JPS61110575A - printer - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Technical dialect-field- The present invention relates to a printer.

In general, various printers such as type wheel printers, thermal printers, inkjet printers, and dot impact printers are equipped with a paper end sensor that detects the end of paper, and when the paper end sensor detects the end of paper, , all functions (operations) of the printer are stopped.

However, when an automatic paper feeding device called an auto sheet feeder (hereinafter collectively referred to as rAsFJ) is installed, even if the paper end sensor detects the paper end, the A
If there is paper in the SF, there is no need to stop all functions of the printer; all functions of the printer can be stopped when the ASF reaches the paper end.

Therefore, conventionally, the printer is provided with an ASF detector that detects whether or not the ASF is installed, and the ASF is also equipped with an ASF paper end sensor that detects whether or not the paper has reached the end. The detection signal of the sensor is input to the printer via a connector or the like.

Therefore, for printers equipped with ASF, separate A
An SF detector must be installed, and a connector must be connected to input the signal of the ASF paper end sensor to the printer.
The configuration of the ASF becomes complicated, and since the connector must be connected when the ASF is mounted, mounting the ASF is troublesome.

This invention has been made in view of the point 1-1, and it not only simplifies the configuration of a printer and an automatic paper feeder, but also
The purpose is to facilitate the installation of an automatic paper feeder.

Structure: In order to achieve the object 11), the present invention is provided with a paper feed operation permission means for permitting the paper feed operation to be executed even when the paper end sensor cell detects the paper end.

Hereinafter, a detailed explanation will be given based on one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an example of a printer equipped with an automatic paper feeder according to the present invention.

This printer 1 is partially equipped with an automatic paper feeder (ASF) 2.

The outer casing of the printer 1 includes an F case 3 and a "-case 4" which house a mechanism section and a control section, and a type wheel N port 5.
It consists of a cover 5 that can be opened and closed for replacing a phone cassette, etc., and a character scale 6 is attached to the cover 5.

On the other hand, the ASF2 has a built-in hopper 7 for setting cut paper, a paper guide 8 for holding down the paper set in the hopper 7 from the side, and a mechanism for automatically feeding out the paper set in the hopper 7 one by one. It is equipped with a feeding section 9 and the like.

Also, on the front of the case 4 of this printer 1.

Although not shown, various switches and various indicators such as a ribbon end indicator and a paper empty indicator are installed.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are a schematic plan view and a front view showing the mechanism of this printer.

This mechanical section has a platen 12 rotatably mounted between the frames +1 and 11, which wraps and feeds the paper to be printed.

This platen 12 is moved by a motor gear 14. The IGI 7 is moved via an idle gear 15, a gear 16° that moves together with the idle gear 15, a timing belt 17, and a platen gear 18 to automatically feed the paper.

Furthermore, knobs 19 are provided at both ends of the platen 12, respectively.
19 is fixed and can be rotated manually by turning this knob 19i9.

Further, an ASF2 platen gear 20 is fixed to the opposite side of the shaft of the platen 12 from the platen gear 18.

Further, in front of the platen 12, as shown in FIG. 1, a paper pail 23 equipped with a pail roller 22 is swingably biased toward the platen 12.

- On the other hand, the carriage 27 is attached to the platen 12 on the lot 25 and lot 26 fixed between the frames 11 and 11.
It is placed so that it can move in parallel in the axial direction.

This carriage 27 has a type wheel 28 at its tip 1;
It is equipped with a selection motor 29 consisting of an attached stepping motor, a printing hammer 30 that hits the type on the selection motor type wheel 28, and a ribbon feed mechanism (not shown), and a ribbon cassette 32 loaded with an ink ribbon 31 on its upper surface. It is installed.

A space motor 35 consisting of a stepping motor is attached to the subframe 34, and a space gear 716 is attached to the rotating shaft of this space motor 35.

Further, on both sides of the sub-frame 34, 34', a pulley 38 integrally formed with a gear 37 that meshes with a space gear 36 of a space motor 35 is rotatably mounted, and a guide pulley 39 is rotatably mounted. .

Then, a space wire 40 is stretched between these pulleys 38 and guide pulleys 39, and this space wire 40
The end of the carriage 27 is fixed to the side of the carriage 27, and the carriage 27 is moved parallel to the platen 12 by a space motor 71+5.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the main parts of the printer 1 and the ASF 2.

