JPS63295288A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a ribbon to be accurately fed by a type width necessary for actual printing, by a method wherein a counting means is provided between a ribbon feed data memory means and a ribbon feed electrical drive means, and a feeding amount of a ribbon is electrically variably controlled. CONSTITUTION:Contents of a counter of a control circuit 3 are counted up or down for each one type pitch, and a rotary motor 4 of a type wheel is rotated until a target position address conforms to a present position address. When a ribbon feed end signal from an input-output line L13 and a motor rotation end signal from L10 are inputted, a control circuit 5 alters an address of ROM 2, and generates a hammer instruction by enabling a ribbon feed amount specified code after printing to be read out. After ending operation of a hammer, a ribbon feed data is given from ROM 2 to a ribbon feed control circuit 6 via L12, and a step motor 7 is actuated to perform ribbon feed after printing. Then, a ribbon feed end signal is given to a print sequence control circuit 5 to complete one printing cycle.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a printer that uses a ribbon for printing, and particularly relates to a printer that uses a ribbon for printing.
By changing the feed rate of the ribbon (abbreviated as ribbon),
The present invention relates to a printer that makes it possible to efficiently use expensive carbon film ribbons and reduce the frequency of ribbon replacement.

Traditionally, serial impact printing involves selecting type using a printing character code such as an ASCII code or JIS code, and pressing the type provided on a rotating wheel or cylinder onto paper via a ribbon. In type printers, the amount of ribbon feed is always determined to be a constant length for each print, regardless of the type of type printed.

For example, when using a ribbon such as a carbon film ribbon that cannot be used again once it has been used for printing, the ribbon is fed according to the maximum width of the type, regardless of the width of the printed type. was being carried out.

Therefore, there are disadvantages in that the efficiency of using the ribbon decreases and the frequency of ribbon replacement increases.

Purpose Therefore, in order to solve these difficulties, this invention
A counting means is provided between the ribbon feeding data storage means and the electric drive means for feeding the ribbon.

By controlling the electric drive means for feeding the ribbon using this counting means, the amount of ribbon feeding can be electrically variably controlled, making it possible to accurately feed the ribbon by the width of the type required for actual printing. The purpose of this invention is to enable efficient use of carbon film ribbons, etc., and to reduce the frequency of ribbon replacement.

Ao-Ichiichi feeling.

To this end, the printer of the present invention includes a type holding means such as a rotating wheel or a rotary cylinder having type, an electric drive means for feeding the ribbon, and a character storing data regarding the position of each character on the type holding means. a ribbon feeding data storage means for storing data regarding ribbon feeding according to the position data storage means and the five characters; and a counting means provided between the ribbon feeding data storage means and the electric drive means for feeding the ribbon. The amount of ribbon feeding is electrically variably controlled by controlling the electric drive means for feeding the ribbon by the counting means.

In a serial impact printer that uses a rotary wheel or a rotating cylinder holding type as a type holding means, there are two methods for selecting the type position: 1, for example, ASC
By inputting a printed character code such as II code, the position address code indicating the location of the type on the type wheel is read out from a fixed storage device such as ROM (read only memory), and the position address code indicating the location of the type on the type wheel is read out from a fixed storage device such as ROM (read only memory). The contents of the counter are counted up or down, the output of the counter is used as the current position code of the type wheel, and the position address code read from the ROM is compared with the current position code of the type wheel. A known method is to select a type by controlling the rotation of a type wheel. Since such a method for selecting printed characters is not a direct object of the present invention, a detailed explanation of conventionally known methods will be omitted.

Next, embodiments of the printer of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing character width information for three examples of characters with different print widths, 2x and 2y in the 0th drawing.

2z represents the print width of the capital letter "A", the capital letter "■", and the lowercase letter rbJ, respectively.

When printing characters with different widths, the ribbon can be used efficiently by controlling the ribbon feed amount using a corresponding feed amount designation code.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the printer of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a time chart thereof, and FIG. 4 is an example of a ROM code table. In Fig. 2, 1 is a 7-bit buffer, 2 is a 256 x 8-bit ROM, 3 is a rotating wheel motor control circuit, 4 is a rotating wheel motor, 5 is a print sequence control circuit, 6 is a ribbon feed control circuit, and 7 is a ribbon It is a step motor for feeding, and Ll is AS
CII code input line, L2 is input line for print start command, L3 is output line for buffer 2, L4 is input/output line for ribbon feed start command, L5 is input/output line for ROM switching command, L6 is ribbon feed control signal L7 is the input/output line for the rotating wheel motor control signal, L9 is the input/output line for the buffer-in command, LIO is the input/output line for the wheel rotation end signal, and Lll is the input/output line for the 5th to 7th outputs of ROM2. Lines, L12 are the same < input/output lines of ROM2 outputs 1 to 4,
L13 indicates the input/output line of the ribbon feeding end signal, 1 to L7 in FIG. 3 are signal waveforms of the corresponding coded portions in FIG. 2, and L8 is the signal waveform of the hammer command.

