JPH07178997A - Serial printer - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] To print with high reliability the recording sheets bound by a temporary binding unit. [Structure] Stop prohibition area setting means 13 for setting a stop prohibition area of a carriage based on a signal from the paper width detection means 7
And a print end position determination means 16 for determining the position of the recording head 2 at the time when one line is printed based on the print data stored in the input buffer 19, and a planned carriage stop position after printing one line. Is included in the stop prohibition region, the carriage drive unit 14 that continuously moves the recording head 2 to the outside of the stop prohibition region without stopping it, and the paper feed control unit that feeds the paper when the carriage 1 is stopped. 17 and when the position of the recording head 2 at the planned carriage stop position after printing is in the stop prohibition area such as the temporary binding portion, the carriage speed is maintained as it is and the carriage is evacuated outside the stop prohibition area. Then, paper feed is executed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer suitable for printing on a recording sheet such as a recording sheet obtained by temporarily binding a plurality of recording sheets by gathers, the edge of which is relatively prone to protrude from the platen.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When copying and printing the same data on a plurality of recording papers P1, P2, P3, in order to prevent misalignment between the papers, a part of the recording papers P1 and P2, A recording sheet P having a temporary binding portion H called a gather, which is punched by penetrating the sheet, is loaded into the sheet feeding mechanism 50,
It is conveyed between the platen 51 and the recording head 52. Although the printing area of the paper having such a temporary binding portion flexibly bends in accordance with the surface shape of the paper feeding mechanism 50, both ends having the temporary binding portion are difficult to bend because the rigidity of the temporary binding portion is high, and this portion is sometimes broken by the platen. Lift from the surface. If printing of one line happens to reach the end of the printing area in the state where the both edges are raised, the recording head or the face plate attached to the recording head may stop facing the raised portion. become. When the paper is fed to print the next line in this state, the recording head 52 comes into contact with the raised portion and damages the recording head 52, or damages the recording paper P and causes the paper to be printed in subsequent printing operations. There is a problem of causing clogging.

In order to solve such a problem, a provisional binding portion detection mechanism is provided at a position facing the edge of the recording paper, and when it is detected that the recording head is opposed to the provisional binding portion and stopped. A serial printer that retracts the recording head from this position to perform paper feeding (Japanese Patent Publication No. 58-40518).
No. gazette and Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Sho 63-23154) and the position of the outermost edge of the print data that has already been printed is updated and stored, and the end position of the current print line and the stored printing time are stored. If the print end position is on the outer edge side of the stored position by comparing with the position, the serial printer is configured to retract the recording head from the temporary binding portion and then perform paper feeding (Patent Document 5). -52279 gazette) is proposed. However, the former device requires a provisional binding detection mechanism and has a problem that the structure is complicated, and the latter device makes a judgment operation by comparing each time when printing of one line is completed, resulting in a decrease in throughput. May be caused.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to improve throughput without requiring a provisional binding detection mechanism. It is to provide a new serial printer capable.

[0005]

