JPS6039031B2 - automatic paper inserter - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to checking the print density of a stop mark printed on the paper surface of paper outside an automatic paper inserter and indicating the automatic stop position of the paper. be.

A so-called automatic paper inserter that automatically inserts paper, performs printing, and then ejects the paper is well known.

In this automatic inserter, in order to stop the paper at a predetermined printing position, a stop mark printed in advance at a predetermined position on the surface of the paper is detected. Therefore, if the stop mark is insufficiently dark, automatic stopping will not be performed properly. This invention checks the density of the stop mark at the time it is printed on the paper surface, and if it is insufficient, prints it again. Conventionally, the print density of the stop mark was not checked at the time of printing, and the stop mark was given only once, so if the density was insufficient, a detection error would occur during automatic paper insertion. Moreover, in order to always obtain sufficient print density with only one printing, it is necessary to constantly replace the printing ribbon with a new one, which is also uneconomical.

Therefore, this invention was made to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks, and the darkness of the stop mark printed on the paper surface is checked by the printing device at the time of printing, and if the darkness is insufficient, the darkness of the stop mark printed on the paper surface is checked. If the specified density is not obtained even after printing is repeated several times, the operator is alerted that the ink ribbon has reached its limit of deterioration. It is necessary to set the determination level to a sufficient concentration with a margin.

Next, the invention will be explained with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of paper used outside the automatic inserter, Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of paper used in the embodiment of the invention. 4 is a detailed diagram of the amplification and pass level determination circuit 42 that is
The figure is also a detailed block diagram of the control circuit 5.

In Figure 1, 1 is paper and 2 is a stop mark.
21 is a stop mark for the first line, 22 is a stop mark for the second line, 23 is a stop mark for the third line, etc.

3 represents printed characters, symbols, etc., 31 represents the first line, 32 represents the second line, and 33 represents the third line.

Now, if the paper is inserted into the inserter with the stop mark 21 and the first line 31 printed on the paper 1, the mark 21 becomes the reference for determining the stop position, and the second line is set. Next time the paper is inserted into the inserter, the stop mark 22 and second line 32 that will serve as a reference for the stop position are printed.

Then, the next time it is inserted, the third line is set using the stop mark 22 as the reference for the stop position, and the mark 23 and the third line 33, which should be the reference for the stop position, are printed the next time it is inserted. Ru. A minus sign (one) is used as a stop mark. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 4 is a stop mark detector, 41 is a detection sensor, 42 is an amplification and pass level determination circuit, 5 is a control circuit, and 6 is a feeder. 7 is a motor, 8 is a timing pulse generator, 9 is a motor drive circuit, and 1 is a printing device control circuit, respectively. S. is the stop mark detection means signal,
S2 is a mark judgment level instruction signal, S3 is a motor control signal, S4 is a timing pulse, S5 is a stop mark printing end signal, S6 is a stop mark printing instruction signal, S7 is an external control signal, S8 is a stop mark alarm signal, A indicates the paper insertion direction. In Fig. 2, when paper 1 is set in an automatic inserter (not shown), a paper detector (not shown) detects that the paper has been set, and the paper is automatically directed toward the printing device. Insertion direction A
feed in the direction of