In this case, the ribbon is fed twice for one printing, half before printing and the other half after printing. The ribbon feed amount designation code is made up of 1, for example, a 4-bit binary number, so that 16 states from 0 to 15 can be output, and 1 state corresponds to 1 step of the step motor 7 that drives the ribbon feed mechanism. It is now compatible. In the case of Figure 1, 1, for example, X is 12. y is 5. z is 9
It is determined according to each print character code, such as: In addition, the print character code and position address code are 26 uppercase and lowercase letters in the case of alphabets.
, numbers 0 to 9, and other symbols, 1
It consists of a 7-bit binary number that allows up to 28 different codes.

While the print character code of the ASCII code is input to the 7-bit buffer 1 from the input line L1, a print start command pulse is applied from the input line L2 to the print sequence control circuit 5, and a buffer-in command is generated from the control circuit 5. controls the 7-bit buffer 1 through the input/output line L9.

The input print character code is stored in buffer 1. Also, the buffer l is connected to the ROM through the input/output line L3.
Give the print character code to 2.

This ROM2 has a storage capacity of 256 x 8 bits, and stores one of each of up to 128 possible printing character codes.
Use two addresses for each location, and a 7-bit location address code.

A 4-bit ribbon feed amount designation code corresponding to the type width is stored. FIG. 3 is an example of a ROM code table, in which one bit out of eight bits is used to switch between a position address code and a ribbon feed amount designation code.

First, a ribbon feed amount designation code is read from the ROM 2 from the address designated by the input 7-bit print character code. In this case, the ROM switching command applied from the print sequence control circuit 5 through the input/output line L5 becomes a logic "0" state, and the fourth
The data is stored as 4-bit ribbon feed data as shown in the figure into a 4-bit counter provided in the ribbon feed control circuit 6 via the input/output line L12.

Next, a ribbon start command is sent from the print sequence control circuit 5 to the ribbon feed control circuit 6 through the input/output line L4.
, the control circuit 6 rotates the ribbon feeding step motor 7 via the input/output line L6. Ribbon feed data stored in a 4-bit counter is used for this rotation control, and as the step motor 7 rotates one step, the contents of the counter are decremented one by one, and when the content reaches "0", the step motor 7 rotation is stopped.

In this way, the ribbon feeding control before printing is completed.

When the ribbon feeding is completed, the input/output line L1 is connected from the control circuit 6.
A ribbon feed end signal is applied to the print sequence control circuit 5 through 3.

On the other hand, after the ribbon feed data is stored in the counter in the control circuit 6, the print sequence control circuit 5 stores the data in the ROM.
Change the switching command to the logic "1" state, and input/output line L
5, the input address of the ROM 2 is changed, and the position address code corresponding to the inputted print character code is read out.

The position address code is composed of 7 bits, and outputs 1 to 4 are given to the rotating wheel motor control circuit 3 from the output line L12, and outputs 5 to 7 are given from the output line Lll, respectively. This position address code is given to the rotating wheel motor control circuit 3 as target position address data, and the control circuit 3 is provided with a counter for indicating the current position of the wheel, which holds the current position address code. .

The input target position address data is then compared with the contents of a counter indicating the current position address, and the rotary wheel motor 4 is rotated in the forward or reverse direction depending on the comparison result. That is, the contents of the counter of the control circuit 3 are as follows: 1) The motor 4 is rotated through the input/output line L7 until the target position address and the current position address match until the target position address and the current position address match. Sometimes it stops rotating. At the same time, the control circuit 3 provides a motor rotation end signal to the print sequence control circuit 5 through the input/output line LIO.

When the control circuit 5 receives the ribbon feed end signal from the input/output line L13 and the motor rotation end signal from the LIO, it changes the ROM switching command to the logic "0" state again, and outputs the signal through the input/output line L5. The address of the ROM 2 is changed so that the ribbon feed amount designation code after printing can be read out, and a hammer command for operating the hammer is generated (not shown).

After the hammer operation is completed, ribbon feed data is given from the ROM 2 to the ribbon feed control circuit 6 via L12 via L12, and the step motor 7 is operated to feed the ribbon after printing. , the control circuit 6 gives a ribbon feeding end signal to the print sequence control circuit 5 via the input/output line L13, and one printing cycle is completed.

