JPH03108576A - Portable labeler - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To prevent discontinuation of supply of the electric energy for a memory means by supplying the electric energy automatically to the memory means from a second battery when a first battery is in a state of non-operation or the battery is disconnected from a circuit means. CONSTITUTION: A circuit of a labeler is supplied with power from a battery 26 connected to a voltage regulator 212 through an ON-OFF switch 214. At all times when the labeler operates, in other words, the power is sent to a nonvolatile random access memory (NVRAM) 60 from the battery 26 through the switch 214, the regulator 212 and a diode 216. When the battery 26 is disengaged or finishes discharge, a diode 211 is put in a forward biased state and consequently the power is supplied to the NVRAM 60 from the battery 26. Thereby discontinuation of supply of energy to the NVRAM 60 is prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIELD OF INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION The present invention relates generally to printing devices, and more particularly to the use of control circuitry to accurately determine the position of a printing web and, in response to position signals, to control the printing head (thermal type). The present invention relates to a portable labeler that controls the operation of a printhead (preferably a printhead) to accurately position indicia on a web.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Portable labelers using thermal printing devices are already known. Examples of such portable labelers are U.S. Pat.
No. 264,396, No. 4,407,692, and British Patent No. 2,138.190. Although the devices disclosed in the above-mentioned patents provide a method for printing on heat-sensitive webs, they do not have some of the features available in the devices according to the present invention. For example, thermal printing devices, particularly the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,407.6
When printing using high density printing devices such as those disclosed in '92 and the British Patent, it is necessary to precisely control the timing of applying voltage to a number of printing elements as a function of web position. For example, in systems where the web is continuously fed, the exact time that the portion of the web that needs to be printed is placed adjacent to the print head.
The difficulty of the problem is further compounded by the fact that voltage must be applied to the respective printing element, each of which is only a few mils long and wide. This can result in changes in character shape as well as changes in print density, especially if the speed of the web changes as it passes the printhead, as is the case, for example, in labelers with hand-fed webs. In order to prevent print breaks, the timing of applying voltage to the printing element, ie, the position of the web, must be precisely controlled.

PROBLEM SOLVED BY THE INVENTION A first object of the present invention is to provide an improved device that is superior to previous devices.

A second object of the present invention is to prevent the supply of electrical energy to the memory means provided in the processing means from being cut off.

Means for Solving the Problems To achieve this object, the invention provides means for inputting selected data, and processing means connected to the data input means for electrically processing the selected data. and the processing means is electrically connected to the first battery in an apparatus comprising a memory means of a type that requires continuous application of electrical energy to maintain the memory function. circuit means including a switch and means electrically connected to the second battery;
The on-off switch automatically supplies electrical energy from the first battery to the processing means when the switch is on, and automatically supplies electrical energy from the first battery to the memory means when the switch is off. means electrically connected to said second battery to supply said second battery when said first battery is in an inactive state or when said battery is disconnected from said circuit means. A device is provided, characterized in that electrical energy is automatically supplied from a battery to said memory means, thereby maintaining a supply of electrical energy to said memory means.

Embodiment Next, the drawings will be explained. FIG. 1 shows a microprocessor-controlled thermal portable labeler 10 according to the present invention.
shows. Labeler 10 has a housing 12 that holds a roll 14 of adhesive-backed labels 16 supported on a support web 18.

The keyboard 20 disposed on the housing 12 includes
A plurality of individually operable key switches 22 are arranged for inputting data to the labeler. Further, a display device 24 is disposed on the housing 12 so that the user can view input data and instructions issued by the microprocessor. Display device 24 may be a liquid crystal display or a light emitting diode display.

A battery container 12 that can be fitted into a removable battery container/handle portion 25 has a battery 2 having an internal resistance 27.
6 is included and supplies power to the labeler 10.

A trigger 28 is provided to initiate the printing operation of the labeler. A roller 30 is used to apply the label to apply pressure to the label 16 when the adhesive label 16 is applied to the product.

A label peeler (not shown) is contained within housing 12 for peeling label 16 from support web 18 . A plurality of guide rollers are provided to guide the stripped label 16 to the front of the housing under the rollers 30 and the support web to the rear of the housing under the roll 14.

As previously mentioned, the labeler according to the invention is extremely flexible and can accept alphanumeric as well as International Product Codes (V P
It is possible to print bar codes including C) and the European Article Number (EAN).

The type of format, alphanumeric or bar code, is easily selected by entering the appropriate format and font that will constitute the data through the keyboard 20.

Data to be printed, such as price, data identifying the product, and other information about the product, such as size, color, etc., are also entered through the keyboard 20.

Additionally, you can also input the number of labels to print. A data input/output connector 32 may also be provided on the housing to allow input of data from an external source, such as a remotely located computer, and to charge the battery 26.

