JPH057191B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to an operation mode setting device for a printing device that serially prints characters, graphics, etc.

[Technical background of the invention]

Serial printers have different operating modes:
Various configurations are required depending on the host computer to be connected or the usage situation. For example, setting the initial state immediately after turning on the power, switching the print font,
This includes switching to test mode during maintenance. These operating modes must be fixed under a single usage situation, but can be changed under different usage environments.

Conventionally, a manual switch mechanism has been added to a printing device to set and switch the operating mode. Hereinafter, the conventional device will be explained with reference to FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings. In addition, in the following description of the drawings, the same elements are indicated by the same reference numerals.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an example of a conventional device. For example, one end of the eight manual switches 1a to 1h is grounded, and a resistor is connected to the other end to generate a predetermined voltage level (pull-up) when the switch is opened.
A power supply voltage Vc is applied via Ra to Rh.
Voltage signals generated by the manual switches 1a-1h are applied to terminals 3a-3h connected to bus lines (not shown) via gate elements 2a-2h forming a bus driver circuit. Note that an output control signal is applied from the terminal 4 to the gate elements 2a to 2h.

Next, setting of the operation mode according to the configuration example shown in FIG. 1 will be explained. Manual switch 1c,
When only 1d is turned on, gate element 2
The input sides of gate elements 2a and 2d are grounded and become low level (hereinafter referred to as "L"), and the input sides of gate elements 2a and 2d are connected to the other gate elements 2a and 2d.
b, 2e, 2f, 2g, and 2h are raised to high level (hereinafter referred to as "H"). In this state, when an output control signal (read signal) is input from terminal 4, gate elements 2a to 2h are all opened, bus lines 3c and 3d become "L", and other bus lines 3
a, 3b, 3e to 3h become "H". In this way, the state of the switch mechanism can be known from the read signal, so by assigning each switch function to an operation mode, mode switching and setting can be performed by operation.

[Problems with background technology]

As mentioned above, conventional devices are equipped with manual switches corresponding to individual operation modes, so as printing devices become multi-functional and the range of use expands, it becomes necessary to switch and set a wide variety of operation modes. The number of will increase accordingly. Additionally, the amount of hardware required to connect the manual switch to the control processor increases. Therefore, as the number of functions and operation modes increases, the device becomes larger and the price of the product increases. Furthermore, since the manual switch is manual, operability must be taken into account, and there is a limit to how small it can be made. Therefore, it is difficult to make the device smaller by making the components smaller.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been made to overcome the drawbacks of the above-mentioned prior art, and when the functions of printing devices become diversified, it is possible to set many operation modes with a simple configuration.
An object of the present invention is to provide an operation mode setting device that can perform switching.

[Summary of the invention]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an optical detection means on a carriage carrying a print head and moving along a platen in the direction of the print line, and also provides optical information detected by the optical detection means. The operation mode setting member recorded on the scanning surface is
To provide an operation mode setting device for a printing device, which is arranged so that the scanning surface is parallel to the moving direction of the carriage, and sets and switches the operation mode of the printing device based on the output of this optical detection means. .

[Embodiments of the invention]

Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6 of the accompanying drawings. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of one embodiment. A print head 12 for printing characters, figures, etc. on print paper on a print platen 11 is mounted on a carriage 13 that moves in the direction of the print line. A reflective plate 14 for setting an operation mode is provided on the rear side of the carriage 13 in parallel with the direction of the print line.
A light emitting element 15 that irradiates light to 4 and an optical sensor 16 that detects the reflected light are attached.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the reflector of FIG. 2. Recording frames 17a, 17b, . . . , 17h corresponding to the manual switches 1a to 1h shown in FIG. , 17e). This recording frame 17a~
The color coding of 17h may be done by coloring with ink or by pasting black paper. Further, the setting and switching of the operation mode is performed by color-coding, but this may also be done by coloring the reflector 14 each time setting or switching is performed. A plurality of types of 14 may be prepared and replaced for setting and switching. Furthermore, the colors are not limited to black and white.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a circuit for setting and switching the operating mode based on the output of the optical sensor 16 shown in FIG. The optical sensor 16 is connected to a power source via a resistor R.
Vc is supplied, and its output is applied to a multi-bit shift register 21 having input data latching and shifting functions. Carriage 13
The reference position detection signal S ₁ is applied to a delay circuit 23 via a terminal 22, and the movement control pulse S ₂ for the carriage 13 is applied to a delay circuit 23, a counter circuit 25 and an AND circuit 26 via a terminal 24.
Here, the delay circuit 23 is constituted by a counter for setting the first sample position, and provides an output to the counter circuit 25. The counter circuit 25 is for setting the sampling period, and outputs
It is applied to the AND circuit 25. The shift register 21
Based on the output (sampling signal) _S3 of the AND circuit 25, the signal _S4 from the optical sensor 16 is latched and shifted, and the output is given to the control section of the main body of the apparatus via terminals 27a to 27h.

FIG. 5 is a timing chart of the operation of the circuit of FIG. 4. Reference position detection signal S ₁ is for carriage 1
When 3 is at the left end of FIG. 2, it is "L", and when it is at any other position, it is "H". The movement control pulse _S2 is a pulse for controlling the movement of the carriage, and is, for example, a control pulse for a movement motor, an output of an encoder that detects the amount of movement, or the like. The movement control pulse _S2 periodically repeats "H" and "L".

When the carriage 13 is at the left end in FIG. 2 before time _t1 , the reference position detection signal _S1 is "L", so the sampling signal _S3 output from the AND circuit 26 remains "L". It is.