In order to solve such a problem, according to the present invention, a platen, a carriage which is movable in the axial direction of the platen, and on which a recording head and a paper width detecting means are mounted, and the carriage. And a paper feed mechanism, a stop prohibition area setting means for setting a carriage stop prohibition area based on a signal from the paper width detection means, and one line printing based on the print data stored in the input buffer. End position determination means for determining the position of the recording head at the end of the time, and when the planned stop position of the carriage after the completion of printing of one line is included in the stop prohibition area, the recording head is not stopped. Carriage drive means for continuing to move to the outside of the stop prohibition area, and paper feed control for feeding paper when the carriage stops It was so and a stage. During the printing operation, the position of the recording head at the planned carriage stop position after printing is judged, and if this position is in the stop prohibition area set by the stop prohibition area setting means, the printing speed is maintained as it is. Then, the sheet is saved outside the stop prohibition area and then stopped, and the paper feed for printing the next line is executed.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of the present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a carriage on which a recording head 2 is mounted, which is movably provided on a guide member 4 arranged parallel to a platen 3 and has a timing. The belt 5 is connected to a carriage motor 6 and reciprocates in parallel with the platen 3. Reference numeral 7 denotes a paper width detection means mounted on the carriage 1, which is composed of a light emitting element and a light receiving element in this embodiment. When the carriage 1 is moved in the main scanning direction, the platen 3 and the recording paper P are exposed to light. The paper width of the loaded recording paper P is detected by utilizing the difference in signal level caused by the large difference in reflectance.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a control device which operates the carriage so as not to perform the paper feed control in a state where the recording head 2 is stopped in the temporary binding area of the recording paper by using the paper width detection signal from the paper width detection means 7. To control. That is, reference numeral 11 in the drawing is an edge detection means, which converts the analog signal (FIG. 2 (a)) from the paper width detection means 7 into a binary signal at a predetermined level Ls to determine the end portions E1 and E2 of the recording paper. (Fig. 2
(B)) The coordinates of the end portions E1 and E2 of the recording paper P loaded, for example, the number of digits from the home position is detected based on a signal from the head position detecting means described later. Reference numeral 12 denotes a stop prohibition area storage means for the recording head 2 with respect to the standardized paper widths W of plural kinds of recording paper.
Is stored by storing the coordinates (FIG. 3) of the regions ΔW1 and ΔW2 in which the stop of the operation is prohibited.

Numeral 13 is a stop prohibition area setting means, which is an edge portion E1 of the recording paper P detected by the edge detection means 11.
The data of the stop prohibition areas ΔW1 and ΔW2 to be set for E2 is read from the stop prohibition area storage means 12, and the planned carriage stop position after the printing is completed based on the data from the print end position determination means 16 described later. When it is determined that the recording head 1 is positioned in the set stop prohibition area, a signal for instructing the carriage driving means 14 to continue moving is output.

The carriage drive means 14 controls the movement of the carriage 1 in response to a signal from the stop prohibition area setting means 13 in addition to the normal movement of the carriage for executing the printing process. The carriage motor 6 is controlled by a signal from the setting means 13 so that the carriage 1 is moved a predetermined distance further outside the position where the carriage 1 stops at the end of printing one line, and then decelerated and stopped.

Reference numeral 15 denotes the head position detecting means described above, which counts the number of pulses output from the carriage driving means 14 to the stepping motor 6 with the home position as a reference, and converts this value into a digit number for the recording head 2. Is output as position data. Reference numeral 16 denotes a print end position determination unit that determines the print end position of one line based on the print data input from the host to the input buffer 19 prior to the printing of one line, and uses this position data as the stop prohibition area setting unit. It is output to 13. Reference numeral 17 denotes a paper feed control means for driving a paper feed motor (not shown) to carry out normal paper feed for one line and a paper discharge operation at the time when the drive pulse output from the carriage drive means 14 is stopped. Is.

Next, the operation of the apparatus thus constructed will be described with reference to FIG.
It will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG. When the power is turned on (step a), the carriage 1 moves to the home position (step b), and the recording paper P can be loaded. In this state, when the loading switch (not shown) is pressed (step C) and the loading of the recording paper is completed, the carriage 1 moves from the home position toward the other end. As a result, a signal is output from the paper width detection means 7 mounted on the carriage 1 at positions corresponding to both ends of the recording paper. As a result, the paper width W of the recording paper P just loaded can be detected.

On the other hand, the edge detecting means 11 stores the number of carriage movement digits at the time when each signal is output, for example, "0" and "136" (step D).
The stop prohibition area setting means 13 determines the stop prohibition area storage means 12 based on the positions of the edges E1 and E2 of the recording paper, that is, the number of digits and the paper width W detected by the edge detection means 11.
The stop prohibiting areas ΔW1 and ΔW2 of the recording paper are read out from the data stored in and set (step
E).

When the print data is input to the input buffer 19 when the preparation is completed in this way (step
F) Printing of print data is started (step),
At the same time, the print end position determination means 16 determines the input buffer 19
Based on the data of (1), it is determined whether the planned carriage stop position after printing is within the stop prohibition regions ΔW1 and ΔW2 (step H). 1 if the planned carriage stop position after printing is not within the stop prohibition areas ΔW1 and ΔW2
When the printing of the lines is completed (step), the carriage is stopped while decelerating, and the paper feeding operation is executed in the direction indicated by the symbol B in the figure (I in FIG. 5) (step I).
Wa).