Referring to FIG. 2, keyboard 20 includes a peripheral interface adapter (PIA) 40 that provides an interface between various input/output devices and the microprocessor.
It is connected to the. Also connected to peripheral interface adapter 40 is a trigger switch 44 which is operated by trigger 28 and a control circuit 46 which operates drive motor 48 of web advance wheel 49. Detector 5
0 detects a mark or landmark on the web advance wheel 49 or, more preferably, on a separate timing disc 51. Control circuit 46 controls the operation of web advance motor 48 in response to data received from microprocessor 42. Motor 48 is preferably a DC motor.

Additionally, an auditory alarm 52 is connected to the peripheral interface adapter 40 and is used to notify the user of a troublesome situation or the possibility of such trouble.

For example, the audible alarm 52 can be used to indicate a discharged or failed battery, a failed printhead, an out-of-label label, a jam, or simply that data entered into the device is not accepted. It can also be used to indicate that. In the latter case, an audible alarm can be used to provide an audible indication each time a key switch 22 on the keyboard 20 is pressed.

Display device 24 is connected to microprocessor 42 through a display device driver 54.

The display device 24 is used to display data input to the microprocessor as well as other messages, such as promotional and diagnostic messages issued by the microprocessor. Read-only memory (
ROM) 56 is provided. read-only memory 56
may be permanently mounted within the labeler 10 or may be removably mounted within a sockent or the like such that the font and/or formatting may be changed by replacing the memory 56. . Additionally, non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM) 60 is suitable for storing data such as format data, and random access memory (NVRAM) 60 is suitable for storing data such as data entered through keyboard 20. An access memory (RAM) 58 is provided. An input/output connector 32 communicates between the device and an external computer.

The printing operation is performed by the print head 66 and the peripheral interface.
Printhead driver 68 connected to adapter 40
This is done by a print head assembly 64 consisting of.

An analog-to-digital converter 70 connected to the peripheral interface adapter 40 senses the battery voltage, ie, the voltage applied to the printhead assembly 64, and provides a digital indication of that voltage to the peripheral interface adapter 40; This allows the microprocessor to adjust the amount of time the printhead is energized to compensate for changes in battery or printhead voltage.

An example of a printhead assembly 64 is shown briefly in FIG.

In the illustrated embodiment, printhead assembly 64 consists of a printhead driver 68 and a printhead 66 disposed over a thin film base layer.

The printhead 66 has printing elements arranged in a row across the direction of travel of the web 18, and particularly when printing both alphanumeric characters and bar codes. Due to the high density of elements,
Particularly suitable for use in portable labelers. In particular, one printhead assembly usable as printhead assembly 64 includes 224 print elements each having a length of 10 mils and a width of 4.4 mils and spaced on a center-to-center spacing of 5.2 mils. I'm using one. The structure described above is capable of printing virtually continuous lines.

Each printing element has its corresponding heater
A resistive heating element 80 (FIG. 4) that can be individually energized by a printhead driver circuit having driver transistors 82. gate 84
control each heater driver transistor 82, and input register 86 and data register 88 control the operation of gate 84. Therefore, if a 224 element head is used as the print head 66, 224 driver transistors 82 and 224 gates 84 must be provided. Input register 86 and data register 88 must each have at least 224 stages.

Input register 86 receives a clock signal applied to clock line 92 and sequentially receives data from data input line 90 . When input register 86 is full, data is transferred in parallel to data register 88 under control of a launch signal applied to data register 88 by line 94. Thereafter, human register 86 is reset by a reset pulse applied to reset line 96 and new data is sent to input register 86.

The resistive heating element 80 requires a significant amount of current, e.g., about 50 mA per element, and has a very high density of elements, e.g., about 20 mA per inch.
There are also 0 elements, so if all elements 8
0 and turned on at the same time, the current requirement on battery 26 would be excessive. For this reason, -17 degrees
Heater driver transistors 82 are strobed by gates 84 so that no voltage is applied to more than four heater driver transistors 82.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, three A
Strobing is accomplished by using the ND gate and enabling gate 84 in the block. This results in two block availability signals BP, 1, BH3 on lines 100.102 and 104.106 respectively.
This is done by applying strobes STI and Sr1 on top, respectively. When the BEI signal is high, gate 8
When half of 4 is enabled and the BE2 signal is high,
Each respective blockable signal is connected to the gate 84 of one half so that the other half is enabled. STI
The signal is applied to half the gates 84 that receive and receive the BEI signal, and to the gate half 84 that receives and receives the BE2 signal. Similarly, the ST2 signal is applied to gate 84, which does not receive or receive STI signals. Therefore, only '/4 gates 84 are enabled at any time, since each gate must receive one block enable signal and one strobe signal to become fully enabled. In this manner, data from data register 88 is applied to heater driver transistor 82 in four steps so that no voltage is applied to more than 174 of transistor 82 at any given time.