When the carriage 13 moves to the right in FIG. 2 at time _t1 , the reference position detection signal _S1 becomes "H", so the delay circuit 23 starts counting the movement control pulses _S2 . The delay circuit 23 counts a predetermined number of movement control pulses S ₂ and provides an output to the counter circuit 25 when the count value reaches a predetermined value. The counter circuit 25 counts the movement control pulse _S2 in synchronization with the output of the delay circuit 23, and when the count value reaches a predetermined value, provides an "H" output to the AND circuit 26.
Here, the predetermined value of the delay circuit 23 and the counter circuit 2
The sum of the predetermined values of 5 is calculated from the left end position of the optical sensor ₁ in FIG.
6 is set corresponding to the distance to the position where the center of the leftmost recording frame 17a is detected. The carriage 13 is moved by the movement control pulse _S2 , the position where the reflection plate 14 is attached and the position of the leftmost recording frame 17 are determined in advance, and the delay circuit 23 and the counter circuit 25 are moved by the movement control pulse S2. ₂ , it is easy to set the sum of the predetermined values of the counts as described above.

After a certain period of time has elapsed after time _t1 , the optical sensor 16 detects the recording frame 17a painted black, and its output signal _S4 changes from "L" to "H". Here, the time widths ta, tb, tc, td, and te in FIG. 5 correspond to the recording frames 17a to 17e in FIG.
It is supported even when it is detected.

At time t ₂ , the count value of the counter circuit 25 reaches a predetermined value, and the AND circuit 26 outputs the sampling signal S ₃ to the shift register 21 .
The shift register 21 takes in the output signal S ₄ (“H”) of the optical sensor 16 in synchronization with the sampling signal S ₃ and latches the information corresponding to the recording frame 17a.

At time t ₃ , the count value of the counter circuit 25 reaches the predetermined value again, and the AND circuit 26 outputs the sampling signal S ₃ to the shift register 21 . The predetermined value of this counter circuit 25 is
It is set corresponding to the pitch of recording frames 17a and 17b in No. 4. Since the pitch of the recording frame is predetermined, the carriage 13 is moved by the movement control pulse _S2 , and the counter circuit 25 counts the movement control pulse _S2 , it is easy to set the count value as described above. . The shift register 21 takes in the output signal S ₄ (“L”) of the optical sensor 16 in synchronization with the sampling signal S ₃ and latches the information for the recording frame 17b.

Thereafter, the information of the recording frames 17c, 17d, . . . is read in the same manner. When all reading is completed, the outputs 27a to 27h of the shift register 21
Each of the reading results is held in the . Note that if the scanning of the reflection plate 14 is repeated a plurality of times and majority logic is used, the influence of noise etc. can be removed.

FIG. 6 shows another example of a circuit for setting and switching the operating mode based on the output of the optical sensor shown in FIG. A bus driver 32 controlled by the microprocessor 31 allows the microprocessor 31 to detect the output of the optical sensor 16. The microprocessor 31 includes the delay circuit 23, counter 25, and shift register 2 shown in FIG.
1. It has a program that functions similarly to the operation of the AND circuit 26, and the memory 33 and output port 34 are for carrying out carriage control.

With the configuration as described above, the same operation as explained in FIG. 5 can be performed.

In the above embodiment, the information regarding the operation mode is recorded on the reflector and the reflected light is detected by the optical sensor. However, the information regarding the operation mode is recorded using a transparent member, a slit, etc., and transmitted light and passing light are detected. It may be detected by an optical sensor. Further, the position where the operation mode setting member such as the reflection plate is provided is not limited to the rear of the carriage, but may be above or below the carriage. Further, information regarding the operation mode may be recorded in the form of a bar code or the like and read, or magnetically recorded information may be read.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the carriage is provided with an optical detection means such as an optical sensor, and an operation mode setting member in which the optical information detected by the optical detection means is recorded on the scanning surface is set so that the scanning surface is in the moving direction of the carriage. The output of this optical detection means is used to set and switch the operating mode of the printing device, so even if the functions of the printing device become diversified, it can be used in many ways with a simple configuration. An operation mode setting device capable of setting and switching operation modes can be obtained. As a result, it is possible to reduce the hardware and the size of the device while improving the operability of mode setting, and it is also possible to reduce the price of the device.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an example of a conventional device, FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a front view of a reflector plate of the embodiment shown in FIG. Setting the operating mode based on the output of the optical sensor shown in the figure,
Figure 5 is a circuit diagram of an example of the switching circuit; Figure 5 is a timing chart of the operation of the circuit shown in Figure 4; Figure 6 is a circuit diagram of the circuit that switches and sets the operating mode based on the output of the optical sensor shown in Figure 2. FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of another example. 11... Printing platen, 12... Printing head, 13... Carriage, 14... Reflective plate, 15
...Light emitting element, 16... Optical sensor, 17a-17
h... Recording frame, S ₁ ... Reference position detection signal, S ₂ ...
Movement control pulse, _S3 ...sampling signal, 4...
...Light sensor output signal.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An operation mode setting member disposed so that a scanning surface is parallel to the moving direction of the carriage, and having optical information recorded on the scanning surface for instructing the operation mode of the printing device; an optical detection means that is mounted and scans the scanning surface and detects the optical information when the optical detection means is moved; and a setting switching means that sets and switches the operation mode of the printing device based on the output of the optical detection means. An operation mode setting device for a printing device.