JPS60179286A - Impact type recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make the recording of image letter, etc. in a fixed recording density possible, by a method wherein the numbers of the use times of ink ribbon are detected and the recording pressure is regulated according to the number of detected use times. CONSTITUTION:A control part 6 detects whether the ribbon is exchanged or not. When exchanged, the counted valule in instrumentation circuit 9 is reset and the number of use times is returned to zero. Successively, a record or a control data is received in a fixed data type from the outside and recordings such as carriage return, line feed, etc. are carried out. When sensing 2 is detected, the content of the counter in instrumentation circuit 9 is increased by one and whether the discrete value of counter reaches a fixed value or not is judged. Recording can be always carried out in a fixed density irrespective of the number of the use times of ink ribbon.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field] The present invention relates to an impact type recording device, and particularly to an impact type recording device using an ink ribbon that can be used multiple times.

[Prior art]

Conventionally, impact type recording devices include wire dot printers and daisy printers using type, but most of these record by striking type or wire onto a recording medium via an ink ribbon.

Although there are one-time ribbons with good recording quality as ink ribbons, endless 7-ply ink ribbons impregnated with ink are often used. Since the same ribbon surface is used many times in such an ink ribbon, there is a drawback that the density is high in the first period after conversion, and as the frequency of use increases, the recording density becomes thinner.

Particularly when an impact type recording device is used as an output device such as a word processor, deterioration in recording quality due to variations in density is a problem that cannot be ignored.

〔the purpose〕

The present invention has been made to eliminate the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, and its eleventh objective is to provide an impact type recording device that can record images, characters, etc. at a constant recording density.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on the embodiment shown in the F1 drawing.

FIG. 1d is a schematic diagram showing the main part configuration of an impact type recording device employing the present invention.

The ink ribbon designated by reference numeral 1 is formed into a loop, and is stretched around six rollers R1 to R6. The ink ribbon 1 and rollers R1 to R6 are provided in a predetermined case (not shown). The ink ribbon 1 is long in order to widen its usable range.
The part that exceeds the length stretched by the rollers is folded into a zigzag shape and stored in the case.

The ink ribbon 1 is stretched along the platen 5 by rollers R3 and R4. Also, the one indicated by the reference numeral 4 is an impact recording head using a predetermined method such as a digiwheel method or a wire dot method.
Recording is performed while moving along the ink ribbon between 3 and R4. During this recording, the ink ribbon 1 is fed by a predetermined amount in the direction of the arrow in FIG.
The impact recording head 4 records on the recording paper on the platen 5 with a predetermined pressure.

On the other hand, a part of the ink ribbon 1 has 9 volumes of Sen 7 2 printed on it. The sensing 2 is made of, for example, a metal foil, and is detected magnetically or optically by a sensor 3 disposed within the travel range of the ink ribbon 1. In the present invention, by detecting the number of times the sensing 2 passes the position of the sensor 3, the number of times the di-ink ribbon is used, (
number of laps).

Next, FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the structure of the recording control system of the impact type recording apparatus of the present invention.

What is indicated by the reference numeral 6 in FIG. 2 is a control section composed of a microcomputer or the like.

The control unit 6 analyzes the code sent from the outside in a predetermined data format, and controls the recording head 4 based on this data.
A driver 7 that drives the recording head and a driver 8 that controls the movement of the recording head are controlled by a known method to control the entire recording operation.

The driver 7 controls a recording mechanism such as a daisy wheel of the recording head 4 and performs recording based on data input from the control section 6. At this time, the driver 7 also controls the recording pressure of the recording head 4.

The recording head 4 is mounted on a belt 13, and the recording head 4 is driven by a motor 14 via the belt 13 and moved to a predetermined printing position. The driver 8 controls the recording position by controlling the operation of the motor 14.

The output of the above-mentioned sensor 3 is input to a measuring circuit 9. This measuring circuit 9 calculates the number of times the ink ribbon 1 is used by the sensor 3 using a counter circuit, and controls the driver 7 according to the detected number of times the ink ribbon 1 is used to control the recording pressure of the recording head 4. There is. Furthermore, an alarm device 11 consisting of an ink ribbon, an LED, a buzzer, etc. is connected to the measuring circuit 9, and when the number of uses of the ink ribbon 1 exceeds a predetermined value, the alarm device 11 is activated to notify the operator of the ribbon. Notifies you that the replacement time is approaching.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be explained in detail with reference to the flowchart If in FIG.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the control of the recording operation performed by the control section 6 and measurement circuit 9 described above.

