JPH0145424B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a printing device, particularly a dot matrix type serial printer device that performs both forward and reverse printing under the control of a microprocessor. This invention relates to a printing device with a printing misalignment adjustment mechanism that allows the vertical misalignment of the two to be easily adjusted from the outside and matched.

Modern printing devices are often required to have the ability to tabulate tables using vertical and horizontal ruled lines and to create figures such as graphs, and it is strongly desired to match printing results in the forward and reverse directions with higher accuracy. In addition, due to the need to improve printing quality, the diameter of the dots that make up the printing pattern has become smaller and smaller in recent years, and when the diameter of the dots is small, the results can be very unsightly, especially if the forward and reverse printing results do not match even slightly. Become. From this point of view as well, there is a strong demand for consistency between forward and reverse printing results.

As a countermeasure for printing misalignment in conventional forward/reverse printing,
At the time of design, it was common to set a certain correction value as a fixed value for adjusting printing misalignment. However, due to the precision of mechanical work and changes over time, it was not always possible to achieve a high degree of accuracy. Another method has been considered in which the correction time for forward and reverse printing misalignment adjustment is set using a one-shot output with a variable resistor and made variable externally, but this method cannot be precisely adjusted over a large range. First, it has drawbacks such as difficulty in making corrections of one dot or more, and complicated control when printing speeds are different, such as when printing Chinese characters and alphanumeric characters. In addition, in order to prevent forward/reverse printing misalignment, a unidirectional printing method is sometimes used, especially for vertical ruled line printing or printing for graphic creation, where misalignment of forward/reverse printing poses a problem. However, this case has the disadvantage that the processing speed is extremely slow.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems and to enable forward/reverse printing misalignment adjustment to be precisely and easily performed over a relatively large range from the outside. Therefore, the printing device with a printing misalignment adjustment mechanism of the present invention has a built-in microprocessor, and under the control of the microprocessor, updates the data pointer to the area where the dot pattern data to be printed is stored, thereby correcting the printing error. In a dot matrix type serial printer device that performs reverse bidirectional printing, a first signal generation means for instructing one of a plurality of print shift adjustment times within a printing time of one dot row and a plurality of print start means are provided. An adjustment instructing section including a second signal generating means for instructing one of the dot positions is provided, and according to the instruction content of the first signal generating means and the second signal generating means, forward direction printing or printing is performed. For one side of reverse direction printing, a control section is provided to adjust the printing timing using the print deviation adjustment time and to adjust the data pointer according to the printing start dot position. It is characterized in that the vertical printing deviation between the printed result and the printed result in the opposite direction is adjusted. This will be explained below with reference to the drawings.

Before describing embodiments of the present invention, the principle of adjustment according to the present invention will be explained first. 1 to 3 show specific examples of print timing settings according to the present invention. The printing misalignment between forward printing and reverse printing can be considered to be relative, so
It is sufficient to be able to adjust either forward printing or reverse printing. In the following description, a case will be described in which the print timing during forward direction printing is adjusted by a switch. In addition, although we will explain the case where two digital switches are provided, it is also possible to use a one-shot output circuit with a variable resistor instead of the digital switches and adjust the output according to the length of the one-shot output.
Instead of one switch, three or more switches may be provided. The principle is the same.

In FIG. 1, numeral 1 represents a dot pulse that triggers the start of printing processing, and 2 represents a printing position.
The rise of dot pulse 1 provides an opportunity to start the printing process, and actual printing is performed after a certain time T has elapsed. The time T consists of an adjustment time T1, a pin (hammer magnet) energization time T2, and a mechanical delay time T3 for the pin to print. Among these, pin energization time T2 and mechanical delay time T3 are fixedly determined,
The adjustment time T1 is made variable. That is, by turning one of the digital switches off/on,
The adjustment time T1 is set to, for example, a microsecond (μs) or bμs, and the total time T changes, so that the printing deviation can be adjusted by that amount.