When the print data of the next line is input to the input buffer 19 (step F), printing is executed again (step), and at the same time, the print end position determination means 16 prints based on the data input to the buffer 19. It is determined whether or not the planned carriage stop position after the end is in the stop prohibition area (step H). When the print end position of the print data falls within the stop prohibition areas ΔW1 and ΔW2, even when the printing of the data for one line is completed (step), the carriage 1 is not decelerated and the same speed as when printing is executed. And move it further in the direction C that was just printed (Fig. 5 II).
(Staple), Carriage 1 is the stop prohibition area ΔW2
When the sheet passes through (step E), the carriage 1 is decelerated and stopped to execute the paper feeding operation (FIG. 5 III).
(Stepwa).

In the following, the position where the recording head 2 stops is preliminarily determined based on the print data of the input buffer 19 as described above, and when the recording head 2 reaches the stop prohibition regions ΔW1 and ΔW2 at the end of printing one line, , The paper feed operation is executed after continuously moving to the outside of the stop prohibition regions ΔW1 and ΔW2 without reducing the speed.

As a result, the contact between the temporary binding portion H and the bent portion of the sheet and the recording head 1 caused by the temporary binding portion H can be avoided without causing a time loss for the retracting operation from the stop prohibition regions ΔW1 and ΔW2. The printing operation can be continued. Further, even if the recording head 1 is once moved to the outside of the printing area for saving, by using this saving area as an acceleration area, when it reaches the end, it is accelerated to a constant speed suitable for printing. Since it has been completed, it is possible to avoid printing in a state where the moving speed is unstable such as acceleration area printing, and it is possible to improve the printing quality.

In this embodiment, an example of the printing process from the left to the right in the drawing has been described, but it is clear that the same function can be applied to the reciprocal printing for printing from the right side to the left side. is there.

Further, in this embodiment, the position of the recording head 2 is detected by counting the drive pulses of the stepping motor 6 for driving the carriage 1. However, the carriage drive member detects a position such as an encoder. It is obvious that the same effect can be obtained even if the means is provided and the position is detected by the signal from this.

FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of the present invention in which the carriage 20 is moved perpendicularly to the axial direction of the platen 3 so that the thickness of the recording sheet is detected and the distance between the platen 3 and the recording head 2 becomes an optimum value. Second applied to a printer with the function to
In the drawings, reference numeral 20 in the drawing is a carriage on which the impact wire type recording head 2 and the paper width detecting means 7 are mounted, and is a guide rotatably attached to the base in an eccentric state. It is provided on the shaft 22 and the fixed guide shaft 23, and is configured to be movable in a direction indicated by an arrow D in the drawing.

As a result, the relative gap length G to the platen 3 can be changed and adjusted by the amount of rotation of the guide shaft 22. As shown in FIG. 7, the carriage 20 is connected to a carriage motor 25 via a timing belt 28 as in a normal printer, and reciprocates in the platen axis direction indicated by an arrow F in the drawing with a set gap G. It is possible.

Returning to FIG. 6 again, reference numeral 30 in the figure denotes a stepping motor for rotating the guide shaft 22, which is connected to the driven vehicle 27 of the guide shaft 22 via the reduction gear 26. An encoder 31 is attached to the shaft of the stepping motor 30. Reference numeral 33 denotes a position detecting means, which outputs a signal when the carriage 20 is most retracted from the platen 3 and reaches the reference position.
On the other hand, a member that drives the carriage 20 in the main scanning direction, in this embodiment, the idler 34 of the timing belt 28 is provided with a second encoder 35.

A platen gap control means 36 drives the stepping motor 30 to retract the carriage 20 to the position detecting means 33 in a state where the recording paper is loaded, and then advances the carriage 20 toward the platen 3 to move the recording head 2. The position where the drive pulse of the stepping motor 30 and the output pulse from the encoder 31 have a time difference of a certain time or more when the recording sheet P is brought into contact with the recording paper P is detected by the encoder 30, and based on this value. In addition to the so-called platen gap adjusting function of adjusting the position of the carriage 20 by the stepping motor 30 from the reference position to the predetermined position, the stepping motor is also provided to expand the platen gap based on a command from the control device 40 described later. Controlling 30 and outputting a signal after the expansion operation is completed A.

