JPH0236005B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Technical Field The present invention relates to an error information display device for a printer controlled by a microcomputer or the like. The present invention relates to an error information display device that displays many types of error information so that its contents can be easily detected.

Prior Art In general, the carriage and other mechanical parts of printers move at high speed during printing operations, and many printers do not immediately respond when an abnormality is detected from the viewpoint of operator safety and equipment protection. , at least the operation is controlled to be stopped. Also, depending on the model, all drive systems are put into a non-active state, similar to when the power switch is turned off.

For example, in the case of a daisy wheel type serial printer, a selection operation for selecting the active part of the daisy wheel, a spacing operation for moving the carriage in the row direction, etc. are performed. In the selection operation, the wheel is rotated by a motor, and in the spacing operation, a carriage carrying a hammer unit, a ribbon unit, etc. is moved to a printing position by a motor.

Conventionally, in many printers, such selection and spacing operations are controlled by
Servo systems are used because of their high positioning accuracy. Since the servo system has a closed loop configuration, it also has the advantage that some abnormalities within the system can be detected by its control unit.

Among abnormalities related to mechanical operations on the printer side, those that can be detected include, for example, timeout errors and hunting errors.

A timeout error is an abnormality in which the motor does not rotate even though the servo system is trying to drive the motor. For example, this occurs when the wheel is caught by a hammer or the like or does not rotate during a selection operation.

Hunting errors can also occur when the load on the servo system suddenly changes, or when the motor rotates when it should have stopped, for example when the wheel is stopped during a selection operation, when the wheel is forcibly rotated with one's fingers. This occurs when

These timeout errors and hunting errors occur even during spacing operations.

In addition, if the command input from the host system is undefined during printing,
If a command error or the like occurs, it is possible to detect the abnormality.

By the way, with conventional printers, when such an abnormality occurs, how can the error information be displayed externally? (3) use the output terminal from the control unit to output error information to light up a light emitting element, etc. It had been.

First, in the case of a printer that does not have the function of displaying error information (1), when an abnormality occurs, it takes a considerable amount of time to inspect and repair it.

For example, if the circuit constants of the servo system change due to a failure of a used part during operation, or if the load changes due to the introduction of foreign matter such as dust, a timeout error or hunting error may occur and the printer will stop operating. , we must first investigate the cause.

Next, in (2) a printer that outputs status information to the host system, for example, 2
Use bytes.

FIG. 1 shows an example of the definition of status information output to the host system.

In the case of this Figure 1, bit 5 of the second byte
Printer check is treated as status information for timeout errors and hunting errors, and when a timeout error or hunting error occurs,
This bit 5 is output as logic "1", for example.

Such printers use a circuit capable of bidirectional communication, such as an RS232C type serial interface, as an interface with the host system, and use an error status called Printer Check as shown in Figure 1 to detect timeout errors and The occurrence of a hunting error is output. Therefore, with this information alone, it is not possible to understand the details of the error.

Even if the error status were to be subdivided and output as separate error information for selection timeout error, selection hunting error, space timeout error, and space hunting error, it would be difficult to detect the cause of the failure. However, it is necessary to connect the host system to the printer, which is disadvantageous in that repairs and other work are time-consuming.

On the other hand, in the case of a printer (3) in which error information is displayed using a light emitting element or the like, the cause of the error can be easily determined.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a display circuit of a printer in which error information is displayed using a plurality of light emitting elements. In the drawing, 1 is a central control unit, 2 is an amplifier, 3 is a group of light emitting elements, and LED1
are light emitting diodes for the first display (HUNT), LED2 for the second display (SP), and LED3 for the third display (SEL).

In the display circuit of FIG. 2, the light emitting element group 3 is 3
It is composed of three light emitting diodes LED1 to LED3, and three output terminals from the central control section 1 are used exclusively for displaying error information.

In this way, when the output terminal of the central control section 1 is used for displaying error information, the capability of the central control section 1 is limited accordingly, making it unsuitable for displaying many types of error information.

Therefore, a method is also known in which these light emitting diodes LED1 to LED3 are used in a coded display in order to display a wide variety of error information using as few output terminals as possible.

FIG. 3 shows an example code for displaying four types of error information using three light emitting diodes.

In the case of Fig. 3, during normal operation, all light emitting diodes LED1 to LED3 are turned off.
Make sure not to light any of them.

