JPH09131925A - Manual scanning printer - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Abstract: To provide a manual scanning printer capable of printing in vertical writing or horizontal writing only by scanning vertically or horizontally without selecting vertical writing and horizontal writing. A print head 2 includes a line head. The motor 18 rotates the print head 2. The encoders 6x and 6y detect the movement amounts in the x direction and the Y direction, respectively, in scanning printing. The CPU drives the motor 18 according to the outputs of the encoder 6x and the encoder 6y to rotate the print head 2 so that the line array of the print head 2 and the scanning direction are orthogonal to each other, and are synchronized with the output of the encoder 6x or the encoder 6y. The drive timing of the print head 2 is controlled to print vertically or horizontally.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a manual scanning type printing apparatus for manually scanning and printing on a printing medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a manual scanning type printing apparatus capable of printing on an arbitrary printing paper surface. Hereinafter, a conventional manual scanning printer will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, the structure of a conventional example will be described. FIG. 11 is an internal configuration diagram showing an internal configuration of a main part of a conventional manual scanning printer. Thermal head 51
Is a print head having a heating resistor and a drive circuit for driving the heating resistor. The ribbon reel 52 is rotatably mounted in the apparatus. The thermal transfer ink ribbon 53 is a recording material wound around the ribbon reel 52. The guide roller 54 guides the thermal transfer ink ribbon 53 from the ribbon roll 52 toward the thermal head 51. The feeding rollers 55 and 56 sandwich the thermal transfer ink ribbon 53 guided by the guide roller 54 and apply tension to the thermal transfer ink ribbon 53 between itself and the guide roller 54. The encoder 57 has a slit disk 58 and a photo interrupter 59, and the slit disk 58 is driven by the feeding roller 55 via a belt 60. The roller 61 rotates in contact with the surface of the printing paper together with the feeding roller 56 during scanning of the printing device.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a conventional CPU and its peripheral portion. Input unit 6
Reference numeral 2 has a transparent touch panel for inputting character recording data, and a segment display for pressing monitor under the panel. The character generator 63 uses kanji font data, kana font data, English character font data, and numeric font data (hereinafter simply referred to as font data).
Is output. The CPU 64 reads font data from the character generator 63 based on the character recording data input by the input unit 62. Based on the read font data, the thermal head 51 is driven only once for each predetermined scanning distance detected by the encoder 57. The display 65 is the CPU 64
The characters read by are displayed. Console 66
Specifies the vertical writing format and the horizontal writing format, and sets the enlargement ratio of Chinese characters and the like.

Next, the operation will be described. First, the console 66 selects either the vertical writing format or the horizontal writing format. Then, the character is input to the input unit 62. Then, the CPU 64 reads the font data from the character generator 63, and the characters are displayed on the display 65 according to the selected format.

Then, when the main body of the printing apparatus is placed on the paper and scanned rightward in FIG. 11, the ribbon reel 5
2, roller 61, guide roller 54, feeding roller 5
5 and 56 rotate, and the slit disk 58 of the encoder 57 rotates as the feeding roller 55 rotates. Therefore, the thermal head 51 uses the CPU based on the font data for each constant distance detected by the encoder 57.
Driven by 64.

[0007]

However, in the conventional manual scanning type printing apparatus, since the scanning printing direction is determined with respect to the printing apparatus body, it is necessary to carry the printing apparatus body differently according to the scanning direction. There is a problem.

Further, the scanner needs to select the vertical writing and the horizontal writing in advance before printing, and when the vertical writing and the horizontal writing are mixed, it is troublesome to reset each time.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a manual scanning type printer capable of scanning in any direction without changing the main body of the printer. Further, there is provided a manual scanning type printing device capable of printing vertically or horizontally by simply scanning vertically or horizontally without selecting vertical writing or horizontal writing.

[0010]

In order to achieve this object, in the manual scanning type printer according to claim 1 of the present invention, the first detecting means is provided with a predetermined predetermined value when the printing means scans. When the second detecting means detects the moving amount of the printing means in the direction different from that of the first detecting means, the control means detects the moving amount in the direction and the first detecting means and the second detecting means. The driving means controls the driving timing of the printing means in synchronization with the output signal of the first detection means or the second detection means according to the output of the printing means, and the rotation means rotates the printing means, Prints.

In the manual scanning printer according to the second aspect of the invention, the rotating means rotates the printing means such that the line array of the printing means is substantially orthogonal to the scanning direction.

In the manual scanning printer according to the third aspect of the present invention, the first detecting means detects the moving amount in the predetermined direction when the printing means scans, and the second detecting means. When the amount of movement of the printing unit in a direction different from that of the first detection unit is detected, the control unit determines which of the first and second line heads, depending on the outputs of the first detection unit and the second detection unit. One of them is selected, and the driving timing of the selected line head is controlled in synchronization with the output of the first detection means or the second detection means, and the printing means prints by the first or second line head. .