FIG. 5 shows an alternative embodiment of the printhead drive mechanism. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the input register 86 is
The embodiment is the same as that shown in FIG. 4, except that it is partitioned into a plurality of smaller registers, such as seven 32-stage shift registers 86'. The above-described arrangement has the advantage that data can be entered into the device more quickly, thereby allowing faster printing speeds. This is because data can be sent in parallel from the seven separate data lines 90' to each of the seven shift registers 86'. Thus, loading input register 86 requires 224 shifts, but loading register 86' requires only 32 shifts of data. However, shift register 86
When loading ', the 224 bits forming each row are not sent sequentially to shift register 86', but the bits must be sorted so that they can be added to the appropriate register. .

This is done by taking each 32nd bit from the data forming a row and adding it to the appropriate one of shift registers 86'.

For example, if 224 bits are used to form a row, the 32nd, 64th, 96th, 1st
28th, 160th, 192nd, and 224th vias) are selected and added to the seven stages of buffer memory 108 (FIG. 5). These bits are then added in parallel to shift register 86'. Subsequently, the 31st, 63rd, 95th, 127th, 159th, 19th
The 1st and 223rd bits are buffer memory 10
8 and shifted into register 86'.

1st, 33rd, 65th, 97th, 129th,
The above process is repeated until the 161st and 193rd bits are loaded into buffer memory 108 and sent to register 86'. At this point, seven registers 8
6' contains bits 1-32.33-64.65-96.
97-128, 129-160, 161-192, and 193-224 are included. This data is completely 1
Since it forms a row, the data from register 86' is transferred to a data register such as data register 88 (
4) or to multiple independent data registers 88' (FIG. 5). data·
The output of the register 88' is connected to a plurality of three-way AND gates 8.
4, or to a suitable device that limits the number of individual elements that can be energized at the same time.

In FIG. 5, the strobe function, which limits the number of elements that can be energized simultaneously,
It is given by 3. Each circuit 83 consists of 32 two-person A
It consists of an ND gate and a suitable driver circuit that applies voltage to the printhead 66.

This device is somewhat simpler than the device of FIG. 4 because it only requires a two-man AND gate instead of a three-man AND gate. Three strobe signals S1
, S2, S3, the number of printing elements that can be energized simultaneously is limited to 18, the total number of printing elements.

In the embodiment of FIG. 5, strobe signal S1 is supplied to circuit 83.
strobe signal S2 is applied to the third and fourth circuits 83, and strobe signal S3 is applied to the fifth and sixth circuits 83. Therefore, when either strobe signal S2 or S3 is present, it is impossible for two or more of the seven printing elements to be simultaneously energized.

When the strobe signal S1 is present, it is theoretically possible for three or more of the seven elements to be energized, but in reality, the line of print is the same width as the print head 66. Therefore, in the first circuit 83 and the last circuit 83, the I of all elements
It is unthinkable that a voltage higher than / is applied.

The control circuit 46 (FIG. 6) includes a read-only memory (RO
M) 132; R.O.
M132 can be located on the same integrated circuit as control processor 130 or in a separate package. For clarity, the various components necessary to perform the print control functions are not shown in FIG. 6; however, the microprocessor 42 of FIG. 6 is not shown in FIG. It should be understood that the connection must be made to the same or similar component as the one previously used. control processor 130
motor 4 by selecting excitation current or dynamic braking current.
8 controls the motor drive/brake circuit 134.

The analog-to-digital converter 136 is connected to the control processor 1
To indicate the speed of the motor 48, the back emf of the motor 48 while coasting is measured and a digital representation of the back emf is provided to the control processor 130.

The detector 50 includes a light source, such as a light emitting diode 138, and a light receiving element, such as a photodetector 140 provided on the opposite side of the timing disc 51.

Detector 50 serves to detect landmarks provided on disk 51 as a series of optically contrasting marks, such as opaque and transparent areas. The landmarks used to indicate to the apparatus the position of the disc 51, and thus the position of the web 18 being advanced by the advance wheel 49, are preferably made as a series of openings around the outer circumference of the disc 51. Although an optical device is used to detect the position of the disk 51, other devices may be used.

FIG. 7 shows the timing disc 51 in detail. The disk of FIG. 7 is made from an opaque material.

If the disk 51 is relatively small (for example, about 1.2 mm in diameter)
5 inches) and the close tolerances required, it is convenient to make the disk using electrodeposited nickel. The wall thickness of the disc 51 is nominally 3 mils, but
It may be in the range of ~4 mil.

As shown in FIG. 6, disk 51 is mounted on the same shaft (shaft 141) as web advance wheel 49, forming an axial encoder that rotates therewith. In the illustrated embodiment, the wheel 49 moves one time each time a label is fed.
The disc 51 has three openings 142.14.
Three home position markers in the shape of 4.146 are provided.

In the illustrated embodiment, the disk 51 rotates 173 times each time a label is advanced, so three home position markers are provided, but if the advance mechanism is modified so that the disk 51 rotates at a different rate. If so, it should be understood that the number of home position landmarks must be changed accordingly.

For example, if the disk 51 is made to rotate by '/4 each time one label is fed, a disk with four home position markers will be used.

