JPH0615940A - Method for detecting color-shift home position - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To determine simply and correctly a hole position without a severe demand for the precision of parts by measuring the pulse count corresponding to the rotation angle of a rotary cam during the shutdown of a sensor by the cam rotation by a given angle. CONSTITUTION:When a home position is determined a rotary cam is turned by an operator's command (S1) to detect th position for switching off a sensor (S2). At the same time, the pulse count for the detection of a cam position H1 by the sensor is measured (S3). When the measured pulse count P is too much smaller than a referential pulse count X, and alarm signal is output so that an operator can take given measures. After the transfer from S3 to S5, the rotation of the rotary cam is continued, passing through a cam position Y, to detect the position where the sensor is switched on (S5). The pulse count for the detection of a cam position H2 by the sensor is measured (S6). When the measured pulse count P is too much smaller than a referential pulse count, an alarm signal is output (S7) to stop the rotation of the rotary cam.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for detecting the position of a color shift home position in a printing apparatus capable of printing using a color ink ribbon provided with ink of different colors for each track.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 2 and 3 show the structure of a main part of a serial printer as a conventional printing apparatus using a color ink ribbon of this type. FIG.
Is a top view. 2 and 3, the printer 60 includes a frame 61 having side frames 61a and 61b on both left and right sides. In addition, a platen 6 having both ends rotatably attached to both side frames 61a and 61b via a bearing 62 is attached to the frame 61.
3 are provided. This platen 63 has an output gear 6
5, it is rotated by the driving force of the feed motor 64 transmitted through the belt 66 and the pulley 67.

Further, a pair of left and right pin tractors 68 and a pair of left and right wheels 69, which are also driven by the feed motor 64 as a drive source, are disposed behind the platen 63. Then, the continuous paper 70 is the pin tractor 6
8 and the wheel 69 to reach the front side of the platen 63, and the front side is pressed against the platen 63 by the upper pressure roller 71 so as to be in close contact with the platen 63.

On the other hand, in front of the platen 63,
A main shaft 72 is mounted between the side frames 61a and 61b in parallel with the platen 63, and a guide rail 73 is mounted on the frame 61 on the front side of the main shaft 72. Further, the main shaft 72 and the guide rail are provided. Carriage 74 over 73
Are arranged.

A rear portion of the carriage 74 is slidably and rotatably attached to the main shaft 72.
The front part is on the guide rail 73 via the roller 75,
The guide rail 73 is mounted and mounted so as to be movable in the left-right direction. A print head 77, which is electrically connected to the printer controller 76 via a cable (not shown), is provided on the carriage 74.
A ribbon protector bracket 78, a pair of ribbon guide posts 79, etc. are arranged. Then, the ink ribbon 80 is set on the carriage 74 so as to pass from the front side of the ribbon guide post 79 to the tip of the nose portion 77a of the print head 77.

Most of the ink ribbon 80 is housed in a ribbon cartridge 81, and only a portion necessary for printing is sequentially drawn out, and the ribbon cartridge 8 is again drawn.
1 is of a type that is run in a state of being drawn in, and a plurality of ink ribbons 80 (see FIG.
And four) tracks 80a, 80 as shown in FIG.
It is a so-called multicolored color ink ribbon in which ink of different colors is provided for each track by dividing into b, 80c and 80d. In this embodiment, the track 80a is black, the track 80b is cyan, the track 80c is magenta, and the track 80d is yellow. Further, the ribbon cartridge 81 that stores the ink ribbon 80 is a cartridge holder 82.
(See FIGS. 4, 6 and 7), which is removably mounted on the frame 61. When mounted, the drive shaft of the ribbon feed motor 59 (see FIG. 2) on the frame 61 is engaged with the ribbon reel. A power connection state is established, and the ink ribbon 80 is driven by the driving force of the ribbon feed motor 59.
Will be sent.

4 to 7 show a carriage 74 and a cartridge holder 82 of the printer shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.
3 shows a detailed structure of a peripheral portion of the ink jet printer with an ink ribbon shift mechanism. Therefore, the detailed structure will be further described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7. First, the cartridge holder 82 to which the ribbon cartridge 81 is attached will be described. The cartridge holder 82 is supported rotatably in a vertical direction (circular movement) about a support shaft 83 as a fulcrum, and has holes on both left and right sides. A side wall 82a having a portion 84 and a cutout portion 85 is integrally provided. On the other hand, the ribbon cartridge 81 has the hole 8
4 and a locking claw 87 formed corresponding to the cutout portion 85.
The locking claws 87 are detachably engaged with the holes 84 and the notches 85, respectively, and are detachably mounted on the cartridge holder 82.