Further, in the manual scanning printer according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the control means selects either the vertical writing mode or the horizontal writing mode according to the output of the first detecting means and the second detecting means. Switch to

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, a first embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is an internal configuration diagram showing an internal configuration of a main part of a manual scanning printer, and FIG. 2 is a bottom view. The print head 2 is a line head that constitutes a printing unit, and is, for example, an inkjet head having a drive circuit. The ink tank 4 supplies ink to the print head 2. The motor 18 constitutes a rotating means and rotates the print head 2 and the ink tank 4. The encoders 6x and 6y forming the first and second detection means are slit disks 8x and 8x.
y and photo interrupters 10x and 10y, respectively. The slit disk 8x is in the x direction (see FIGS. 1 and 2).
It is configured to rotate when scanned in the right direction) and is driven by the ball 16a via the idle gear 12x and the roller 14x. Similarly, the slit disk 8y
Is configured to rotate when scanned in the y direction (frontward direction in FIG. 1, upward direction in FIG. 2).
It is driven by the ball 16a via the roller y and the roller 14y. The balls 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d rotate while making contact with the printing paper surface during scanning of the printing device.

FIG. 3 is a CPU according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a peripheral portion and a peripheral portion thereof. The input unit 30 has a transparent touch panel for inputting recorded data of characters, and a segment display for a press monitor under the panel. The character generator 32 outputs kanji font data, kana font data, English character font data, and numeric font data (hereinafter simply referred to as font data). The CPU 34 constitutes a control means, reads font data from the character generator 32 based on the character recording data input by the input unit 30, and determines whether to write vertically or horizontally based on the output signals of the encoders 6x and 6y. Then, the drive timing of the motor 18 and the drive timing of the print head 2 are controlled. The display 36 displays the characters read by the CPU 34. The console 38 sets the enlargement ratio of the print character.

Next, the operation will be described. First, the enlargement ratio of printing is set by the console 38. Then
Input characters into the input unit 30. Then, the font data is read from the character generator 32 by the CPU 34, and the characters are displayed on the display 36 according to the selected format. And the balls 16a,
The main body of the manual scanning printer is placed so that 16b, 16c and 16d are in contact with the paper.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the operation of the manual scanning type printer at the time of scanning printing. Here, it is assumed that horizontal writing is performed when scanning in the x direction in FIGS. 1 and 2, and vertical writing is performed when scanning in the y direction. For example, when it is desired to print horizontally, the balls 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d rotate when scanned to the right in FIG. 1 (step 1: S1; the same applies hereinafter) and the encoders 6x, 6y operate (S2). ). The CPU 34 compares the output signals of the encoder 6x and the encoder 6y and instantaneously determines whether the scanning direction is the x-axis direction or the y-axis direction (S3). When the scanning direction is the x-axis direction, it is determined whether or not the angle of the print head 2 is for horizontal writing (angle in FIG. 2) (S4). If the head angle is for vertical writing, the head for horizontal writing is used. Is rotated (S5). The print head 2 is driven by the CPU 34 based on the font data and is printed horizontally, at every constant distance detected by the encoder 6x (S6).

Similarly, when it is desired to print vertically, the CPU 34 determines the scanning direction by scanning in the y-axis direction (S3),
It is determined whether or not the angle of the print head 2 is for vertical writing (S7), and if the head angle is for horizontal writing, the head is rotated for vertical writing (S8). The print head 2 is driven by the CPU 34 on the basis of the font data and is printed vertically in every predetermined distance detected by the encoder 6y (S9).

Here, in the first embodiment,
When changing between vertical writing and horizontal writing, the print head 2 and the ink tank 4 are rotated together, but the ink tank 4 is fixed and only the print head 2 is driven by the motor 18.
You can rotate it with.

As described above, even if vertical writing or horizontal writing is not selected in advance, it is possible to print vertically or horizontally by simply scanning the manual scanning printer vertically or horizontally.

Next, the configuration of the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 is an internal configuration diagram showing an internal configuration of a main part of the manual scanning printer, and FIG. 6 is a bottom view. Hereinafter, the same components as those in the first embodiment will be designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. Print head 3 that constitutes the printing means
Is, for example, two sets of ink jet type line heads 3.
x and 3y are provided in directions orthogonal to each other and have a drive circuit.

FIG. 7 shows a CPU according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a peripheral portion and a peripheral portion thereof. The CPU 35 constitutes a control means, reads font data from the character generator 32 based on the character recording data input by the input unit 30, and determines whether to write vertically or horizontally based on the output signals of the encoders 6x and 6y. Then, the drive timing of the line head 3x or 3y of the print head 3 is controlled.

Next, the operation will be described. The input of characters is the same as that in the first embodiment, and therefore its description is omitted. FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing print scanning of the manual scanning type printer. Here, horizontal scanning is performed when scanning is performed in the x direction in FIGS. 6 and 7, and vertical writing is performed when scanning is performed in the y direction. For example, if you want to print in horizontal writing, scan to the right in FIG.
6a, 16b, 16c and 16d rotate (S11), and encoders 6x and 6y operate (S12). CPU35
Compares the output signals of the encoder 6x and the encoder 6y and instantly determines whether the scanning direction is the x-axis direction or the y-axis direction (S13). When the scanning direction is the x-axis direction, the line head 3x of the print head 3 is driven by the CPU 35 based on the font data and is printed horizontally, at every constant distance detected by the encoder 6x (S14).

