JPS61189977A - 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 [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to printers, and more particularly to ribbon control of multi-time ink ribbons.

Conventionally, the ink ribbon of a thermal transfer type serial printer can print only once, and is wound up each time it is thermally transferred to recording paper, and the ribbon is replaced when the ribbon reaches its end.

However, in recent years, ink ribbons that can be printed multiple times (hereinafter referred to as multi-time ribbons, those used once are referred to as one-time ribbons) have been developed, and various methods have been devised for efficient repeated use of these ribbons. .

For example, methods have been considered such as detecting the ribbon end and rewinding it to the initial state using a motor, etc., or in the case of a ribbon cassette method, reversing the cassette depending on the ribbon end, but the former requires processing time, and the latter The problem is that operator intervention is required.

Therefore, a printer that can efficiently and repeatedly use a multi-time ribbon is desired.

[Conventional technology]

The printing operation of a serial printer using a one-time ribbon will be explained below.

Figure 3 (al is a top view of the carriage part of the printer equipped with ribbon cassette 7, Figure 3 (b) is a side view. In the figure, ■ is a platen, 2 is a ribbon cassette, 3 is a print head, 4 is a fixed gear, and the ribbon cassette 2 and print head 3 constitute a carriage.

Printing is performed by bringing the print head 3 close to the ink ribbon 5 and moving the carriage (spacing).
This is done by heating the print head 3 and thermally transferring the ribbon ink to the recording paper while moving the ink ribbon 5 in the direction of the arrow shown in the figure by the gear 7 meshing with the fixed gear 4.

Also, when performing a carriage return, the print head 3 is retracted (
(escape), the clutch 6 is disconnected, and the winding is stopped.

Therefore, the ribbon cassette 2 has a spacing and a relative speed of O to the platen 1, and supplies unused ink ribbon to the printing pad 3.

Serial unidirectional printing is performed by the ribbon control described above, but if the ink ribbon 5 is a one-time ribbon, it becomes unusable after one winding is completed, and the ribbon cassette must be replaced.

When using a fixed type ink ribbon, ribbon control is performed in which the ink ribbon is stopped during spacing and taken up by the carriage during carriage return.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

In order to use a multi-time ribbon in the ribbon control described above, it is possible to reverse the ribbon cassette or rewind it using a motor or the like when the ribbon end is detected. However, as mentioned above, the former method requires an operator's operation, and the latter method has the problem that rewinding takes time.

[Means for solving problems]

The above-mentioned problems with the conventional method include means for counting the number of times the same area of the ink ribbon is continuously printed, and when the number of times of printing reaches a predetermined number of times, a continuous number of marks are added to the area that has been used for printing. This problem can be solved by the printer of the present invention, which is equipped with means for controlling the movement of the ink ribbon so that the ink ribbon used can be used for printing.

[Effect]

In the present invention, for example, the number of times of repeated printing is counted, assuming that a ribbon for one line of printing is used repeatedly, and when the number of repeated printing reaches a predetermined number, an unused ribbon for the next one line of printing is supplied and the process is repeated again. The method is to use

When using the ribbon mounted on a carriage, it can be used repeatedly by rewinding the ribbon length by the number of digits of the previous print line when returning the carriage.When the ribbon reaches a predetermined number of times, it can be used repeatedly. Feed the unused ribbon portion from the next line of printing. Note that if the last printed line of repeated use does not reach the maximum number of digits in one line, rewinding is stopped until the ribbon length for the next one line is supplied.

In the case of a fixed type ink ribbon in which the ribbon is installed in the frame of the printer, winding of the ribbon is stopped during printing, and when a predetermined number of printings is reached, the length of the ribbon for one line is wound.

Since the above winding and unwinding are performed when the carriage returns, there is an advantage that the processing time does not increase.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Figure 1 (al is a side view of the carriage showing an embodiment in which a ribbon cassette is mounted on the carriage, Figure 1 (b)
2 is a block diagram of the same control section as above, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an embodiment in which a fixed ribbon is used.

When a ribbon cassette is installed, winding is done by a fixed gear, and pulses corresponding to the number of digits of the previous print line are supplied to rewind the ribbon to its original position (the printing start position). Even when printing is not performed from the home position, the ribbon is rewound to its original position by rewinding the number of digits to be printed.