A sensor lever 88 is provided on one side of the cartridge holder 82, and a roller 90 is rotatably attached midway on the sensor lever 88 via a support shaft 87. This roller 90 is, as shown in FIG. 7, a rotary cam 91 provided outside the side frame 61b (not shown in FIG. 7) shown in FIG.
It is rotatably engaged with the cam groove 91a.

The cam groove 91a is formed on one side surface of the rotary cam 91 in a revolving state. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the cam portion B (black color) corresponding to the track 80a of the ink ribbon 80, The cam portion C (cyan color) corresponding to the track 80b, the cam portion M (magenta color) corresponding to the track 80c, and the cam portion Y (yellow color) corresponding to the track 80d are consecutively set to 180 degrees as one cycle, It is formed for two cycles. On the other hand, a gear portion 91b is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the rotary cam 91, and the gear portion 91b is power-transmitted to the output shaft 96a of the motor 96 via the gears 93, 94, and 95. Therefore, when the motor 96 is rotated, the rotating cam 9
1 also rotates integrally, and at this time, the cam groove 9 of the rotating cam 91
The abutment and engagement of the cam shape in 1a and the roller 90 allows the sensor lever 88 to move in an arc along with the cartridge holder 82 with the support shaft 83 as the fulcrum.

Further, the tip (lower end) of the sensor lever 88
As shown in FIG. 7, at a position corresponding to
The sensor 97 having a is provided, and the cam groove 91a is provided.
When the sensor lever 88 moves in an arc with the abutting engagement of the roller 90 and the roller 90, the tip of the sensor lever 88 moves to the sensor portion 97
It is formed so as to cross the front of a. In this embodiment, the tip of the sensor lever 88 reciprocates once while the rotating cam 91 rotates 180 degrees, and the sensor lever 88 reciprocates once more when it further rotates 180 degrees. The tip crosses over the sensor portion 97a.

Here, the sensor lever 88 and the rotating cam 91
The relationship between the sensor 97 and the sensor 97 will be further described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the relationship between the output of the sensor 97 and the rotation angle of the rotary cam 91, and FIG. Sensor portion 97 of the sensor lever 88 associated with
It is an operation | movement state diagram which respectively shows the position with respect to a. Figure 1
0 and FIG. 11, when the roller 90 corresponds to the cam portion Y (yellow color) in the cam groove 91a, the sensor lever 88 is located outside the sensor portion 97a as shown in FIG. The output from the sensor 97, that is, the sensor unit 97a that is arranged is off. Then, when the rotary cam 91 rotates in the direction of the arrow 58 shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 and the cam portion H1 of the rotary cam 91 comes into contact with the roller 90 as shown in FIG. 88 also rotates and is shown in FIG. 11 (b).
As shown by, the sensor unit 97a is crossed. As shown in FIG. 10, this state continues until the cam portion B is passed through the cam portions M and C, and the sensor 9
The output of 7 is maintained on. Then, when the rotary cam 91 further rotates from the state where the roller 90 is in contact with the cam portion B and the roller 90 moves toward the cam portion H1 side as shown in FIG. 10, the sensor lever 88 is also opposite from the front side accordingly. 11C, the sensor portion 97a is passed over as shown in FIG. 11C, and the output of the sensor 97 is switched from OFF to ON again.

In this way, the rotary cam 91 is
When the rotation of 0 degrees is completed and the next rotation of 180 degrees is started, the same operation is repeated again. Therefore, in this structure, the sensor lever 88 is rotated during one rotation of the rotary cam 91.
Moves back and forth through the sensor unit 97a, that is, (a) to FIG.
The state change of (c) is repeated twice. There is also one in which the rotary cam 91 makes only one reciprocation during one rotation, and this can be arbitrarily set by the shape of the cam groove 91a.

Next, the ribbon guide post 79 mounted on the carriage 74 is composed of a guide pin 98 fixed on the carriage 74 and a guide body 99 mounted on the guide pin 98 so as to be vertically slidable. It is configured. Further, a pair of flanges 99a are provided on the upper and lower ends of the guide body 99, spaced apart by the vertical width of the ink ribbon 80. The pair of flanges 99a is used to position the ink ribbon 80 in the vertical direction. Is going. in addition,
An engagement pin 100 is fixedly attached to the lower end side of the guide body 99.

