there is a ticket issue instruction or not, and executes the same floor as shown in FIG. 5 above.

In each of the above embodiments, the printing ticket issuing operation is [a-
4] → [a-5] → [a-6], but this can take various forms. For example, first execute [a-6], then execute [a-4]
Execute [a-5] and prepare the next ticketing form 2' in advance.
For example, the cutter 14 may be placed on the lower side of the platen roller 7 and the cutter 14 may be cut after performing [a-6].

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, [a-2] and [a
-3], the number of pulses applied to the pulse motor 15 was both N, but the number of pulses in [a-2] _{was N1} ,
When the number of pulses in [a-3] is N ₂ , N ₁ >
N ₂ or N ₁ <N ₂ may be satisfied.

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, printing paper stuck to the platen roller can be reliably peeled off from the platen roller by reversing the platen roller and then rotating it in the normal direction again. Instead of rotating the platen roller in the reverse direction and then rotating it in the normal direction again, the platen roller is configured to reverse the platen roller and rotate it in the normal direction again before the next ticket issuing operation only if no ticket issuing instruction is detected for a certain period of time or more. Therefore, compared to a system in which the platen roller is rotated back and forth each time a ticket issuance operation, the time required for one ticket issuance can be shortened.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a configuration diagram of the printer section of a vending machine, Figure 2 is a plan view of the main parts of Figure 1, Figure 3 is an enlarged view of the main parts of Figure 1, and Figure 4 is a diagram of the conventional printed ticket issuing method. A flowchart showing one example, and FIGS. 5 and 6 are flowcharts of specific embodiments of the present invention, respectively. 2...Thermal roll paper, 2'...Printing paper,
3a, 3b... feed roller, 7... platen roller, 8... thermal head, 11... discharge chute, 14... cutter, 15... pulse motor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 The thermal head and the platen roller hold the printing paper and stand by for ticket issuing, and each time a ticket issuing instruction is detected, the platen roller is rotated in the normal direction while the thermal head is driven to execute the printing ticket issuing operation, and the printing paper is issued for a certain period of time or more. A printing ticket issuing method for a vending machine in which the platen roller is reversed and then rotated forward again prior to the next ticket issuing operation when a ticket issuing instruction is not detected.