Following each opening 142, 144, 146 are:
There are a plurality of apertures or slots 148, 150, 152 (FIG. 7) that precisely position the label relative to the printhead. Although the location-defining landmarks 148.150.152 can be referred to as apertures, slots, or other terminology, in the following description they are referred to as home location apertures 142.144.
In order to clearly distinguish it from 146, it will be called a slot. Three wide area 154.156.158 type warning tracks are provided preceding each home location marker.

When the label is not printed, the home position opening 14
2.144, or one of 146 is in line with detector W50. Each aperture 142, 144, 146 is sufficiently wide so that opaque areas of the disk 51 are not detected by the detection device 50, allowing some backlash of the web and drive gear train. This means that the motor 48 detects one of the home position openings in the detection device 5.
This is to prevent hunting in an attempt to match 0. Furthermore, one of the positioning marks is the detection device 50.
The openings 142, 144, 146 are sized to allow slack in the web 18 to be taken up before alignment.

The width of the locating slots 148.150.152 and the width of the area between the locating slots
The distance between detection of consecutive edges of 0.152 is print element 8
It is chosen to correspond to an amount of web movement equal to an integer multiple of length zero. For example, when using a printhead such as printhead 66 described above, slots 148, 150
．． The distance at which 152 adjacent greens are detected is 10 mils (
The length of printing element 80 corresponds to an amount of web movement equal to an integer multiple of the length of printing element 80. For the disk 51 shown in FIG. 7, the integer multiple is chosen to be equal to 2, so the distance over which successive edges of slots 148, 150, 152 are detected corresponds to 20 mils of web travel. As a result, the position of web 18 is defined in 20 mil increments.

The width of each warning track defined by the wide areas 154.156.158 must be wide enough to distinguish the warning track from the area between the positioning slots. In the embodiment of FIG. 7, area 154.
156.158 width is slot 148.150.15
The width of the area is approximately twice the width of the area separating the two.

This results in the warning track having a width equivalent to approximately four times the length of printing element 80, or approximately 40 mils. The width of the area 154.156.158 is such that the area 148.150.152 can be easily distinguished from the narrower area separating the slot 148.150.152. In the embodiment of FIG. 7, the width of wide area 154.156.158 is
0.152, approximately twice the width of the area separating them, although other widths may be used.

In operation, when a label is not being printed, one of the home position markers, such as the aperture 142, is aligned with the detection device 50.

Trigger switch 44 (or other manually operated switch)
When pressed, microprocessor 42 (FIG. 6) issues a motor start command to control processor 130 which causes motor drive/brake circuit 34 to energize motor 48 and also activates light emitting diode 138. enable use. When voltage is applied to motor 48, timing disc 51 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrows in FIGS. 6 and 7. As the motor rotates, the sag present in the web 18 and the backlash present in any web advancing mechanism is removed, but the opening 14
2 is still in line with the detection device 50. The motor 48 has a rear edge of the opening 142 connected to the detection device 50.
It continues to rotate until it is detected by. At this point, the slack in the device has been completely eliminated and the motor 48 has reached operating speed.

When the trailing edge of aperture 142 is detected by detection device 50, the amplitude of the signal applied by photodetector 140 to control processor 130 changes. In response to this change, control processor 130 issues a print start command to microprocessor 42. This print start signal indicates to the microprocessor 42 that the motor has reached operating speed and that the web is positioned for printing at the print position defined by the selected print format.

As the motor 48 continues to rotate, the transition between the slot 148 and the opaque area present therebetween is detected by the photodetector 140 and a signal representative of the transition is sent to the control processor 1.
Added to 30. Control processor 130 generates position pulse signals in response to transitions and applies them to microprocessor 42 each time a transition occurs. The position signals are counted by microprocessor 42 to determine the position of the label relative to printhead 66. When the print head 66 is placed over the print area on the label defined, for example, by the print format, the input data is transferred to the label 16.
is printed on top. The printing process continues, with microprocessor 42 receiving position pulse signals from control processor 130 until the input data is printed on one or more printing areas on label 16.

The printing process continues and the timing disk 51 continues to rotate until a warning track, manifested by wide area 154, is detected. A wide area 154 is detected by control processor 130 when the length of time that the opaque area is detected by photodetector 140 exceeds the length of time between transition pulses produced by slot 148 by a predetermined amount. As soon as it is determined that a warning track, such as area 154, has been detected, the microprocessor adjusts to respond to the next transition by activating motor drive/brake circuit 134 to brake motor 48. Accordingly, when the leading edge of the aperture 144 is detected, a control signal is applied to the motor drive/brake circuit 134, which causes the motor 48 to generate electricity by shunting the armature windings of the motor 48. Brake.

Motor 48 continues to coast for a short distance until aperture 144 is aligned with sensing device 50 and the printing process is complete. If you need to print more labels,
Pressing the trigger switch 44 again advances the disc 51 until the aperture 146 is aligned with the detection device 50;
Printed on the next label.

Also, although the timing disc 51 is shown with a motor-driven advance mechanism, it can also be used with a manually operated advance mechanism.