First, at the bottom of the platen 12 of the printer 1.

A deflector 41 that guides the paper along its periphery is fixedly arranged, and the bracket 42 has a rotating deflector 41 ([
Two pressure rollers 43° and 44, which are double-stamped, are arranged.

The bracket 1 to 42 to which the two pressure rollers 43 and 44 are attached is rotatably supported at the - end of the lever 45, and the middle of the lever 45 is supported by a stay 46, and the other end is connected to the other end as described above. A tension coil spring 47 is engaged between the stay 46 fixed to the frame 11 and biased toward the platen 12, whereby the two pressure rollers 43
．． 44 is brought into pressure contact with the platen 12.

A paper end sensor 51 consisting of a reflective photosensor is attached to a sensor bracket 52 fitted with a screw l to a stay 47, facing the platen 12 through a through hole 41a formed in the deflector 41. .

On the other hand, inside the paper transport section 9 of the ASF 2, there is a printer 1.
A first eye gear 55 that meshes with the platen gear 20 that moves together with the platen 12, a second idler gear 56 that meshes with the first idler gear 55 and transmits torque, and a drive gear that meshes with the second idler gear 56. 57 and a delivery roller 58 that is integrally attached to the drive gear 57 and that delivers the paper P in the hopper 7 are supported by a frame (not shown).

Note that a one-way clutch is engaged in the first eye 1 lug gear 55 so that the rotation of the platen gear 20 in the direction of arrow B is not transmitted to the delivery roller 58, and the delivery is performed only when the platen gear 20 rotates in the direction of arrow A. A roller 58 rotates to send out the paper.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of a control section of this printer.

This control unit includes a printer interface 61 consisting of a Centronics parallel interface or an R3232C serial interface, and a CPtJ and ROM.
, a microcomputer consisting of RAM, Ilo, etc.
and a mask control circuit 62 which also serves as paper feeding operation permission means configured in the system.

Consists of various control circuits and drive circuits.

The printer interface 61 receives print code data (print information) and space (carriage movement amount) data from the host 1-system side.

Various data such as line feed data are input.

The mask control circuit 62 controls each section based on various data transferred from the host system to the second printer interface 61, busy signals from each control circuit described later, detection signals from various sensors, etc.

In other words, this mask control circuit 62 uses line foot data L F indicating the amount and direction of rotation of the platen 12.
D, space data SPD indicating the amount and direction of movement of the carriage 27, printing pressure data HMD indicating the drive of the printing hammer 30, ribbon feed data R+'(r) indicating the feet of the ink ribbon 31, and the printing wheel 28. Selection data S indicating rotation amount and rotation direction
It outputs ELD etc. to control each part.

The line feed control circuit 63 outputs a drive pulse to the line feed driver 64 based on line feed data L F r ) from the mask control surface path 62 to drive and control the line feed motor 13 to move the platen 12 in a required direction. At the same time, a line feed busy signal L F B is output to the mask control circuit 62.

The space control circuit 65 controls the space driver 6 based on the space data SPI') from the mask control circuit 62.
6 to drive and control the space motor 35 to move the carriage 27 a required amount in a required direction, and output a space busy signal SPB to the mask control circuit 62.

The hammer control circuit 67 outputs a drive pulse to the hammer driver 68 based on the printing pressure data HMr) from the mask control circuit 62 to drive and control the hammer magnet I-3OA that constitutes the printing hammer 30, and the hammer 30B drives the printing type. The characters on the wheel 28 are struck with the required printing pressure, and a hammer busy signal HM is sent to the mask control circuit 62.
Output R.

The ribbon control circuit 6S selects ribbon 1 and life buff 0 according to ribbon feed data RBD from the mask control circuit 62.
Output a drive pulse to the ribbon fee] - Motor 7
1 to feed the ink ribbon 31 by a required amount.

The selection control circuit 72 drives and controls the selection motor 29 by applying a drive pulse /I' to the selection driver 73 based on the selection data SELD of the mask control circuit 62 (I). is rotated by the required amount in the required direction to position the type to be printed at the position where it is struck by the printing hammer 30, and at the same time sends a selection busy signal S to the master control circuit 62.
Outputs E +-B.