On the other hand, when a selection timeout error or space timeout error occurs,
Only one of the third light emitting diode LED3 or the second light emitting diode LED2 is turned on, and only one of them is lit.

Further, when a selection hunting error or a space hunting error occurs, two of them are turned on and displayed by lighting, as shown in FIG.

By coding in this way, it becomes possible to display more types of error information than the number of output terminals.

However, with this display method, it is necessary to encode the error information, which complicates the control for its processing. Furthermore, since the absolute number of available output terminals is small, there are disadvantages such as there is a limit to the types of error information that can be displayed.

Purpose Therefore, the present invention provides an error information display device for a printer, which solves the disadvantages of the conventional display methods (1) to (3) and requires a dedicated output terminal for displaying error information. The purpose of the present invention is to display various types of error information with simple control.

Configuration Therefore, in the present invention, when the printer is operating normally, the output terminal of the central control unit connected to the drive signal line group that supplies drive signals to the drive circuit is free from errors. Focusing on the fact that it is meaningless to continue outputting drive signals when an error occurs and the printer is stopped, when an error occurs, error information is output from the output terminal of this central control unit instead of the drive signal. I am trying to output it.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the main parts of the drive system of a daisy wheel type serial printer suitable for implementing the error information display device of the present invention.

In the drawing, 1 is a central control unit, 4 is a selection servo system, 41 is the servo control unit, and 42 is a selection servo system.
is an amplifier, 43 is a selection motor, 44 is a sensor unit, 5 is a spacing servo system, 5
1 is its servo control unit, 52 is an amplifier, 53 is a spacing motor, 54 is a sensor unit, 6 is an amplifier, 7 is a hammer magnet, 8 is an amplifier,
9 indicates a ribbon feed solenoid, and each signal is SPCLK, a clock signal for the spacing motor 53, and SELCLK, a clock signal for the selection motor 43.
clock signal, SELVEL1 to SELVEL5 are the speed instruction signals of the selection servo system 4,
is the drive control signal of the selection servo system 4,
SELREV is the rotation direction instruction signal of the selection motor 43, and is the hammer magnet 7.
SPVEL1 to SPVEL5 are the speed instruction signals of the spacing servo system 5, SPREV is the drive control signal of the spacing servo system 5, SPREV is the rotation direction instruction signal of the spacing motor 53,
RFDRV is a drive control signal for the ribbon feed magnet 9, and DRVACTV is a signal that commands the active/inactive state of the printer. Control puts each drive circuit into an active state during normal operation, and inactive state when an error occurs. Show signal.

The central control unit 1 is composed of, for example, a single-chip microcomputer, and its 16-bit parallel ports PE0 to PE15 are used for selection servo system,
A drive control signal is given to each drive unit such as a spacing servo system, hammering, ribbon feed, etc., and drive signals are generated to the motors 43, 53, magnet 7, solenoid 9, etc. at the necessary timing.

In this printer, the driving method in a normal state and the detection method when an abnormality such as an error occurs is completely the same as the conventional printer. Therefore, in order to make it easier to understand, we will explain the parts common to the conventional one.

First, to drive the selection servo system 4, 5-bit speed instruction signals SELVEL1 to SELVEL5 output from the central control section 1 and a rotation direction instruction signal are used.
SELREV is applied to the servo control unit 41, and its output becomes a drive signal for the selection motor 43 via the amplifier 42.

Note that from the central control unit 1, the servo control unit 41
A drive control signal is also simultaneously output to.
In addition, a control signal that instructs active/inactive is output from output terminal PA0 of central control unit 1.
DRAVACTV displays when the printer is in normal condition.
For example, it is generated at "H" to indicate the operating state.

When the selection motor 43 rotates, a clock signal SELCLK corresponding to the rotation speed is generated from the sensor unit 44, and the servo control section 4
1 and is given to the central control unit 1.

The central control unit 1 receives this clock signal SELCLK.
The current position of the selection motor 43 is calculated by cumulatively calculating the speed instruction signal corresponding to the current position of the selection motor 43.
Output SELVEL1 to SELVEL5.

In this case, whether the selection motor 43 is in a normal state or an abnormal state is determined as follows.

