JPH04244881A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the title printer from being used in an unsuitable installment posture. CONSTITUTION:Inclination of a printer case 1 is detected with a posture detection sensor 25. The title printer is so constructed that whether it is of a suitable installment posture or not can be judged based on a signal to be inputted to a control circuit 18 from the posture detection sensor 25. Then, when it is of an unsuitable installment posture, the printing mechanism 5 is so controlled as not to perform printing operation.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a small portable printer.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Some printers are designed to be portable and miniaturized so that they can be used in various locations together with small notebook or laptop personal computers and word processors.

0003

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] However, this type of printer is not limited to being used on a flat surface such as a desk, but may also be used tilted on your lap or on an uneven surface. Depending on the degree of inclination, the recording paper may not be guided to a predetermined location, which may impede smooth feeding of the recording paper or may hinder smooth movement of the print head.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a printer that can be prevented from being used in an inappropriate installation position.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The printer according to the present invention includes an attitude detecting means attached to a printer case to detect the inclination of the printer case, and the attitude detecting means detects whether the inclination of the printer case is outside a predetermined range. and a control means for controlling the printing mechanism so as not to perform a printing operation when this is detected.

[0006]

According to the present invention, the printing mechanism is controlled by the control means so that printing is not performed when the inclination of the printer case is outside a predetermined range.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A printer to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings. ◆In this printer, as shown in FIG. 4, rubber legs 2 are integrally attached to each corner of the bottom of a rectangular box-shaped printer case 1, and the printer can be installed on a desk, etc. via these legs 2. It is now in use.

Inside the printer case 1, as shown in FIG. Feeding and printing the recording paper 3,
After printing, it can be discharged to the outside of the printer case 1. The paper feed cassette 4 can be pulled out and removed from a loading port 6 formed in the printer case 1, so that recording paper 3 can be replenished as needed.

As shown in FIG. 2, the printing mechanism 5 includes a picking roller 8 rotated by a picking motor 7, a print head 9, a carrier 11 driven to run by a carrier motor 10, and a paper feed motor 12.
A paper feed roller 13 and a paper discharge roller 14 are provided which are rotationally driven by.

The picking roller 8 is disposed above and facing the paper feed cassette 4, and is configured to apply a conveying force to the recording paper 3 to take out the recording paper 3 from the paper feed cassette 4.

A platen 15 is arranged below the print head 9 to face it, and the recording paper 2 is fed between the platen 15 and the print head 9 for printing. There is. The platen 15 extends in a direction perpendicular to the paper feeding direction (direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in FIG. 3) via a fixing means (not shown).

The carrier 11 is supported so as to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the paper feeding direction (direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 3) via guide shafts 16, 16, and is driven to run in a direction perpendicular to the paper feeding direction. ing. A print head 9 is mounted on this carrier 11, and the print head 9 can be driven to run parallel to the platen 15 in a direction perpendicular to the paper feeding direction.

The paper feed roller 13 and the paper discharge roller 14 are designed to be able to grip and convey the recording paper 3. The paper feed roller 13 is provided upstream of the print head 9 and is
can be fed between the print head 9 and the platen 15. A paper discharge roller 14 is provided downstream of the print head 9 and is configured to feed the recording paper 3 to a paper discharge port 17. A paper discharge port 17 is formed in the printer case 1,
The recording paper 3 after printing is discharged to the outside of the printer case 1 through this paper discharge port 17.

The printing mechanism 5 thus constructed is connected to a control circuit 18 together with a warning light 26, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the warning light 26 is attached to the top surface of the printer case 1 in an exposed state so that it can be easily recognized during use.

The control circuit 18 includes a ROM (read only memory) 19, a font memory 20, a data buffer memory 21, a line buffer memory 22,
An address counter 23, a home sensor 24, and an attitude detection sensor 25 are connected, and the operation of the warning light 26 and the printing mechanism 5 is controlled based on signals from these. The ROM 19 is a storage circuit in which a control program is stored in advance. The font memory 20 is a storage circuit in which font data corresponding to character data is stored in advance. The data buffer memory 21 is a RAM that temporarily stores print data input to the control circuit 18.
(random access memory). The line buffer memory 22 is an RA that temporarily stores font data read into the control circuit 18 from the font memory 20.
It is M. The address counter 23 is a memory circuit that stores the address of the print head 9. The home sensor 24 is a sensor that detects when the print head 9 reaches the home position.