Then, the detection sensor 41 detects the stop mark printed on the paper during the previous insertion, and the amplification/pass level determination circuit 42 generates the signal S, thereby. Upon receiving the signal S, the control circuit 5 starts counting timing pulses S4 generated from the timing pulse generator 8 using its internal timing pulse counter, and when the count reaches a predetermined number, it issues a signal S3. , controls the motor drive circuit 9 to stop the motor 7, stops feeding the paper 1, and at the same time issues a signal S6 to notify the printer control circuit 10 that the paper has stopped. This is because after the detection sensor 41 detects the stop mark, the motor 7 is stopped when the paper is fed a certain predetermined distance and the paper reaches an appropriate printing position. Therefore, the position at which the paper stops is the position at which printing is performed correctly on a predetermined line on the paper surface. When the printing device control circuit 10 receives the signal S6, it prints a stop mark on the paper surface that will serve as a reference for the stop position when the next interview paper is inserted into the inserter. When printing is finished,
Printing device control circuit 1 sends signal S5 to control circuit 5.
to notify the end of printing. In response to the signal S5, the control circuit 5 generates a signal S3 to control the motor drive circuit 9 to reverse the motor 7 and return the paper 1 in the direction opposite to A. Then, the paper 1 is stopped after reaching the position where the stop mark just printed is sensed by the detection sensor 41. Timing pulses are also used to return a predetermined distance in this manner. That is, the control circuit 5 learns the return amount of the paper 1 by the signal S4 (timing pulse) generated from the timing pulse generator 8 when the motor 7 is driven in reverse, and when it reaches a predetermined amount, the control circuit 5 issues a signal S3 to stop the motor. At the same time, the control circuit 5
A mark judgment level instruction signal S2 is generated. This signal S
2, the amplification and pass level judgment circuit 42 sets the pass judgment level for the darkness of the mark to be somewhat darker than the darkness level adopted when the paper is inserted into the inserter and stopped in the normal usage state. Switch to level. This is realized by the transistor Q, which receives the signal S2, acting as a switch and changing the voltage of the reference level Vs of the comparator 421 in FIG. 3 showing details of the determination circuit 42. In FIG. 3, So is an amplified signal from the detection sensor 41, R, R2, and R3 are resistors, and Vcc is a power supply. In this way, the next time the inserter is inserted, the stop mark printed as the reference position for stopping is fed backwards to the detection sensor 41, and the detector 4 checks whether or not it can be detected. Ru.

If the stop mark cannot be detected, the paper is fed again to the first stop position, a mark is automatically printed again on top of the previously printed mark position, and the paper is fed in the opposite direction again until it reaches the detection sensor 41. It is checked whether detection by the sensor 41 is possible. That is, to explain with reference to the circuit shown in FIG. 2, when it is checked whether or not the stop mark of the paper that has been reversely fed up to the detection sensor 41 can be detected by the detector 4, the check result is transmitted by the signal S. , is transmitted to the control circuit 5. The control circuit 5 learns the check result from the signal S, and then issues a motor control signal S3 to stop the motor 7, thereby stopping the paper 1, and moves the stop mark again in the direction of the A mark to the printing position of the printing device. The sheet is fed until it reaches , and stopped at this position, and if the check result shows that it can be detected, the series of operations from inserting the sheet into the inserter to stopping is completed. If the check result shows that detection is not possible, signal S
6 to give an instruction to the printing device control circuit 1, and in response to this, the control circuit 1 again prints the mark on the surface of the paper, superimposing it on the previously printed stop mark. , the end of printing is notified to the control circuit 5 by a signal S5. When the control circuit 5 receives this S5 signal, it repeats the operations of reversely feeding the sheet, checking the detection possibility, forwarding the sheet, and stopping the sheet again. This repeated operation is continued until the stop mark becomes detectable, or until the number of repetitions reaches, for example, three times, and if it is still undetectable after three repetitions, the repetitive operation is stopped and the alarm signal S8 is activated. occurs. The number of repetitions is determined by a counter inside the control circuit 5. This alarm signal S8 notifies the operator of the undetectable state and the necessity of replacing the ribbon of the printing device. Next, a detailed block diagram of the control circuit 5 will be explained with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 4, 51 is a coder, 52 is a programmer full counter, 53 is a motor control circuit, 54 is a sense control circuit, 55 is a feed control circuit, and 56 is a check counter.

First, the operation mode from the detection of a stop mark when paper is inserted into the inserter to the stop of paper feeding will be explained. Initially, the mark judgment level instruction signal S2 instructs the judgment level to be on the thin side.