Further, on both the left and right sides of the carriage 74, there is a first space between the carriage 74 and the guide body 99.
The link piece 101 is provided, and the second link piece 102 is provided between the carriage 74 and the cartridge holder 82. Of these, the second link piece 102 is
One end is rotatably attached to the carriage 74 via the support shaft 103, and the other end is movably placed on the rear end 82b of the cartridge holder 82 via the roller 104 in the left-right direction. It is installed. On the other hand, one end of the first link piece 101 is rotatably engaged with the engagement pin 100 via the notch 105, and the other end of the first link piece 101 is mounted on the carriage 74 via the support shaft 106. It is rotatably attached. In addition, a protrusion 107 is provided at an intermediate portion of the first link piece 101, and the protrusion 107 is movably mounted on and brought into contact with an intermediate portion of the second link piece 102. There is.

Next, in the printer thus constructed, the ink ribbon 80 is shifted in the vertical direction, and the tracks 80a to 80d arranged corresponding to the tip of the nose portion 77a of the print head 77 are selected and printed. The operation of switching the color of the ink used will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 6.
First, FIG. 4 shows four tracks 80a of the ink ribbon 80.
Of 80d, the truck 80a is at the home position,
That is, it is located at the tip of the nose portion 77a of the print head 77 and shows a state in which the ink of the track 80a can be used for printing. In this case, the rear end side of the cartridge holder 82 and the groove portion 92 of the rotary cam 91 and the roller 9 are
It has been pulled down by 0. Along with this, the second link piece 102 is rotated in the clockwise direction in the figure, and the first link piece 101 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction in the figure, so that the guide body is rotated. 99 is in a state of being displaced to the lowermost side of the guide pin 98.

On the other hand, when switching to any one of the tracks 80b to 80d other than the track 80a for use, switching information is input by means not shown.
Then, the motor 96 is rotated by the number of pulses corresponding to this information. Then, the rotating cam 91 also rotates together, and the groove 92 and the roller 90 cause the cartridge holder 82 to rotate.
The rear end side is pushed up. Further, along with this, the second link piece 102 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 6, and the second link piece 102 is also projected.
The first link piece 101 is pushed up via 07, and the first link piece 101 is rotated clockwise in FIG. Then, the rotation of the first link piece 101 causes the guide body 99 to be displaced to the upper side of the guide pin 98, and the ink ribbon 80 is displaced (shifted) upward by the amount of displacement of the guide body 99. The amount also changes, and the remaining three tracks 80b-8 depending on the amount of displacement.
One of 0d is selected to change the color of the ink.

With this structure, when detecting what color is set for the tip of the nose portion 77a of the print head 77, the sensor lever 88 fixed to the cartridge holder 82 is used as the sensor 97. The position where the output of the sensor 97 is turned off is defined as the home position (yellow color in the case of this embodiment), the device recognizes this, and the position to which the fixed pulse number is sent is assigned to each color. At the position where the output of the sensor 97 is turned off again after the half rotation is completed, the cam portion Y (yellow color) is returned.
The method of detecting is taken.

[0018]

However, in the detecting method having the above-described structure, the variation of the mechanical parts, that is, the support shaft 83, which serves as the rotation fulcrum of the cartridge holder 82, is used.
And the sensor lever 88 to the attachment position, the sensor lever 88 to the attachment portion and the tip, and the cam groove 91a of the rotating cam 91, the gear portion 91b, or the sensitivity of the sensor 97. A position shift may occur between the position where the sensor lever 88 crosses the sensor 97 and the cam portion of each color of the rotary cam 91. Therefore, as a result, an incorrect home position is detected, and a fixed pulse number corresponding to each color is sent from the position of this home position, which causes color mixing and deteriorates print quality, and even after assembly. There was a problem that it was necessary to adjust the positional relationship more precisely.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to easily and accurately determine the home position position without stricting the precision of parts.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a color shift home position position detecting method capable of improving the positioning accuracy of an ink ribbon, eliminating color mixture, and improving printing quality.

[0020]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a ribbon in which a rotary cam and a color ink ribbon are mounted and which performs circular arc movement around a rotation fulcrum to switch the color of the color ink ribbon. A cartridge holder; and a sensor lever, a part of which is engaged with the rotary cam and which moves integrally with the ribbon cartridge holder according to the cam shape of the rotary cam,
A printing device that includes a sensor that outputs a signal corresponding to a part of the sensor lever that crosses each time the rotary cam rotates by a predetermined angle, and uses the output of the sensor to perform origin detection. While rotating the rotary cam a predetermined angle during the initial operation of, to measure the number of pulses corresponding to the rotation angle while the sensor is blocked,
The control is subsequently performed with the position where the number of pulses is distributed at a specific ratio as the origin.