Similarly, when it is desired to print vertically, the CPU 35 determines the scanning direction by scanning in the y-axis direction (S1).
3), the line head 3y of the print head 3 is driven by the CPU 35 based on the font data and is printed vertically, at every constant distance detected by the encoder 6y (S15).

In addition to the features of the first embodiment, the manual scanning type printing apparatus of the second embodiment described above does not require the print head 3 to rotate, and therefore is mechanically simple and scans. The time from the start to the start of printing can be shortened.

Here, the scanning and printing direction of the manual scanning type printing apparatus in each embodiment is considered, but it can be considered other than the method of completely scanning in the x-axis direction or the y-axis direction. For example, the scanning direction is x-axis (horizontal writing) and y as shown in FIG.
When the axes (vertical writing) are used and scanning is performed as indicated by broken lines, the encoders 6x and 6y output signals as shown in FIG. The CPU compares the count values of the output signals of the encoders 6x and 6y, determines that there are more encoders 6x, and prints italic horizontal writing. Alternatively, if the configuration is made such that vertical writing or horizontal writing can be selected and an encoder synchronized with the print head can be selected, italic characters can be printed in both vertical writing and horizontal writing. When the text displayed on the display 36 can be printed not only from the front side but also from the back side (scanning in the reverse direction), as shown in FIG. Area X2 is reverse horizontal writing, diagonal area Y1 is normal vertical writing, and diagonal area Y2 is reverse vertical writing.

Further, when the printing means of the manual scanning type printing apparatus is composed of an ink jet head, printing can be carried out even on a printing medium having an uneven surface and at a low cost.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, but can take any form without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

For example, the line heads forming the print head do not have to be in a single row. In order to improve the resolution of printed characters, a plurality of lines of line heads that are offset from each other may be provided. The print head may be a method other than the inkjet method, for example, a thermal transfer method or a toner flying method.

Further, for example, the scanning type printing apparatus may be configured not to include an input unit or the like, but to be used by being connected to an external text editing apparatus such as a personal computer like an ordinary printer. In this case, it is composed of an interface for inputting character data from a personal computer, a print head, a CPU and its peripheral devices.

[0032]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the manual scanning type printing device of the first aspect of the present invention, the printing means is rotated in accordance with the scanning direction of the printing device main body. You can scan and print in any direction without changing the body.

Further, according to the manual scanning type printing device of the second aspect, since the printing means is rotated so that the line array thereof is substantially orthogonal to the scanning direction, printing can be performed in the direction orthogonal to the scanning direction. .

In the manual scanning printer according to the third aspect of the present invention, the printing is performed by either the first line head or the second line head of the printing means according to the scanning direction of the printer main body. It is possible to scan and print in a free direction without changing the print head, and since it is not necessary to rotate the printing means, it is mechanically simple and the time from the start of scanning to the start of printing can be shortened.

Further, in the manual scanning type printing apparatus according to the present invention, since the vertical writing and the horizontal writing are switched according to the scanning direction of the printing apparatus main body, the vertical writing or the horizontal writing is not selected in advance. Alternatively, it is possible to print vertically or horizontally by simply scanning horizontally.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an internal configuration diagram of a main part of a manual scanning printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the manual scanning printer according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a CPU and its peripheral portion in the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation at the time of print scanning in the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an internal configuration diagram of a main part of a manual scanning printer according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the manual scanning printer according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a CPU and its peripheral portion in the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation during print scanning in the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a relationship between a scanning direction and a printing direction (vertical writing or horizontal writing) in each embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an output signal example of an encoder in each embodiment.

FIG. 11 is an internal configuration diagram of a main part of a manual scanning printer according to a conventional example.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a CPU and its peripheral portion in a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 print head 3 print head 6x encoder 6y encoder 18 motor 34 CPU 35 CPU

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A printing means comprising a line head, a rotating means for rotating the printing means, and a first means for detecting a movement amount in a predetermined direction when the printing means is scanned. Detecting means, second detecting means for detecting the amount of movement of the printing means in a direction different from that of the first detecting means, and according to outputs of the first detecting means and the second detecting means. Manual scanning type printing, characterized in that it is provided with a control means for driving the rotating means and controlling the drive timing of the printing means in synchronization with the output signal of the first detection means or the second detection means. apparatus. 2. The manual scanning printer according to claim 1, wherein the rotating unit rotates the printing unit so that a line array of the printing unit is substantially orthogonal to the scanning direction. 3. A printing means comprising first and second line heads provided in directions substantially orthogonal to each other, and a moving amount in a predetermined direction when the printing means is scanned. First detecting means for detecting, second detecting means for detecting an amount of movement of the printing means in a direction different from that of the first detecting means, and first detecting means and second detecting means Either the first line head or the second line head is selected according to the output, and the drive timing of the selected line head is controlled in synchronization with the output of the first detection unit or the second detection unit. A manual scanning printer comprising: a control unit. 4. The control means switches the printing method by the printing means to either vertical writing or horizontal writing according to the outputs of the first detecting means and the second detecting means. Item 5. A manual scanning printer according to any one of items 1 to 3.