Reference numeral 40 denotes the above-described control device, which uses the paper width detection signal from the paper width detection means 7 to feed the paper while the recording head 2 is stopped at the temporary binding area of the recording paper at the printable platen gap. The operation of the carriage is controlled so that the control is not performed. That is, reference numeral 41 in the drawing
Is an edge detecting means which converts the analog signal (FIG. 2A) from the paper width detecting means 7 into a binary signal at a predetermined level Ls to judge the end portions E1 and E2 of the recording paper (see FIG. )),
The coordinates of the end portions E1 and E2 of the recording paper P loaded, for example, the number of digits from the home position is detected based on a signal from a head position detecting means described later. Four
Reference numeral 2 denotes a stop-prohibited area storage means, which is configured to store the coordinates (FIG. 3) of the areas ΔW1 and ΔW2 in which the recording head 2 is prohibited from stopping on a plurality of standardized recording sheets. .

Reference numeral 43 is a stop prohibition area setting means, which is an end portion E1 of the recording paper P detected by the edge detection means 41.
The data of the stop prohibition regions ΔW1 and ΔW2 to be set for E2 is read from the stop prohibition region storage means 42, and based on the data from the print end position determination means 46 which will be described later, the planned carriage stop position after printing is completed When it is determined that the recording head 1 is located in the set stop prohibition area, a signal is output to the platen gap change command means 44.

Reference numeral 45 denotes the above-mentioned head position detecting means, which counts the number of pulse signals from the encoder 34 with the home position as a reference, and converts this value into a digit number and outputs it as position data of the recording head 2. Is.
Reference numeral 46 denotes a print end position determination unit that determines the print end position of one line based on the print data input from the host to the input buffer 19 prior to the printing of one line, and uses this position data as the stop prohibition area setting unit. It is output to 43.
47 is a paper feed control means, which is a stop prohibition area setting means 4
This is for prohibiting the paper feeding operation until a platen enlargement end signal is input from the platen gap control means 36 when a signal is output from 3 and the platen gap enlargement operation is performed. Reference numeral 48 in the figure stores the value of the platen gap G set at the beginning of printing.

Next, the operation of the apparatus thus constructed will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. When the power is turned on (step a), the carriage 1 moves to the home position (step b) and the recording paper can be loaded. In this state, when a loading switch (not shown) is pressed (step C) and the loading of the recording paper is completed, the carriage is driven by the stepping motor 30 by the platen gap adjusting operation so that the platen gap G optimum for the currently loaded recording paper is obtained. 20 is driven (step d).

When the adjustment of the platen gap is completed, the carriage 1 moves from the home position toward the other end. As a result, signals are output from the paper width detection means 7 mounted on the carriage 1 at positions corresponding to both ends of the recording paper, and the paper width W of the recording paper P just loaded is detected. The edge detection means 41 determines the number of carriage movement digits at the time of outputting each signal, for example, “0” and “1”.
36 ”is stored (step E). The stop-prohibited area setting means 43 positions the edges E1 and E2 of the recording paper detected by the edge detection means 41, that is, the number of digits and the paper width W.
Based on the above, the stop prohibition areas ΔW1 and ΔW2 of the recording sheet are read out from the data stored in the stop prohibition area storage means 42 and set (step F).

When the print data is input to the input buffer 19 (step), printing of the print data is started (step), and at the same time, the print end position determining means 46 determines the print end position based on the data in the input buffer 19 after the print end. It is determined whether or not the planned carriage stop position is within the stop prohibition regions ΔW1 and ΔW2 (step). If the planned carriage stop position after printing is not within the stop prohibition areas ΔW1 and ΔW2, when the printing for one line is completed (step N), the carriage 1 is stopped while decelerating without changing the platen gap. Then, the paper feeding operation is executed (FIG. 9I) (step).