The attitude detection sensor 25 can be a well-known mercury switch, for example, and is attached to each corner of the printer case 1 as shown in FIG. Sometimes this can be detected.

Next, the operation will be explained based on the flowchart shown in FIG. ◆After turning on the power (Step 27), it is determined whether the installation posture is appropriate (Step 28).
When the installation posture is appropriate, the printing operation is started (step 29). Whether or not the installation posture is appropriate is determined by whether the inclination of the printer case 1 is within a predetermined range.
This is done based on the signal input to the

On the other hand, if the installation posture is inappropriate,
The warning light 26 is lit to warn you (step 30).
), then it is determined whether or not the installation posture has been corrected to a proper installation posture, and if the installation posture has not been corrected to a proper installation posture, the system waits until the proper installation posture is corrected (step 31).
. When the installation position is corrected, the warning light 26 is turned off (step 32) and the printing operation is started (
Step 29). Therefore, the printing operation is not started under an inappropriate installation orientation, and the printing operation is always started under an appropriate installation orientation.

After the printing operation is started, it is always determined whether or not the installation posture is appropriate (step 33), and if the installation posture is appropriate, the printing operation is continued (step 34).
).

On the other hand, if the installation posture is inappropriate,
The printing operation is stopped (step 35). At this time, the address N at the time the printing operation stopped is memorized (step 36).
At the same time, the warning light 26 is lit to warn that the installation posture is inappropriate (step 37), and then it is determined whether or not the installation posture has been corrected to the proper installation posture. If not, it waits until it is corrected to a proper installation posture (step 38). Address N is detected by address counter 23.

[0021] When the installation position is corrected, the warning light 2
6 is turned off (step 39).

At the same time, the print head 9 is returned to the home position (step 40), and the print head 9 is removed from the home position again (step 41). While the print head 9 is moving, the position of the print head 9 is monitored by the address counter 23, and the print head 9 is kept at the address N.
It is determined whether or not the print head 9 has reached the address N position, and if the print head 9 has not reached the address N position, the print head 9
It waits until it reaches the position of address N (step 42). When the print head 9 reaches the address N position, the printing operation is resumed from the address (N+1) position (
Step 43), return to step 33.

[0023] Therefore, the printing operation is prohibited under an improper installation posture, and when the printer is corrected to the proper installation posture, the printing operation will be performed again from the position where the printing operation was interrupted.

In the above embodiment, the attitude detection sensor 25 is directly attached to the printer case 1, but a separate member is interposed inside the printer case 1 to connect the attitude detection sensor 14.
may be indirectly attached to the printer case 1.

Further, in the above embodiment, the warning light 26 is turned on when the installation position is incorrect, but instead of the warning light 26, an alarm sound generating device that generates a warning sound is used. Good too.

Further, the attitude detection sensor 25 is not limited to the mercury switch, and other attitude detection means may be used. For example, a ball may be provided in the printer case 1 that rolls when the inclination of the printer case 1 falls outside a predetermined range, and the inclination of the printer case 1 may be detected based on the displacement of this ball.

[0027]

As explained above, according to the printer according to the present invention, the printing mechanism is controlled by the control means so as not to print when the inclination of the printer case is outside a predetermined range. This has an excellent effect of preventing use in an awkward installation position.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart during use.

FIG. 2 is a circuit block diagram of a printing mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view.

FIG. 4 is an external perspective view.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Printer case 5 Printing mechanism 18 Control circuit (control means)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An attitude detection means attached to a printer case to detect the inclination of the printer case, and a printing operation not performed when the attitude detection means detects that the inclination of the printer case is outside a predetermined range. A printer characterized in that it has a control means for controlling a printing mechanism in such a manner.