[0021]

According to this method, the number of pulses from when the sensor lever crosses the sensor to change the sensor output until it returns to the original output is measured during the initial operation, and the slope of the cam curve is approximately calculated. Since the distribution is performed and the home position position is calculated and controlled, accurate positioning can be performed without electrical error even if the position adjustment of the sensor lever and the sensor is not strictly adjusted during assembly.

[0022]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a color shift home position position detecting method according to the present invention. The printing apparatus to which this color shift home position position detecting method is applied may be used as it is in the conventional printing apparatus shown in FIGS. 2 to 11, and is used immediately after assembling or after maintenance and inspection work. Only the position position detecting method is different, and after the home position position is detected and stored, it is simply used as the reference position, and the subsequent printing operation can be performed in the same manner as in the conventional case. Therefore, in the following description, the structure of the printing apparatus will be described assuming that the configuration shown in FIGS. 2 to 11 is used as it is. Therefore, in the following description, the components denoted by the same reference numerals as the structures shown in FIGS. 2 to 11 correspond to the reference symbols in the drawings shown in FIGS. 2 to 11.

A method of determining the home position will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 11. Further, in this printing apparatus, a case where the track (yellow color) 80a of the four tracks 80a to 80d of the ink ribbon 80 is set to the home position will be described as an example. That is, in this case, when the truck 80a is at the home position, the cartridge holder 8
The rear end side of 2 is pulled down by the groove 92 of the rotating cam 91 and the roller 90. Also,
Along with this, the second link piece 102 is rotated in the clockwise direction in FIG.
Is rotated counterclockwise in the figure, and the guide body 99 is in a state of being displaced to the lowermost side of the guide pin 98.

When determining the home position, first, the initial operation is performed. That is, when, for example, an operator gives an instruction to determine the home position, the initial operation is started and the flow of FIG. 1 is started, the motor 96 is rotated, and thereby the rotary cam 91 is also integrally rotated (step). S1).

When the rotating cam 91 starts rotating, the cam groove 9
The sensor lever 88 is provided by the abutting engagement between the roller 1a and the roller 90
Starts an arc motion, and the sensor portion 97a of the sensor lever 88
Then, the position (cam portion H1) at which the sensor 97 is turned off is detected (step S2). Further, here, the number of pulses until the sensor 97 detects the cam portion H1 is measured (step S3), and when the actually measured pulse number P is extremely smaller than the reference pulse number X, that is, (P> X). In that case, an alarm signal is output (step S4) to prompt the operator to perform a predetermined process.

From step S3, the process proceeds to step S5, the rotation cam 91 continues to rotate, and the position (cam part H2) at which the sensor 97 is turned on (ON) at a position past the cam part Y (yellow color) is set. Detect (step S
5). Further, here, the number of pulses until the sensor 97 detects the cam portion H2 is measured (step S6),
When the measured pulse number P is extremely smaller than the reference pulse number X, that is, when (P> X), an alarm signal is output (step S7), the rotation of the rotary cam 91 is stopped, and a predetermined process is performed by the operator. Urge. On the other hand, when the measured pulse number P is larger than the reference pulse number X, that is, (P
In the case of <X), the rotation of the rotary cam 91 is continued (step S8), and the rotation is continued until the position (cam portion H2) where the sensor 97 is turned on (ON) is detected.

When the sensor 97 is turned on, whether the measured pulse number P from the cam portion H1 to the cam portion H2 is within the range of the reference pulse number A to the reference pulse number B, that is, (A <P <B). It is determined (step S9). Here, when the measured pulse number P is smaller than the reference pulse number A (A
> P) or the measured pulse number P is larger than the reference pulse number B (B <P), an alarm signal is output (step S10) to prompt the operator to perform a predetermined process.

When the actually measured pulse number P from the cam portion H1 to the cam portion H2 is within the range of the reference pulse number A to the reference pulse number B, that is, when (A <P <B), the process proceeds to step S11. To do. In step S11, when the track 80a (yellow color) is correspondingly arranged at the tip of the nose portion 77a of the print head 77, the position on the cam groove 91a with which the roller 90 is in contact is approximated to the cam portion Y.
In addition, the portion of the cam curve from the cam portion H1 to the cam portion Y (yellow) is X1 (see FIG. 10), and the portion of the cam curve from the cam portion Y to cam portion H2 is X2 (see FIG. 10). Then, the pulse number P is approximated to the portion (X1 + X2) of the cam curve during this period to determine the pulse number P1 in the portion X1. In addition,
This pulse number P1 can be obtained by the following equation (1).