The mask control circuit 62 also includes a paper end sensor 51.
Input the detection signal from +E to stop the printer operation.
+Paper empty indicator 7 that resumes operation, controls carriage movement, etc., and also indicates that paper is running out.
4 lighting control.

Note that the mask control circuit 62 includes these sensors,
In addition to the switches, instruction signals from various switches provided on the operation panel are also input, and control based on these signals is also executed, but their explanation will be omitted.

Next, the operation of this embodiment constructed in this way will be explained with reference to FIG. 6. 6(A) shows the paper end detection result (no paper/paper present) by the paper end sensor 51, and FIG. 6(B) shows the flow of processing by the mask control circuit 62.

First, when the ASF is installed, no paper is set when the power is turned on, so the detection result of the paper end sensor 51 is "No paper".

On the other hand, when the ASF paper insertion command is input, the mask control circuit 62 stops the paper feeding operation (line feed/back line feed) even if the paper end sensor 51 detects the paper end (no paper). without any
Execute paper feed operation (paper insertion).

That is, the mask control circuit 62 first drives and controls the line feed motor 13 to move the platen 12 as indicated by the arrow A in FIG.
As a result, the feed roller 58 of the AS Ii' 2 rotates to feed the paper P to the printer 1.

Therefore, the mask control circuit 62 detects when the leading edge of the paper P reaches the platen 12 (the timing is predetermined) and drives the line feed motor 13 in the opposite direction to move the platen 12. Rotate it in the direction of arrow B in Fig. 4.

As a result, the paper P is sandwiched between the platen 12 and the pressure rollers 43, 44 and is fed by friction, and the paper insertion operation is completed.

At the end of this paper insertion operation, if there is paper P in the ASF 2, that paper P will be fed into the printer 1.
The detection result of the paper end sensor 51 indicates that there is paper as shown in FIG. 6(a), whereas if there is no paper P in the ASF 2, the detection result of the paper end sensor 51 indicates that there is no paper.

Therefore, the mask control circuit 62, after the paper insertion operation is completed,
The detection result of the paper end sensor 51 is checked to determine whether or not the paper is at the end.

At this time, if the paper is not at the end, necessary operations such as printing/line feed are performed, and after the operation is completed, the paper is ejected. In addition,
In a type wheel printer such as this printer, the printing operation refers to an impact operation of type by a printing hammer, and in an inkjet printer, it refers to an ink jetting operation.

On the other hand, if it is the paper end, it can be determined that there is no paper in the ASF 2 as described above, so the vapor empty indicator 74 is lit to prompt the operator to set paper, and the printer is stopped. .

In this way, even if the paper end sensor detects the paper end, this printer does not always stop all printer operations, but when a paper feed operation command is received, the operation is permitted and the printing operation is continued. It stops operating when a command is received.

As a result, the printer's paper end sensor can essentially serve as an ASF detector and an ASF paper end sensor, eliminating the need for these detectors and sensors and inputting their detection signals to the printer. There is no need for connectors, etc.

Therefore, the configuration of the printer and the configuration of ASF are also n.
At the same time, it becomes easier to install ASF.

In the above embodiments, an example was described in which the present invention was applied to a type wheel type printer, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to various types of printers such as thermal printers, inkjet printers, dot impact printers, etc. Not even.

As described above, according to the present invention, the configuration of the printer and the automatic paper feeder becomes simple, and the installation of the automatic paper feeder becomes easy.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an example of a printer equipped with an automatic paper feeder according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are a schematic plan view and a front view showing an example of the printing mechanism thereof. FIG. 4 is a side view of the main parts of the printer and ASF, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the control section of the printer. FIG. 6 is a timing chart and a flow diagram that similarly explain the operation. 1... Printer 2... Automatic paper feeder 12...
・Printer 13...Line feed motor 51・
・Paper end sensor 62...Mask control circuit (JOpen'U61-11UJ/DL/No. Fig. 6 (A) (B) Procedure open position (voluntary) 1980+27'12711

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A printer equipped with a paper end sensor, characterized in that the printer is provided with a paper feed operation permission means for permitting the execution of a paper feed operation even when the paper end sensor detects the paper end.