JPH01160649A - Identification mechanism of printing head - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make the type of a printing head identifiable electrically in an extremely simple and steady way by providing a plurality of identification terminals which identify the number of head drive parts in mutual continuity state, on a feeder path member of the printing head. CONSTITUTION:If a power supply switch is turned ON, for instance, a printer mechanism control program is started, and a switching element 13 of a detection circuit is closed. consequently, a voltage of a power supply 14 is applied to detection ends 12, 12' through a resistor for detection 15. If a printing head has 18 pins, a potential at both ends of the resistor for detection 15 is high, because both identification terminals 9, 10 connected to the detection ends 12, 12' are continuous by means of a throughhole 11. If the printing head has 124 pins, a potential at both ends of the resistor for detection 15 is low, because both identification terminals 9a, 10a are non-continuous. Subsequently, the potential is identified. After identification, for instance, a firmware for printing control from a host computer is used for comparison, and if the data does not coincide with each other, an error is displayed to stop a printing action and another printer which coincides with the data is selected for connection.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention applies to printers! The present invention relates to a printhead identification mechanism for identifying the type of printhead being controlled.

[Conventional technology]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, as printers used as output devices for various information devices, etc., there are many serial printers in which printing is performed while a mounted print head is moved relative to printing paper.

The print heads installed in this serial printer include wire dot heads, inkjet heads,
A device such as a thermal head that selectively operates by supplying power to a plurality of drive units in response to a print command and performs printing at u' is often used.

In addition, these print heads come in many types with different numbers of drive units, such as a 24-bin head with 24 wires for pressing the paper surface and an 18-bin head with 18 wires, as typified by the wire dot head. Types of blinkers are used, and the appropriate one is selected depending on the purpose of use of the blink, the design rule 4q, etc., and installed in the printer.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

In conventional printers configured in this way,
One printer is equipped with one type of print head, for example, a 24-bin head.

On the other hand, in order to meet today's wide-ranging demands, it has been proposed to mount a plurality of types of print heads, such as an 18-bin head and a 24-bin head, in one printer, selectively depending on the application.

However, when a single printer is equipped with multiple types of print heads, the types of print control firmware needed to operate the printer, such as one for 18 bins and one for 2
If the firmware for 4-bins and the type of print head do not match, the print head cannot be stopped in operation. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the type of print head before printing.

However, conventionally, the only way to identify the print head is to visually check the standard markings attached to the print head itself, and this identification work is troublesome. That is,
Since the print head is already installed in the printer, it is necessary to visually check the standard markings through the cover that covers the print head, etc., or by removing the cover.

The present invention has been made in view of these points, and provides an identification line drawing for the print head that allows the type of print head to be electrically identified extremely easily and reliably, and that is easy to configure and is inexpensive. The purpose is to provide.

(Means for solving the problem) Identification of the print head of the present invention I! ! ! fM is a power supply path member in which a plurality of power supply patterns are formed to respectively supply power to a plurality of drive parts of a print head, and the conduction state between them indicates the number of drive parts of the print head. It is characterized in that it is formed by providing a plurality of identification terminals.

[For production]

According to the present invention, the power supply path member for power supply connected to the print head is provided with a plurality of identification devices,
The state of conduction between these identification terminals is displayed to indicate the number of drive units of the print head. Therefore, by electrically checking the continuity between these identification terminals prior to printing, the type of print head can be easily and reliably identified.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

This embodiment shows the case where it is applied to a wire driver 1-head, and FIGS. 1 and 2 show an 18-bin head, FIGS. 3 and 4 show a 24-bin head, and FIG. 5 shows an identification circuit diagram. ing.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 designates a print head consisting of 18 bin heads. Eighteen wires (not shown) are housed in the casing 2 and nose portion 3 of the print head 1 so as to be able to protrude and enter from the nose portion 3. Each wire is made to selectively protrude from the nose portion 3 by supplying power to a driving mechanism (not shown) consisting of an armature, an electromagnet, etc. housed within the nose portion 3. A power supply board 4, which serves as a power supply path member for supplying power to the internal drive structure, is attached to the 1!2 end face of the nose portion 3. A plurality of power supply patterns 5, 5, . One end of each power supply pattern 5 is connected to each connection terminal 7 of a connection terminal section 6 that is connected to a connector (not shown), and the other end of each power supply pattern 5 is connected to a hole section 8 that is connected to each drive mechanism section. has been done.

In FIG. 1, only a portion of the power supply pattern 5, the connection terminal 7, and the hole portion 8 of the power supply board 4 are illustrated for ease of understanding.

The above configuration is the conventional print head 1 and power supply L1 plate 4.
However, in this embodiment, a plurality of (in this embodiment, two) identification devices are added to the contact FA terminal portion 6 of the power supply board 4 to indicate that the print head 1 is an 18-bin head. Terminals 9 and 10 are installed on each of the front and back surfaces of the power supply board 4, and the two identification panes 9 and 10 are electrically connected to each other through a through hole 11, as shown in FIG.