In that case, although the position signal provided by timing disc 51 is not used to control the motor, the position signal still indicates to the microprocessor that the printable area is below the print head. and is used to start printing when the above area is present.

As previously mentioned, timing disc 51 provides highly accurate information specifying the position of the web.

However, using the precise position signal provided by timing disk 51 requires compensating for manufacturing tolerances that exist in the positioning of the web advance mechanism and printhead 66. To this end, according to the present example, means are provided for varying the angular position of the timing disc 51 relative to the angular position of the web advance wheel 49. Various other securing means could be used to secure the disc 51 to the shaft.

For example, the shaft could have a slot and the disk could have a member that fits into the slot.

Alternatively, the shaft may have multiple keys or keyways and the disc may have one keyway or key.
Other variations could also be used. In the illustrated embodiment, the disc 51 is provided with a plurality of offset keyways and is mounted on a keyed shaft to achieve the aforementioned objectives.

Each shifted keyway is a home position marker 142.144
．． 146 and is offset by the necessary adjustment amount from there. Therefore, by positioning the appropriate groove in the key of the shaft, the necessary adjustment can be made.

For example, the timing disc of FIG. 7 shows three keyways labeled 1, 2, and 3.

The angular displacement between keyways 1 and 3 is nominally 122', while the angular displacement between keyways l and 2 is nominally 119''. The angular displacement between this and the leading edge of aperture 142, 144, 146 120'
By comparison, the disc 51 can be adjusted to ±1@ with respect to the web advance wheel 49 and the detection device 50.

For example, if the keyway 1 is fixed to the shaft 141 with the key 160, the rear edge of the opening 142 will lead (advances) the centerline of the key 160 by about 2 degrees. A 2° shift can be called a -1@ position. If keyway 3 is fixed to key 160, since keyways 1 and 3 are 122° apart, the trailing edge of opening 144 will lead by 4° from the center of key 160, resulting in There will be a +26 shift in the position of the locating groove. -1' to 2''
If you add , it becomes +1", so this position can be considered as the +1" position. If the keyway 2 is fixed to the key 160, the disk 51 will be at a total angle of 122°+119°, that is, 241° with respect to the position when the keyway 1 is fixed.
It should rotate, resulting in a +l@ movement in the position of the locating groove relative to the -1° position. therefore,
This position becomes the O'' position, and the disc 51 can be easily adjusted +1'' relative to the 0'' position. By changing the offset between keyways 1, 2 and 3, another adjustment can be made. For example, keyway 3 may be placed 124 degrees apart from keyway 4, and keyway 2 may be separated from keyway 1 and 3 by 124°.
If placed 18" apart, ±0 adjustment is possible. In general, keyways 1 and 3 can be spaced appropriately apart by 120° plus all required positive and negative offsets. , any offset can be made. If
If equal positive and negative offsets are required, the above-mentioned equal positive and negative offsets can be obtained by equally dividing the remainder of 360° between keyway 2 and keyway 1.3.

Although various types of motors can be used as the web advancement motor 48, including stepper motors, DC motors have been found to be particularly useful as the web advancement motor 48.

Part of the reason is that it has good low-speed torque characteristics.

However, when using a DC motor, it is necessary to provide a circuit to control the rotational speed of the motor shaft. In this embodiment, the control processor 130 controls the motor speed WH'
Do iJ. As previously discussed, the control processor 1
30 receives a signal representative of the back emf generated when the motor is coasting and adjusts the drive signal applied to the motor 48 to maintain a constant rotational speed of the motor 48.

Next, FIG. 8 will be explained. The motor 48 is a motor drive/
It is driven by a braking circuit 134. Circuit 134 includes a transistor drive circuit 170 that applies an excitation voltage to motor 48 upon receiving an execution signal from control processor 130.
have. The in-clock circuit prevents the run signal and the brake signal from being applied to the drive/brake circuit 134 at the same time in the event of a microprocessor or other failure. Motor drive/brake circuit 134 also includes a dynamic braking circuit 172 that shunts the armature of motor 48 to effect dynamic braking when a control signal is received from control processor 130 . Comparator 174 is connected to motor 48 and functions to compare the back electromotive force generated when the motor is coasting with a reference voltage. Sampling gate 176 connects the output of comparator 174 to control processor 130.

The run signal applied to drive circuit 170 consists of a series of pulses that cause drive circuit 170 to energize motor 48 at periodic intervals. The back electromotive force generated by the motor 48 during the drive pulse is transferred to the comparator 17.
4 and sampling gate 176, which acts as an analog-to-digital converter, indicates to control processor 130 whether the back emf generated by motor 48 is greater or less than a reference voltage applied to comparator 174. be done. If the back emf is less than the reference voltage, control processor 130 again generates the next run pulse to energize motor 48. If the back emf generated by the motor 48 is greater than the reference voltage, indicating that the motor is rotating too fast, the next run pulse is canceled and the motor is left to coast. During the coasting period, the back emf is measured at periodic intervals and when it drops below the reference voltage, the next run pulse is made. The rotational speed of the motor can be adjusted by adjusting the reference voltage.