In FIG. 2, numerals 1 and 2 correspond to those in FIG. 1, 3 is an edited data storage area where the edited dot pattern is stored, and 4 and 4' are the beginning and end positions of the edited data storage area 3, respectively. This area represents an area in which all zeros are fixedly set in consideration of adjustment of the printing start dot position. The data in the edit data storage area 3 is output column by column. For example, for the column P2 shown in the figure, the pins are driven simultaneously for the data of each dot P21, P22, ..., P27. be done. At each rising edge of each dot pulse 1, if printing in the forward direction, print sequentially, for example, P1 column, P2 column, etc.
..., P7 column will be output, and if printing in the reverse direction, for example, P7 column, P6 column, ..., P1 column will be output. Regarding the adjustment example explained in FIG. 1, it is generally difficult to correct for more than one dot, but if adjustment for more than one dot is required, it can be done by, for example, the following procedure. can. One of the digital switches is assigned for this adjustment, and when the digital switch is on, for example, the column on the edit data storage area 3 that is output in response to the first dot pulse 1 is designated P1.
After that, for each dot pulse 1, P2 row, P3 row, etc.
will be output sequentially. By doing so, the printing operation will be performed after the predetermined delay time T has elapsed, as shown in FIG. 2, illustration A. Also,
When the above digital switch is off, for example, the row output corresponding to the first dot pulse 1 is
P2, and thereafter the P3 column, P4 column, etc. are output sequentially for each dot pulse 1. By doing this, printing is performed as shown in FIG. 2 B, but printing is performed exactly one dot faster than in the case shown in FIG. 2 A. In other words, the initial data pointer DP indicating the printing start dot position is set to point to column P1 when the digital switch is on, and when the digital switch is off,
The column P2 is pointed to, data is extracted from the column indicated by the data pointer DP, and an adjustment of one dot is made.

FIG. 3 shows an example in which the adjustment shown in FIG. 1 and the adjustment shown in FIG. 2 are combined. In the figure, numerals 1 and 2 correspond to FIG. 1, etc. 1st
The digital switch for adjusting the adjustment time T1 explained in the figure is represented by SW1, and the digital switch for instructing the printing start dot position explained in FIG. 2 is represented by SW2. As in the case of FIG. 1, T1, T2 and T3 represent the adjustment time, pin energization time and mechanical delay time, respectively.

When the digital switch SW1 is off, the adjustment time T1 is aμs, and when it is on, it is bμs. Also, digital switch SW
When 2 is off, the data pointer points one dot further than when it is on. Therefore, digital switch SW1 and
When both SW2 are off, the adjustment time T1 is set based on the previous pulse as shown in Figure 3.
It will be printed in aμs. digital switch
When SW1 is on and SW2 is off, as shown in FIG. 3, the adjustment time T1 is printed in bμs based on the previous pulse. Further, when the digital switch SW1 is off and the digital switch SW2 is on, as shown in FIG. 3, the adjustment time T1 is printed in aμs with the second pulse as a reference. When the digital switches SW1 and SW2 are both on, as shown in FIG. 3, the adjustment time T1 is printed in bμs with the second pulse as a reference. In the case of reverse printing, the adjustment time T1 is fixed to aμs and the initial data pointer is also fixed, regardless of whether the digital switches SW1 and SW2 are turned on or off.

The case where there are two digital switches has been explained above, but when there are three or more digital switches, it is possible to select various adjustment times T1, and it is also possible to adjust printing deviation of two dots or more. Needless to say, it is also possible to do so.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a printing result obtained by the adjustment shown in FIG. 3. A case is shown in which the letter "I" is printed in the forward direction and then printed in the reverse direction. Third
For example, in accordance with the print timing settings shown in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4,
It will be printed as follows. In the example shown in FIG. 4, 2 is the best adjustment value, but 1, 3, or 4 may be the optimal adjustment value depending on mechanical variations and changes over time. If printing misalignment occurs, it can be easily adjusted as described above by switching the digital switch from the outside.

FIG. 5 shows the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the overall control section for controlling printing misalignment. In the figure, 5 is an interface circuit, 6 is an overall control unit for printing processing, 7 is a microprocessor, 8 is a print code buffer composed of, for example, RAM, and 9 is a memory for a character generator composed of, for example, ROM. , 10 is an adjustment instruction unit using digital switches SW1 and SW2, 11
is a carrier operation control circuit, 12 is a latch circuit for one column of print data, 13 is a carrier drive driver,
14 is a pin (hammer magnet) drive driver, 15 is a carrier drive motor, 16 is a print timing encoder, 17 is a carrier, and 18 is a print head.

In FIG. 5, when print data is input to the interface circuit 5 from the computer main body side, the print data is sequentially stored in the print code buffer 8.
After the print data is stored, a print command is sent via the interface circuit 5 to the overall control unit 6 including the microprocessor 7, and the microprocessor 7 takes out the print data on the print code buffer 8 and converts it into a character. The data is converted into dot pattern data according to the contents of the generator memory 9, and stored in the edited data storage area 3 shown in FIG. 2, which is the internal memory of the overall control unit 6, in an organized manner as shown in FIG. . Further, in accordance with the on/off of the digital switch SW2 of the adjustment instruction section 10, the initial data pointer DP explained in FIG. 2 is set to a predetermined address. Next, the current carrier position and the current printing area are compared, the carrier operation is determined so as to minimize the amount of movement of the carrier 17, and the carrier operation control circuit 11
If necessary, after the carrier 17 is moved to the left or right of the printing area, the operator instructs the carrier 17 to run in the forward direction or in the reverse direction in order to perform actual printing. When the carrier 17 enters the printing area after the travel instruction is given, the carrier operation control circuit 11 generates and outputs dot pulses equal to the number of dots forming the printed character. When the microprocessor 7 detects this pulse, it waits for a predetermined amount of time to adjust the forward/reverse printing misalignment based on the on/off of the digital switch SW1 of the adjustment instruction section 10, and then waits for a specified time.
The data for one column of dots pointed to by the data pointer is
Set the latch circuit 12 and turn on the pin drive current. Note that the current is automatically turned off by the hardware circuit after a predetermined period of time has elapsed. Next, move the data pointer to the next dot position and wait for the next dot pulse. When the processing of dot pulses equal to the number of dots of printed characters is completed, a stop command is issued to the carrier operation control circuit 11 to terminate the operation. In addition, digital switches SW1 and SW2 are connected to + without being grounded.
When the voltage is 5V, it means the on state.