Upon receiving the stop mark detection signal S, the sense control circuit 54 generates a stop mark signal S,7. Check counter 56 is reset by this signal S,7.
Further, when the feed control circuit 55 receives the signals S, 7,
Reset signal S. Send 4 and f. . Reset the grammar counter 52. The counter 52 starts counting timing pulses S4, and when the count value specified by the output signal S,2 from the coder 51 is reached, it generates an output signal S,3. The feed control circuit 55 receives this signal S
, 3, the motor control circuit 53 generates a signal S, 5 to instruct the motor to stop, and upon receiving the signal S, 5, the motor control circuit 53 generates a motor control signal S3 based on the timing of the timing pulse S4. is issued to instruct the motor to stop, that is, to stop feeding paper. The feed control circuit 55 also issues a stop mark printing instruction signal S6 to instruct printing of a stop mark to be used the next time the inserter is inserted. next,
The operation mode when checking the printing density of the stop mark after printing the stop mark on the paper surface will be described.

When the stop mark is printed on the paper, a stop mark printing end signal S5 is received from the printing device control circuit 10.

Upon receiving this signal S5, the feed control circuit 55 outputs the signals S,
．． is sent to the coder 51, the coder 51 sends signals S and 2 to designate the count capacity of the programmer full counter 52, and receives the signal S. from the one-way feed control circuit 55. 4, the counter 52 is reset. Also, the feed control circuit 55
The motor control circuit 53 generates a signal S3 to instruct the rotational direction of the motor, that is, the sheet feeding direction, and the start of feeding. The feed control circuit 55 also issues a mark check command signal S5, and upon receiving this, the sense control circuit 54 sends a mark judgment level instruction signal S2 to instruct the mark pass judgment level to be set to a higher level. The motor drive circuit 9 is operated by the motor control signal S3, and the paper is fed in the opposite direction to that at the time of insertion, and at the same time, the timing pulse generator 8 generates a timing pulse S4, which is counted by the programmable counter 52.

In this way, the counting capacity of the counter 52 is determined so that the paper is fed until the stop mark to be checked reaches the position where it should be sensed by the detection sensor 41, and then the paper is stopped at that position. is sent a predetermined distance and the count amount of timing pulses in the counter 52 reaches a predetermined capacity, the programmer full counter 52 generates the signal S,3, and the sending control circuit 55 receiving this generates the signal S.3. 5 to drive the motor control circuit 53 and generate a motor control signal S3 to temporarily stop the motor, that is, temporarily stop the paper. The feed control circuit 55 also generates a check count signal S,8, which is counted by a check counter 56. After that, the paper starts to be fed in the insertion direction, and the paper is fed to the first stop position, that is, the position where the stop mark to be checked is at the printing position, and then stopped.

At this time, the paper feed amount, feed direction, etc. are also controlled by the programmer full counter 52, motor control circuit 53, and feed control circuit 55, as described above.
Here, if the stop mark detection signal S, is generated during the period when the paper is being fed in the opposite direction to the insertion direction, the sense control circuit 54 is generating the stop mark signal S,7, and this The check counter 56 is reset by the signal S,7, so that the stop mark alarm signal S8 is not generated. When the feed control circuit 55 receives the stop mark signals S, 7, the print check operation is completed as a check pass when the paper is returned to the initial stop position and stopped. On the other hand, if the stop mark detection signal S, is not generated during the period when the paper is being fed in the opposite direction to the insertion direction, then the sense control circuit 54 also does not generate the stop mark signal S,7.