FIG. 9 details the execution pulse generation and back emf sampling. To explain Fig. 9, the back electromotive force is
It is sampled during a first sampling period 179 that occurs during a portion of the time interval from 0 to T. If the back emf is below the reference voltage, a run pulse is made during the time interval between 1 and 21, as shown by pulse 180. The duration of the pulse is controlled by a clock (not shown) within control processor 130 and is preferably on the order of 500 microseconds to 1 millisecond. During the time interval T-2T, no sampling is performed because all that is measured is the amplitude of pulse 180, so sampling is meaningless.

At time 2T, after the execution pulse 180 ends, the drive to the motor 48 also ends, but since the drive to the motor 48 ends, a transient voltage is generated across the armature winding of the motor 48. Therefore, the voltage across motor 48 is not immediately sampled because it is not representative of the back emf generated by the motor. Sampling is spaced long enough to allow transients to settle down.
It is delayed until the next sampling period 182 after time 2T. Sampling period 182 after the end of the execution pulse
It has been found that a delay of approximately 300 milliseconds allows the transient to settle down sufficiently to allow for an accurate reading of the back emf of the motor 48. However, the delay time depends on motor size, inductance, ° and other factors, and other values may be used depending on the particular components used. Sampling is performed under the control of sampling gates 176, which are enabled by processor 130 to control the amount of sampling period 182 and other sampling periods.

If the back emf measured during sampling period 182 is too low, another run pulse 184 is made during time interval 3T-4T and again during sampling period 186 occurring before time 5T. The electromotive force is sampled. If the back emf during this sampling period 186 is again too low, the next execution pulse is made at time 5T.

However, if the back electromotive force is higher than the reference voltage, no execution pulse is generated at time 5T, as shown in FIG. Of course, during the next sampling period 188 before time 6T, the back emf is sampled, and if the back emf has fallen below the reference voltage, the next execution pulse will be at time 6T.
made in The above process is repeated at periodic intervals, omitting run pulses as necessary to maintain the speed of motor 48 so constant.

Next, FIG. 10 will be explained. Initially, when voltage is applied to the labeler, microprocessor 42 and control processor 4
The parameters in 6 are initialized and the control processor 46 is ready to begin feeding the web as soon as it receives a start pulse from the microprocessor 42. Upon receipt of the start pulse, the clock within control processor 46 is reset to zero. A separate timer is then updated to indicate how many times the control processor's clock has been reset. This indicates how long motor 48 has been running. If the time exceeds a predetermined limit, the run timer is interrupted, the motor is de-energized and braked, and the control processor 46 is left waiting for the next start pulse. A signal can also be sent to the auditory alarm 52 to indicate a jam. If no interruption occurs, start printing! ! The detection device 50 is sampled to determine whether the first opaque edge after the home position aperture is encountered (FIG. 7).

If an edge is detected, a print start pulse is sent to microprocessor 42 and the status of the motor is checked, as will be discussed later.

If the edge has already passed, the position markings on the timing disc are checked. If a position landmark is detected, a position pulse is sent to microprocessor 42. If no landmarks are detected, the timing disc is checked for a warning track (wide opaque area, FIG. 7). A wide area can be easily determined by the length of time that the area and the detection device 50 are aligned. When the end of the warning track is detected, the motor is de-energized and braked for a predetermined period of time, and the control processor is placed in a state awaiting the next motor activation command.

The purpose of the above procedure is to determine the position of the timing disc and thus the position of the label in the print cycle. In addition to determining the position of the label, the rotational speed of the motor must be determined.

In the logic diagram shown in Figure 1θ, following the inspection of each position,
A check is made of the rotational speed of the motor.

Therefore, if the run timer is not interrupted and the end of the warning track has not yet been detected, a check of the rotational speed of the motor is performed. This is done by first checking the motor to see if it is ON or OFF. If the motor is OFF, the device waits until the sampling period is reached. When the sampling period is reached, the back emf is examined and the speed of the motor is determined. Test results indicating whether the motor speed is too fast or too slow are stored. If the motor is on, the speed cannot be checked, so the motor is turned off.

After the back emf has been checked or the motor has been turned off, the device waits until the processor clock reaches time T, the next time when an execution pulse can be generated. When time T is reached, the previously stored results are examined to determine if the motor speed was too slow. If the motor rotation speed is too slow, the motor is turned on, the control processor clock is reset to zero, and the execution time is updated to account for the time that the clock has accumulated in the last cycle, as described above. The cycle is repeated. If the motor rotates too fast, the motor will not be turned on until the control processor clock is reset to zero and the run timer is updated. motor is already on
If , and the back emf was not checked, it is assumed that the speed of the motor is not too slow and the processor clock is reset to zero without turning on the motor. Since the motor is OFF at this time, a speed test can be easily performed in the next cycle.