In particular, the operation of adjusting printing misalignment by the overall control section 6 will be described in detail as follows. As shown in Figure 6, first, when starting printing, the carrier 1
Depending on the position of 7, it is determined whether to print in the forward direction or in the reverse direction. When performing forward printing, check whether the digital switch SW1 of the adjustment instruction section 10 is on or off, and if it is on, set the adjustment time.
Set to bμs, and if off, set to aμs. Next, check whether the digital switch SW2 of the adjustment instruction section 10 is on/off, and if it is on, the data pointer is set to, for example, P1 shown in the second figure, and if it is off, the data pointer is set to, for example, P2 shown in the second figure. . After completing the setting, instruct the carrier operation and wait for the dot pulse to turn on. When the dot pulse is turned on, it waits for the previously set adjustment time (aμs or bμs).
Note that this adjustment time cannot be made longer than the dot pulse generation cycle, because if this adjustment time is made longer, the next dot pulse will not be detected and the printing timing will be lost. be. Therefore, as described above, adjustments for one dot or more are performed by turning on/off the digital switch SW2. After waiting for the adjustment time, the data pointed to by the data pointer is set in the latch circuit 12, and the pin drive current is turned on. The following processing is as described above.

In the case of reverse printing, the data pointer is fixedly set to, for example, P7 in FIG. 2, and the adjustment time is also fixedly set to aμs. The following operations are the same as in the case of forward direction printing. By doing the above, adjustment as shown in FIG. 3, for example, can be realized.

Above, we have explained the case where there are two digital switches and the printing speed is constant, but by increasing the number of switches, it is possible to obtain finer adjustment values, and it is also possible to increase the adjustment range. If the printing speed is different, the microprocessor can set the adjustment time accordingly, allowing very flexible adjustment control.

In addition, instead of a digital switch, a one-shot output with a variable resistor is provided as an input port of the microprocessor, and the microprocessor sets the forward/reverse printing misalignment adjustment time and printing dot start address depending on the length of the one-shot output. Needless to say, similar effects can be obtained.

As explained above, according to the present invention, it is possible to precisely correct forward/reverse printing misalignment over a relatively large range by printing in both forward and reverse directions, and tabulation processing using vertical and horizontal ruled lines and graphic processing such as graphs can also be performed in both directions. It can be done quickly. Furthermore, it becomes possible to easily compensate for the backlash of the mechanical part and deterioration due to aging by using the control part.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 3 are explanatory diagrams of specific examples of print timing settings according to the present invention, FIG. 4 is an example of printing results, FIG. 5 is a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is an illustration of the overall control section. An operation explanatory diagram is shown. In the figure, 1 is a dot pulse, 2 is a print position, 3 is an editing data storage area, 4 is an all zero area, 5 is an interface circuit, 6 is an overall control unit,
7 is a microprocessor, 8 is a print code buffer, 9 is a memory for character generator, 10
1 is an adjustment instruction section, 11 is a carrier operation control circuit, 1
2 is a latch circuit, 13 is a carrier drive driver,
14 is a pin drive driver, 15 is a carrier drive motor, 16 is a print timing encoder, 17 is a carrier, and 18 is a print head.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A dot that has a built-in microprocessor and that performs forward and reverse printing by updating a data pointer to an area in which dot pattern data to be printed is stored under the control of the microprocessor. In a matrix type serial printer device, a first one is used to instruct one of a plurality of print deviation adjustment times within the printing time of one dot row.
and a second signal generating means for instructing one of a plurality of prepared print start dot positions, the first signal generating means and the second signal generating means It is equipped with a control unit that adjusts the printing timing using the print deviation adjustment time and the data pointer according to the printing start dot position for either forward printing or reverse printing according to the instructions from the means, and it A printing device with a print deviation adjustment mechanism, characterized in that a vertical printing deviation between a printing result in a forward direction and a printing result in a reverse direction is adjusted by setting instructions to the adjustment instruction section. 2. The printing device with a printing misalignment adjustment mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the first signal generating means and the second signal generating means are constituted by digital switches.