In step S1 of FIG. 3, the control unit 6 determines whether the ribbon has been replaced. This determination may be made using the output of a sensor that detects the presence of the ink ribbon 10 case itself. If the ink ribbon has been replaced, go to step S2, otherwise go to step S
Jump to 3.

If the ink ribbon 1 is replaced in step S1, the value of the counter in the measuring circuit 9 is changed in step S2.
be done. That is, the number of times the ink ribbon has been used is returned to zero.

Subsequently, in step S3, recording or control data is received from the outside in a predetermined data format.

Then, based on the data received in step S4, recording operations such as carriage return and life feed are performed based on the character print control data based on the recording data. The control of the recording operation in this case is the same as that known in the art, so a detailed explanation will be omitted.

In step S5, the sensor 3 performs sensing 2.
Determine whether it has been detected. If sensing 2 is detected, the process goes to step S6; if not detected, the process returns to step S3 to receive the next data.

In step S6, since the ink ribbon 1 has rotated once, the content of the counter in the measuring circuit 9 is incremented by one.

Subsequently, in step S7, it is determined whether the count value of the counter has reached a predetermined value determined corresponding to the ribbon life. If step S7 is determined, the process goes to step sio, and if it is negative, the process goes to step S8.

In step S10, the alarm 11 is activated to notify the operator that the life of the ink ribbon has expired, and then the process returns to step S3 to perform the ninth printing.

In step S8, it is determined whether the count value of the counter in the measuring circuit 9 has reached a predetermined value.

If step S8 is affirmative, the process moves to step S9, and if negative, the process returns to step S3 and performs the same operation as described above.

In step S9, the pressure of the recording head 4 during recording is increased, and the process returns to step S3 to repeat the above operation.

In the above pressure increase operation, the relationship between the number of times the ink ribbon is used and the amount of pressure increase can be determined as appropriate by those skilled in the art. For example, the pressure may be increased by a predetermined amount every time the ink ribbon is used, or the pressure increase may be changed at a predetermined rate of change as the ink ribbon is used.

According to the above embodiment, the number of times the ink ribbon is used is measured by the sensor 3, and the recording head 4 is
Since the ink ribbon is configured to adjust the recording pressure, it is possible to always perform recording at a constant density regardless of the number of times the ink ribbon is used, and to maintain constant recording quality. Furthermore, according to this embodiment, when the ink ribbon has been used a predetermined number of times, the ribbon replacement tU alarm can be used to prompt the user to change the ribbon, thereby making it possible to equalize the number of times each ink ribbon is used. . Furthermore, by prompting ribbon replacement, it is possible to prevent low-quality recording.

In the embodiments described above, a memory for holding the stored contents may be provided in the measurement oral cavity 9 using a pickup battery or the like, and the entire number of times the ink ribbon is used may be stored in this memory.

As a result, even if the power is turned on and off, the ink ribbon can be used continuously.

〔effect〕

As is clear from the following explanation, the present invention employs a configuration in which the number of times the ink ribbon is used is detected and the recording pressure is adjusted according to the detected number of times the ink ribbon is used. It is possible to provide an excellent impact type recording device that can always perform recording with a constant recording density and constant recording quality regardless of the situation.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the main parts of the impact type recording device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the structure of the control system of the impact type recording device of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a control procedure for a recording operation in the configuration of FIG. 2; 1... Ink ribbon 2... Sensing 3... Sensor 4... Recording head 5... Platen 6... Control unit 7.8... Driver 9... Measuring circuit 11. ...Alarm device 13...Belt 14...Motor R1-R6...Roller patent applicant
Canon Corporation Figure 1 Figure 5 Figure 2 Figure 3

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In an impact type recording device using an ink ribbon that is used repeatedly, a means for detecting the total number of times the ink ribbon is used and a means for fully adjusting the recording pressure is provided, and the number of times the ribbon is used is determined according to the number of times the ribbon is used as detected by the detecting means. An impact type recording device characterized in that the recording pressure is adjusted by the adjustment means. (2) The impact type recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for warning that it is time to replace the ink ribbon in accordance with the number of times the ink ribbon has been used as detected by the detection means.