When the print data of the next line is input to the input buffer 19 (step), printing is executed again (step), and at the same time, the print end position determination means 46 prints based on the data input to the buffer 19. It is determined whether or not the planned carriage stop position after the end is in the stop prohibition area (step). If the planned carriage stop position after printing the print data is within the stop prohibition areas ΔW1 and ΔW2, when the printing of one line of data is completed (step E), the carriage 1 is decelerated and stopped. ). At the same time, the platen gap change command means 4
Reference numeral 4 outputs a signal to the platen gap control means 36 to operate the platen gap adjusting stepping motor 30 to retract the carriage 1 in the vertical axis direction of the platen 3 and pass the recording paper P even if it is floating. Adjust the gap G'to the extent possible (Fig. 9 II) (step C). Paper feed is executed in this state, and after the paper feed is completed, the stepping motor 30 is operated based on the data stored in the platen gap storage means 48 to adjust the carriage 1 to the platen gap G suitable for printing (step yo). ).

According to this embodiment, the save area for avoiding the stop prohibition area is unnecessary, so that the printer can be downsized.

In this embodiment, the printing process from left to right in the drawing is taken as an example, but it is clear that the same function also applies to reciprocal printing for printing from right to left. is there. Further, in this embodiment, the position of the recording head is calculated based on the signal from the encoder. However, when a stepping motor is used as the carriage driving motor, the driving pulse of the stepping motor may be counted. Good.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, the platen, the carriage which is movable in the axial direction of the platen, and on which the recording head and the paper width detecting means are mounted, the motor for driving the carriage, and the paper A stop mechanism for setting a carriage stop prohibition area based on a signal from the paper width detection means, and a recording head at the time when one line is printed based on the print data stored in the input buffer. If the carriage stop planned position after the end of printing of one line is included in the stop prohibition area, the print end position determining means for determining the position of the print head is continued outside the stop prohibition area without stopping the recording head. Since the carriage driving means for moving and the paper feeding control means for feeding the paper when the carriage is stopped are provided, Without incurring Zatsuka, yet it is possible to improve the throughput can control retraction operation based on the width of the recording paper detected in the print beginning.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation of determining an end portion of a recording edge.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a stop prohibition area.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the above apparatus.

5 (I) to (III) are explanatory views showing the operation of the above-mentioned apparatus, respectively.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention with a structure as viewed from the side.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a front structure of the same device.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation of the same apparatus.

9 (I) and (II) are explanatory views showing the operation of the above-mentioned device, respectively.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a recording sheet in which a plurality of recording sheets are bound by a temporary binding section.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Carriage 2 Recording Head 3 Platen 6 Carriage Drive Motor 7 Paper Width Detection Unit P Recording Paper

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A platen, a carriage that is movable in the axial direction of the platen, and has a recording head and a paper width detecting means mounted thereon, a motor that drives the carriage, and a paper feeding mechanism. Stop prohibition area setting means for setting a stop prohibition area of the carriage based on the print stop position determining means for determining the position of the recording head at the time when one line is printed based on the print data stored in the input buffer. When the planned carriage stop position after the completion of printing of one line is included in the stop prohibition area, the carriage drive means for continuously moving the recording head to the outside of the stop prohibition area without stopping the recording head, and the carriage. A serial printer including a paper feed control unit that feeds paper when the paper feed is stopped. 2. A platen, a carriage that is movable in the axial direction of the platen, and has a recording head and a paper width detecting means, a motor for driving the carriage, a paper feeding mechanism, and a thickness of recording paper. And a platen gap adjusting mechanism for adjusting the platen gap, and a stop prohibiting area setting means for setting a carriage stop prohibiting area based on a signal from the paper width detecting means, and one line based on print data stored in the input buffer. End position determining means for determining the position of the recording head at the time when the printing of the above is finished, and when the planned stop position of the carriage after the printing of one line is included in the stop inhibition area, the platen gap adjusting mechanism is used. Platen gap change command means for expanding the platen gap and returning it to the original position after a predetermined time, and platen gap adjustment Serial printer to become and a paper feed control means for performing paper feeding.