As previously discussed, the labeler according to the present invention is a portable labeler powered by a battery. As with all battery-powered equipment, the voltages across various circuits decrease as the battery is used and can even drop to zero when the battery is fully discharged or removed. obtain. Such voltage changes cause serious problems. For example, if the voltage applied to a microprocessor drops below a predetermined level, the operation of the microprocessor becomes unreliable. When this condition occurs, abnormal signals from the microprocessor may alter or erase data stored in various storage devices.

It is also possible for the processor to continue to apply voltage to, for example, one or more print elements, potentially damaging the printhead. Further, when using non-volatile RAM such as NVRAM 60, data stored in the NVRAM may be lost due to a drop in battery voltage or removal of the battery.

Therefore, in this example, a circuit is provided to monitor the voltage produced by the main battery, e.g., battery 26, and to protect the various storage devices and printheads in the event of a low battery voltage condition or if the battery is removed. (Figure 11)
is provided.

This is accomplished by comparator 200, which compares the voltage of battery 26 to a low battery voltage reference.

If the voltage produced by battery 26 drops below the low battery reference potential, comparator 200 sends a signal to microprocessor 42 and control processor 46 to place them in a reset state and prevent unreliable operation of both. prevent. Furthermore, the comparator 200 has RAM 58 and NVRAM.
60 to prevent data from being written to or erased from both RAMs.

The disable signal is also sent to the print head 64 to prevent voltage from being applied to the print head 66 by clamping the print head driver 68.

To prevent data loss from non-volatile random access memory such as NVRAM, a backup battery, such as a lithium battery 210 (FIG. 12), is provided. A particular advantage of using lithium batteries for this purpose is that they have a relatively long shelf life of about 10 years. However, if a lithium battery is used to power NVRAM for an extended period of time, it will discharge relatively quickly, so some method must be taken to prevent the reserve battery 210 from discharging too quickly. . Therefore, when the labeler is turned on, power is supplied to the NVRAM 60 from the main battery, for example, the battery 26, but when the labeler is stored for a long time with the labeler turned off,
Some means must be taken to power the NVRAM 60.

In the portable labeler according to the present invention, the circuit of the labeler includes a voltage regulator 21 via an ON-OFF switch 214.
2 (both not shown in FIG. 2)
Power is supplied from 6.

The regulator 212 applies a regulated voltage to the labeler circuit whenever the ON-OFF switch 214 is closed.
For example, add 5.6 volts. Under the above conditions, N
VRAM 60 has the output voltage of regulator 212 applied by blocking diode 216, and whenever the labeler is operating, NVRAM 60 has the output voltage of regulator 212 applied by blocking diode 216.
Power is sent from batch IJ 26 through 4, regulator 212, and diode 216. Since the voltage on NVRAM 60 is higher than the voltage on battery 210, diode 211 isolates battery 210 from other circuitry under the above conditions, and diode 211 is reverse biased.

When the labeler is opened, the output voltage of regulator 212 is zero. Therefore, if the labeler is stored for a significant period of time, the reserve battery 210 will eventually discharge, even though power to the NVRAM 60 is provided by the regulator 212. Therefore, auxiliary circuitry is provided to supply power to NVRAM 60 even when the labeler is turned off. The auxiliary circuit has a zener diode 218 connected to the battery side of switch 214 by a resistor 220, and the junction of resistor 220 and zener diode 218 is connected to the NV by another blocking diode 222.
It is connected to RAM60. Therefore, switch 2
14 is turned off, power is supplied to the NVRAM 60 from the auxiliary circuit.

As long as battery 26 is present and valid, as is the case when switch 214 is ON, diode 211
isolates battery 210 from other circuitry. By making the voltage of Zener diode 218 lower than the output voltage of regulator 212, for example 4.2 volts, interaction between the two circuits is eliminated. For example, when switch 214 is closed, the voltage appearing at the cathode of blocking diode 222 is higher than the voltage appearing at the anode. This causes diode 222 to be reverse biased, resulting in
Discharge of battery 26 due to current flowing from regulator 212 to Zener diode 218 is prevented. Also, when the switch 214 is opened, the blocking diode 2
16 is reverse biased, thereby preventing the labeler's circuitry from discharging the battery 26.210. If battery 26 is removed or fully discharged, diode 2
11 becomes forward biased, power is supplied to the NVRAM 60 from the battery 211. Under the above conditions, diodes 216 and 222 isolate reserve battery 210 from all circuitry except NVRAM 60.