Other parts The same symbols as in Figure 3 represent the same objects.

FIG. 1 (bl is a block diagram of the printer that controls the above mechanism, 10 is the main control unit, 11 is the printer interface, 12 is the space motor, 13 is the line feed (LF) motor, 3 is the print head, and 14 is the ribbon. This is the control section.

The ribbon control operation will be explained below.

In FIG. 1 (bl), 15 is a line counter which counts the line printing end signal sent from the main control unit 10, counts the predetermined print lines and outputs a carry, and 16 is a digit counter. 19 is a ribbon motor drive unit that counts the digit printing end signal sent from the main control unit 10, counts the maximum number of digits constituting one line, and outputs a carry. 16 and sends a predetermined pulse to the ribbon motor 8 to drive the ribbon motor 8 for rewinding;
7 is an inverter, and 18 is an AND circuit.

Spacing is performed in the same manner as before, ie, with fixed gears 4 and 7, and clutch 6 is released during carriage return.

After this clutch 6 is released, a rewinding operation is performed, and the ribbon motor drive unit 19 reads the contents of the digit counter 16 using a line feed signal (or clutch release signal) and sends a pulse to wind the ribbon length equal to the number of printed digits. After generating and driving the ribbon motor 8, the digit counter 16 is reset.

When the predetermined number of printed lines is reached, the line counter 15 outputs a carry signal, and this signal causes the ribbon motor drive section 19 to
The line feed signal input to is inhibited (by the inverter 17 and the AND circuit 18), and the digit counter 16 cumulatively counts the number of printed digits until it counts the maximum number of digits (until it outputs a carry).

When the maximum number of digits is reached, the digit counter 16 outputs a carry and the row counter 15 is reset.

Therefore, the line feed signal can be input to the ribbon motor drive section 19, and the next line feed signal causes rewinding. In other words, the ribbon motor drive section 19 reads the number of digits after subtracting the maximum number of digits from the digit counter 16 and rewinds the ribbon, so that after a predetermined number of printed lines, the ribbon can be wound for one line while performing spacing. .

As described above, repeated printing can be performed for each row of ribbon.

Since the main control unit 10 normally receives and stores printing information for one or more lines, the number of printing digits for the next line during printing is known, and if the maximum number of digits is not reached when printing the next line, the current number of digits is known. The rewinding operation on the print line may be stopped.

An example in which a fixed ribbon is used is shown in FIG.

In FIG. 2, 20 is a take-up spool, 21 is a supply spool, and the take-up spool 20 has a take-up motor 22.
are joined, and after counting a predetermined number of rows, one row of ribbon 23 is wound up when the carriage returns.

In addition to using a motor for winding, the ribbon can also be wound by the carriage holding the ribbon when the carriage returns.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, a predetermined ribbon length can be repeatedly used multiple times, and since winding or unwinding is performed when the carriage returns, the printer can be used without increasing the processing time required for repetitive use control. can be provided.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 (al is a side view of the carriage showing an embodiment in which a ribbon cassette is mounted, Figure 1 (bl is a block diagram of the same control section as above, Figure 2 is an embodiment in which a fixed ribbon is used) Figure 3 (al is a top view of a carriage of a conventional printer equipped with a ribbon cassette, and Figure 3(b) is a side view of the same. In the figure, 1 is a platen, 2 is a ribbon cassette) , 3 is a print head, 4 is a fixed gear, 8 is a ribbon motor for rewinding, 10 is a main control unit, 11 is a printer interface, 12 is a space motor, 13 is a line feed (LF) motor, 14 is a ribbon control unit, 15 is a row counter, 16 is a digit counter, 17 is an inverter, 18 is an AND circuit, 19 is a ribbon motor drive unit, 20 is a take-up spool, 21 is a supply spool, 22 is a take-up motor. 1. Drunkenness (b) Mine 2.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A means for counting the number of times the same area of the ink ribbon is continuously used for printing, and when the number of times of printing reaches a predetermined number, an unused ink ribbon that is continuous with the area that has been used for printing is used for printing. and means for controlling the movement of an ink ribbon.