[0029]

(1) (P × X1) / (X1 + X2) = P1 (1)

Therefore, when the pulse number of the portion X1 of the cam curve is determined, the position where the P1 pulse is further sent after the detection of the cam portion H1 is the cam portion Y (home position of yellow color), that is, the home position Recognize and store it in memory to make it a fixed amount (step S
12). This completes the initial operation for half a rotation (180 degrees).

Next, the initial operation for the remaining half rotation (180 degrees) is repeated from step S1, the next cam portion Y is detected, and the initial operation is completed.

In the structure of this embodiment, the rotary cam 9
While the sensor 1 rotates one revolution, the sensor lever 88 moves the sensor portion 97a.
The case where the cam groove 91a that reciprocates two times is used has been described.
When the structure is such that one reciprocation is performed during one rotation, one initial operation is performed during one rotation of the rotary cam 91.

The home position position recognized and stored in this way is used as a reference when switching the ink ribbon thereafter, and for example, the position where a fixed pulse number corresponding to each color is sent from the home position position. The position corresponds to the cam portion of each color. Also,
After the home position is once determined, the home position is continuously used, but when maintenance and inspection or parts replacement is performed, the home position is detected again and updated.

Therefore, according to the method of this embodiment,
The number of pulses P from the time when the sensor lever 88 crosses the sensor portion 97a and the sensor output changes from on to off until it returns from off to on again is measured at the time of initial operation, and this actually measured pulse number P is the reference pulse number. Within the range of A and B (A <
In the case of P <B), the measured pulse number P is set to the cam portion H
The position where the sensor output is turned off (cam portion H1), which is approximately distributed to the portion of the cam curve between 1 and H2 at a constant ratio.
Since the number of pulses P1 from the position to the home position (cam portion Y) is calculated and controlled, it is possible to absorb the influence of the variation of the mechanical parts. Therefore, the position adjustment of the sensor lever 88 and the sensor portion 97a does not have to be accurately adjusted at the time of assembly, so that the manufacturing can be simplified and the productivity can be improved. Further, this makes it possible to easily and accurately perform track positioning of the color ink ribbon.

[0035]

As described above, according to the color shift home position position detecting method of the present invention, it is possible to absorb the influence of the variation of the mechanical parts. Therefore, the position adjustment of the sensor lever and the sensor can be performed at the time of assembly. Since it is not necessary to adjust with high precision, the manufacturing can be simplified and the productivity can be improved. Further, by doing so, the track positioning of the color ink ribbon can be performed easily and accurately, the occurrence of color mixture can be prevented, and the printing quality can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a main part structure of a conventional serial printer.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the same structure shown in FIG.

4 is a partial detailed view of the printer shown in FIG. 2 and FIG.

5 is a top view taken along line CC of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a partial detailed view of the printer shown in FIGS. 2 and 3;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing in detail a part of the printer shown in FIGS. 2 and 3;

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the rotary cam.

FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory diagram of a rotating cam.

FIG. 10 is a relationship diagram between a rotating cam and a sensor output.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the sensor lever with respect to the sensor.

[Explanation of symbols]

77 Print Head 80 Ink Ribbon 81 Ribbon Cartridge 82 Cartridge Holder 83 Spindle 88 Sensor Lever 90 Roller 91 Rotating Cam 91a Cam Groove 97 Sensor 97a Sensor Section

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A rotary cam, a ribbon cartridge holder to which a color ink ribbon is attached, and which performs circular arc movement around a rotation fulcrum to switch colors of the color ink ribbon, and a part of which is engaged with the rotary cam. And a sensor lever that moves integrally with the ribbon cartridge holder according to the cam shape of the rotary cam, and a part of the sensor lever crosses each time the rotary cam rotates a predetermined angle. In a printing apparatus that includes a sensor that outputs a corresponding signal, and that uses the output of the sensor to perform origin detection, while rotating the rotary cam for a predetermined angle during the initial operation before printing, the sensor is cut off. The number of pulses corresponding to the rotation angle of is measured, and the position where the number of pulses is distributed with a certain ratio is used as the origin for subsequent control. Color shift home position detection method is characterized in that the so that.