From the above description, it will be obvious that many modifications and variations of the invention are possible. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portable labeler made according to the principles of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a logic circuit for controlling a thermal printing device according to the present invention; FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a logic circuit according to the present invention; FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the print head driver circuit, and FIG. 5 is a plan view of a thermal print head that can be used in a printing device. 6 is a block diagram showing a position detection and printing device control circuit according to the present invention. FIG. 7 is a detailed diagram of the timing disc shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a position detection and printing device control circuit according to the present invention. FIG. 9 is a timing diagram showing the operation of the motor speed control circuit according to the present invention; FIG. 10 is a logic flow diagram showing the operation of the control circuit according to the present invention; FIG. 11 is a block diagram of the motor speed control portion of the control circuit; and FIG. 12 are circuits for protecting data stored in the labeler when the battery is discharged or removed. IO...Labeler 12...Housing, 14...
・Roll, 16...Adhesive label, 18...Support web, 20...Key board, 22...Key
Switch, 24...Display device, 25...Battery container/handle portion, 26...Battery, 27...Internal resistance,
28...Trigger, 30...Label pasting is done by roller,
32... Data input/output connector, 40... Peripheral interface adapter, 42... Microprocessor, 44... Trigger switch, 46... Control circuit,
48...Motor, 49...Web advance wheel,
50... Detection device, 51... Timing disc, 52...
... Auditory alarm, 54 ... Display device driver, 56
...Read-only memo IJ (ROM), 5 B...
・Random access memory (RAM), 60...
non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM),
64... Print head assembly, 66... Print head,
68...Print head driver, 70...Analog-to-digital converter, 80...Resistive heating element,
82... Heater driver transistor, 83
...Circuit, 84...Gate, 86...Input register, 86'...Shift register, 88...Data register, 88'...Data register, 90.9
0'...Data input line, 92...Clock line,
94...Line, 96...Reset line, 100.1
02.104.106... Line, 108... Buffer memory, 130... Control processor, 132...
Read-only memory (ROM), 134... Motor drive/braking circuit, 136... Analog-to-digital converter, 141... Axis, 142.144.146...
Opening, 148.150.152...Slot, 154
．． 156.158...Wide area, 160...Key
170... Transistor excitation circuit, 172... Dynamic braking circuit, 174... Comparator, 176... Sampling gate, 179... Sampling period, 180
...Execution pulse, 182...Sampling period, 1
84... Execution pulse, 186... Sampling period, 188... Sampling period, 190... Execution pulse, 200... Comparator, 210... Spare battery, 211... Diode, 212- -・Regulator, 21
4...-0N-OFF switch, 216... Blocking diode, 218... Zener diode, 220...
...Resistor, 222...Blocking diode, BEI, B
E2...Block available signal, sTl, ST2...
- Strobe, sl, s2, s3...Strobe signal. IG-4

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) In a machine having a means for inputting selected data and a processing means connected to the data input means for electrically processing the selected data, the processing means is configured to maintain a memory function. a memory means of a type requiring continuous application of electrical energy, and further comprising an on-off switch electrically connected to the first battery and means electrically connected to the second battery. circuit means including circuit means for automatically supplying electrical energy from the first battery to the processing means when the switch is on, and for automatically supplying electrical energy from the first battery to the processing means when the switch is off; means for automatically supplying electrical energy to the circuit means and electrically connected to the second battery when the first battery is inactive or when the battery is disconnected from the circuit means; A machine characterized in that it automatically supplies electrical energy from said second battery to said memory means when the second battery is in use. (2) a housing having a means for printing at a printing position; a means for inputting data selected to be printed; and a housing connected to the data input means for electrically processing the selected data; a printing device comprising a processing means for energizing a printing means to print data as determined by a method of printing data, wherein said processing means is a type of memory which requires continuous application of electrical energy to maintain memory function; circuit means including an on-off switch having means and electrically connected to the first battery and means electrically connected to the second battery, the on-off switch being electrically connected to the second battery; When the switch is on, the first battery automatically supplies electrical energy to the processing means; when the switch is off, the first battery automatically supplies electrical energy to the memory means; and when the switch is off, the first battery automatically supplies electrical energy to the memory means. The means connected to the memory means automatically supplies electrical energy from the second battery to the memory means when the first battery is inactive or the circuit means is disconnected from the first battery. Characteristic printing device. (3) a housing having a handgrip handle and means for holding a label supply roll of the composite web adhering to a support web such that the labels are peelable; and a plurality of individual selections for printing thermal labels at printing locations; printing means having a thermal printing head having a printing element capable of removing the printed label; means for peeling the printed label from the support web; labeling means disposed adjacent to the peeling means; means for advancing the composite web for peeling from the support web at the means and then advancing the printed label for application at the application means and for advancing the next label into the printing position; a means for inputting the selected data; and an individual printing means connected to the data input means for electrically processing the selected data and printing the data on the label in a predetermined order determined by the selected data. processing means for applying a voltage to the element, said processing means comprising memory means of a type that requires continuous application of electrical energy to maintain memory function; circuit means including an on-off switch electrically connected and means electrically connected to a second source of electrical energy; automatically supplying electrical energy from a first electrical energy source to the processing means and the printing means;
means automatically supplying electrical energy from the first electrical energy source to the memory means when the switch is off, the means being electrically connected to the second electrical energy source; A mobile device characterized in that it automatically supplies electrical energy from said second electrical energy source to said memory means when said energy source is inactive or disconnected from said circuit means. Formula labeler.