In the print head 1a consisting of a 24-bin head shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the same parts as the print head 1 shown in FIGS. be. That is, in the print head 1a of this embodiment, the casing 2a1 nose portion 3a, the power supply LC plate 4
a1 power supply pattern 5a, connection terminal portion 6a, connection terminal 7a
, hole portion 8a, and identification terminals 9a and 10a are formed in the same manner as in FIGS. 1 and 2. However, 24 wires and a drive mechanism for driving these wires are installed inside the casing 2a and the nose portion a. Further, the power supply board 4a includes a power supply pattern 5a, a connection terminal 7a
The number of hole portions 8a is the same as that of the power supply board 4 in FIGS. 1 and 2, and 18 holes are used in FIGS. 1 and 2, and 24 holes are used in FIGS. 2 and 4. Alternatively, a number different from that of the power feeding board 4 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 may be provided. In any case, the connection terminal portions 6 and 6a of the power supply boards 4 and 4a are formed so as to be connectable to a common connection connector, and a set of identification terminals 9 and 10 and a set of identification terminals 9a and 10a are formed. and are formed in the same part of each connection terminal part 6 and 6a. In this embodiment, in order to indicate that the print head 1a is a 24-bin head, the through hole 11 is not provided between the identification terminals 9a and 10a, as shown in FIG. It is formed.

The detection circuit shown in Fig. 5 is built into the printer,
When the connection terminal portions 6, 6a of the power supply board 4° 48 of each print head 1, 1a are connected to the connection connector, each set of identification terminals 9, 10 and the set of identification terminals 9a, 10a are connected. It has an end 12.degree. 12, and is a circuit in which a switching element 13, a power source 14, and a detection resistor 15 are connected in series.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

Now, a case will be described in which a print command is issued from the host computer to use either the 18-bin head or the 271-pin head, and the printer performs printing.

When the blink ff1B switch is turned on to start printing, the blink mechanism control program built into the printer starts, and according to the print head identification process built into this program, the detection shown in FIG. 5 is performed. A circuit is used to determine whether the print head actually installed in the printer is an 18-bin head or a 24-bin head. That is, the switching element 13 of the detection circuit is opened, and the voltage of the power supply 14 is applied to the detection GHs 12, 12 through the detection resistor 15.

At this time, if the print head installed in the printer is an 18-bin head, the two identification terminals 9 and 10 connected to the detection end 12 and 12 are passed through by the through ball 11. A current flows through the detection circuit, and the potential across the detection resistor 15 becomes high. On the other hand, if the print head installed in the printer is a 24-bin head, both the identification terminals 9a and 10a connected to the detection terminals 12 and 12 are in a non-conducting state, so the detection circuit has no current. does not flow, and the potential across the detection resistor 15 becomes low.

Therefore, in this embodiment, when the potential across the detection resistor 15 is high, it is identified that the 18-bin head print head 1 is mounted, and when it is low, it is identified that the 24-bin head print head 1a is mounted. be done.

After identification is performed in this way, a comparison is made to see if it matches the print control firmware that is scheduled to be sent from the host side, and if it does, the subsequent printing operation continues. If there is a mismatch, an error is displayed and subsequent printing operations are stopped. After the print operation is stopped, the host computer is switched and connected to a printer whose print control firmware and print head type match.

According to this embodiment, the print head 1.1
The identification of a can be electrically and automatically performed simply and reliably, which is much easier than in the past. Furthermore, matching of the print control firmware and the print head can be performed extremely easily.

In the above embodiment, 28! of the 18-bin head and the 24-bin head are used. 3f
When performing identification of Class I or higher, it is preferable not to increase the number of identification terminals, but to make the conduction state between each terminal different, so that identification can be made in the same way. Further, the present invention may be similarly applied to a case where a print head having a configuration other than a wire dot head is selected, for example, a plurality of types of print heads having different numbers of heating elements are selected and used. Also,
As the power supply path member, in addition to a hard plate-like member like the power supply substrates 4 and 4a, a flexible member or other known member may be used.

Further, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and can be modified as necessary.

〔Effect of the invention〕

In this way, the identification ntR of the print head of the present invention is such that a power supply path member in which a plurality of power supply patterns are formed for respectively supplying power to a plurality of drive units of the print head has a conduction state between them. Since it is formed with multiple identification terminals that display the number of drive parts, it is possible to electrically identify the type of print head in the cylinder very reliably, and the configuration is simple and inexpensive. This also has the effect of lowering the area.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the print head identification mechanism of the present invention,
Figure 1 is a perspective view when applied to an 18-bin head, Figure 2
The figure is an enlarged sectional view taken along line II-II in Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a perspective view when applied to a 24-bin head, and Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line IV-IV in Fig. 3. FIG. 5 is a detection circuit diagram for identification. 1.1a...Print head, 4,4...Power supply board,
5.5... Power supply pattern, 6, 6a... Connection V: terminal part, 9.9a, 10. 'l0a--Identification terminal, i
i...Through hole.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A plurality of power supply path members in which a plurality of power supply patterns are formed to respectively supply power to a plurality of drive units of a print head, the conduction state between each of which indicates the number of drive units of the print head. An identification mechanism for a print head, characterized in that it is provided with an identification terminal.