Therefore, check counter 56 is not reset. At this time, when the paper returns to the initial stop position and stops, the feed control circuit 55 generates a stop mark printing instruction signal S6 to instruct printing of a stop mark, and replaces the stop mark previously printed by the printing device. Printing is performed again on the top, and a printing end signal S5 is input to the feed control circuit 55. Upon receiving the print end signal S5, the control circuit 55 repeatedly performs the above-described print check operation. Each time this is repeated, the check counter 56 counts the check number signal S, 8, and if the stop mark is successfully detected and the stop mark signal S, 7 is generated, the check counter 56 is reset, and the print check operation is performed. However, if the stop mark is not successfully detected and the stop mark signal S, 7 is not generated, the print check operation will be repeated n times, that is, the check count signal S, 8 at the first print check operation will be completed. The printing check operation is performed until the check signal S, 8 is counted (n+1) times, and the stop mark alarm signal S8 is generated when the signal S, 8 is counted (n+1) times. , informs the operator that it is necessary to replace the ink ribbon of the printing device with a new one because the stop mark cannot be detected. Further, upon receiving the alarm signal S8, the feed control circuit 56 ends the printing check operation and shifts to the next operation outside the automatic inserter. In this embodiment, the value of n is 2, and the alarm signal S8 is generated when the signals S and 8 are counted three times. As described above, according to the present invention, the printing device automatically checks at the time of printing to ensure that the print density of the stop mark on the surface of the paper is sufficient.
This prevents a detection error from occurring the next time the paper is inserted into the inserter. Also, for general text and numbers other than the stop mark, even if the color is slightly faded, it is often not a problem as long as the human eye can read it, but the stop mark is readable by machine, so A higher concentration is required. Therefore, when printing both a stop mark and a text using the same ink ribbon, the density of the ink ribbon may be sufficient for the EP character of the text, but insufficient for printing the stop mark. Conventionally, in such cases, it was necessary to replace the ink ribbon, which was uneconomical, but with this invention, even if the density is insufficient in one print, it can be printed several times. Since the density of the stop mark can be made sufficient by printing, the life of the ribbon can be extended, which has a large economical effect.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of paper used in an automatic inserter, Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of paper used in an automatic inserter.
4 is a detailed diagram of the amplification/pass level determination circuit 42 used in the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a detailed block diagram of the control circuit 5. In the figure, 1 is paper, 2 is a stop mark, 3 is a printed character or symbol, 4 is a stop mark detector, 41 is a detection sensor, 4
2 is an amplification and pass level determination circuit, 5 is a control circuit, 6 is a feed roller, 7 is a motor, 8 is a timing pulse generator,
9 is a motor drive circuit, 10 is a printing device control circuit, 421
is a comparator, 51 is a coder, 52 is a programmer full counter, 53 is a motor control circuit, 54 is a sense control circuit, 55 is a feed control circuit, 56 is a check counter, S
, is a stop mark detection signal, S2 is a mark judgment level instruction signal, S3 is a motor control signal, S4 is a timing pulse, S5 is a stop mark printing end signal, S6 is a stop mark printing instruction signal, S7 is an external control signal, S8 is a stop mark alarm signal, A is the paper insertion direction, So is an amplified signal of the signal from the detection sensor, S, . is an input signal of the coder 51, S,2 is an output signal of the coder 51 and specifies the count capacity of the programmable counter 52,
S,3 is the output signal of the programmable counter 52, S
, 4 are reset signals for the counter 52, S, 5 are input signals for the motor control circuit 53, and S. , 4 are reset signals for the counter 52; Reference numeral 6 indicates a mark check command signal, S and 7 indicate a stop mark signal, and S and 8 indicate a check count signal. K town gi z map ★ 3 diagrams old 4 ugly

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In an automatic paper inserter, means for detecting a stop mark on the paper, means for setting the lowest level of the detection judgment density of the stop mark in the detection means, means for printing the stop mark, and a means for detecting a stop mark on the paper. Immediately after printing, when automatically checking whether the density of the stop mark printed by the printing means exceeds the lowest level that can be detected by the detection means, the level is constantly sent to the inserter. Set the setting means to a level one level higher than the lowest limit level of the detection judgment density at the time of paper insertion and check. If the check result is negative, set the printing means to the same stop mark position on the paper. An automatic paper inserter characterized by comprising a control means for repeatedly printing. 2. In an automatic paper inserter, a means for detecting a stop mark on the paper, a means for setting the lowest level of the detection judgment density of the stop mark in the detection means, a means for printing the stop mark, an alarm generating means, and a means for detecting a stop mark on the paper surface. Immediately after printing, it is automatically checked whether the density of the stop mark printed by the printing means exceeds the lowest level that can be detected by the detecting means, and the level is determined by checking whether the density of the stop mark printed by the printing means exceeds the lowest level that can be detected by the detecting means. The setting means is set to a level one level higher than the lowest limit level of the detection judgment density at the time of insertion and checked, and if the check result is negative, the printing means is executed a predetermined number of times to print the same stop mark on the paper. 1. An automatic paper inserter comprising: a control means for causing the position to be repeatedly printed, and if the printing is still unsuccessful, causing the alarm generating means to generate an alarm.