In this way, in response to the input printing character code, the position address code of the type and the ribbon feed amount designation code are read from the ROM 2, and the ribbon feed amount is controlled in proportion to the width of the type to be printed. , the printing ribbon can be used efficiently.

In addition, in the explanation of FIGS. 2 to 4, a method is shown in which 7 bits of a printed character code based on ASCII code and 1 bit of a ROM switching instruction are used as input to ROM2, but this method is commercially available. standard RO
This is to effectively use M (256 x 8 bits),
It is also possible to configure the ROM 2 with two pieces, one for the position address code and the other for the ribbon feed amount designation code. In this case, it is sufficient to have a storage capacity of 128x7 bits and 128x4 bits, respectively. In addition, the input printing character code is used only to output the position address code, and a signal re-encoded from the current or target position address code can also be used to specify the address for the ribbon feed amount specification code. .

Furthermore, although this explanation has given an example of a control method in which the ribbon is fed by an amount corresponding to half the type width before and after the hammer operation, the printer of the present invention is limited to such a control method. It's not something you can do.

For example, after printing a certain character, the ribbon is first fed by an amount corresponding to the maximum type width, and then when the character code to be printed is input, the ribbon is fed backwards according to the width of the type. In such a control system, the ribbon feed amount designation code is given by the difference from the maximum type width. Even with this type of control method, the ribbon feed amount specification code can determine a unique feed amount for each print character code, so as in the case described above, it is possible to determine the ribbon feed amount to be printed next. Once the printing character code is input, the ribbon can be fed as necessary for printing.

On the other hand, a control method in which the ribbon is fed only once for each print is also possible. In this control method, it is necessary to determine the ribbon feed amount by adding the width of the type that was previously printed and the width of the type that is to be printed next. In that case, the ribbon feed data read out from the ROM 2 according to the previously printed character code is transferred to the ribbon feed control circuit 6, for example.
In this way, ribbon feeding can be completed in one operation. Become.

As explained in detail above, the printer of the present invention uses a ribbon for printing, and includes a printing means for printing characters, an electric drive means for feeding the ribbon, and a printer for each character for printing. a character data storage means for storing data on the ribbon feeding, a ribbon feeding data storage means for storing data regarding ribbon feeding according to the characters, and a counting means provided between the ribbon feeding data storage means and the electric drive means; is provided, and the feeding amount of the ribbon is variably controlled electrically by controlling the electric drive means by the counting means.

That is, as explained in connection with FIGS. 2 to 4, there is a ROM or other memory that stores data on the ribbon feed amount, and a counter provided in the ribbon feed control circuit that stores data from this memory. According to the contents set in this counter, the ribbon is variably fed by an electric drive means such as a step motor.

Further, the character data storage means and the ribbon feed data storage means may be the same storage means, and each data may be sequentially outputted from the storage means.

Effects Therefore, according to the printer of the present invention, it is possible to feed the minimum amount of ribbon necessary for actual printing corresponding to each character width, and the efficiency in using especially expensive printing ribbon can be significantly improved. The effect is extremely large.

What's more, since the ribbon feed data is stored in the printer itself, no matter what system the printer is connected to, for example, what kind of word processor from any manufacturer, the ribbon feed amount can be varied according to one character. can be controlled. This is true even when connected to a relatively inexpensive word processor that does not have ribbon feed amount data.

Furthermore, since ribbon feeding data and character position data are stored in the same storage means, it is also possible to store a large amount of information efficiently.

This also plays an extremely important role in providing ribbon feeding data within the printer.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing character width information for three examples of characters with different print widths, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the printer of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a time chart thereof. Figure 4 is an example of a ROM code table. In the drawing, 1 is 7 bit buffer, 2 is 256 x 8
Bit ROM, 3 is the motor control circuit for the rotating wheel,
4 is a rotary wheel motor, 5 is a print sequence control circuit, 6 is a ribbon feed control circuit, and 7 is a ribbon feed step motor. ? ? God 1 God 2 Figure Lll-1111) A'4 Mouth

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a printer that uses a ribbon for printing, a type holding means such as a rotating wheel or a rotating cylinder having type, an electric drive means for feeding the ribbon, and the type holding means for each character. a character position data storage means for storing data regarding the upper position; a ribbon feed data storage means for storing data regarding the ribbon feed according to the character; the ribbon feed data storage means and the electric drive means for feeding the ribbon; 1. A printer comprising: a counting means provided between the printers; said counting means controls an electric drive means for feeding said ribbon, thereby electrically variably controlling the amount of ribbon feeding. 2. The printer according to claim 1, characterized in that the character position data storage means and the ribbon feed data storage means are the same storage means, and each data is sequentially output from the storage means. printer.