As already explained, when the central control unit 1 puts the drive control signal in the active state (on state), the motor 43 rotates and the servo system 4
A clock signal SELCLK from the central control unit 1 is inputted to the central control unit 1. Under normal conditions, the period of this clock signal SELCLK is, for example, 100 msec.
It should be shorter than a certain amount of time like .

On the other hand, when the motor 43 does not rotate due to a failure or the like, the clock signal SELCLK is not input even after this fixed time of 100 msec has elapsed.

Therefore, in the central control unit 1, the drive control signal
When SELDRV is active, this clock signal
The input state of SELCLK is monitored, and if there is no input within a certain period of time, it is determined that a timeout error has occurred.

On the other hand, when the drive control signal is in an inactive state (off state), the motor 43 does not rotate, so the clock signal SELCLK should not be input to the central control unit 1.

If the clock signal SELCLK is input in this state, it is determined that a hunting error has occurred.

When the central control unit 1 detects the occurrence of such a timeout error or hunting error,
The output of the control signal DRVACTV is changed to "L" indicating a non-active state, and the amplifier 42 is put into a non-active state. As a result, no drive signal is generated and the motor 43 is stopped.

The operation of the spacing servo system 5 is also exactly the same as that of the selection servo system 4.

From parallel ports PE0 to PE15 of central control unit 1,
In addition, a drive control signal that provides a drive signal to the hammer magnet 7 and a drive control signal that provides a drive signal to the ribbon feed solenoid 9 for hammering and ribbon feed are also output.

Each of these drive systems receives control signals as in the case of the selection servo system.
When DRVACTV indicates the inactive state, each amplifier 52, 6, 8 becomes inactive,
Load motor 53, magnet 7, solenoid 9
The drive signal to is no longer generated.

Therefore, runaway load, overheating, etc. are completely prevented, and at the same time, operator safety is ensured.

The operation of the printer described above is the same as in the conventional case, and when an abnormal condition such as an error occurs and the printer operation is stopped, the parallel port of the central control unit 1
PE0 to PE15 have no meaning as drive signals to each drive system.

Therefore, in the printer error information display device of the present invention, when an error occurs and the printer drive system becomes inactive, these ports PE0
~PE15 is used to display error information.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a parallel port used in the error information display device of the present invention.

As shown in Figure 5, under normal operating conditions, port PE0 outputs the speed instruction signal SELVEL1.
is used to output spacing timeout errors in the event of an error.

In this figure 5, selection home error
SELHM is an error in which the home position was not found when the wheel was rotated during printer initialization.

In addition, RAM errors occur in the central control unit 1.
This is an error in which writing to and reading from the RAM in the central control unit 1 could not be performed correctly, and a ROM error also refers to an error in which the program contents stored in the ROM in the central control unit 1 are different from the normal ones. These RAM and ROM are checked when the power is turned on.

In addition, computer function errors
This is an error that occurs when control is transferred to a memory area in the ROM in the central control unit 1 where no program exists.

Note that if the RAM capacity of the microcomputer used in the central control section is 256 bytes, 8 bits of address information is sufficient.
Use parallel ports PE8 to PE15 for error address output.

To display such error information, prepare an 8-bit memory area in the RAM in the central control unit 1, define it in advance as shown in Figure 5, and first set all 8 bits to "1". Set it.

When an error occurs during the operation of the printer and the content of the error is detected by the central control unit 1, the corresponding bit is changed to "0".

Then, the data in the 8-bit memory area of the RAM is output as is to the parallel ports PE0 to PE7. In addition, if a RAM error occurs, the address where it occurred will also be changed to the parallel port at the same time.
Output to PE8 to PE15.

In this example, there are eight types of error information,
An 8-bit memory area is prepared in the RAM, and its contents are output as is to ports PE0 to PE7.

Therefore, no coding is required to display error information. Also parallel port PE0~
Each terminal of PE7 independently represents error information.

Therefore, by checking each port PE0 to PE7, the content of the error can be detected easily and quickly.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the printer error information display device of the present invention. In the drawings, 1 is a central control unit, 10 is an AND gate circuit, and 11 is a light emitting diode.

As already explained, when an error occurs, the parallel ports PE0 to PE7 of the central control unit 1
Only the bits corresponding to the error information defined as shown in the figure are output as "L".

Therefore, as in the circuit shown in FIG. 6, a signal is sent to the AND gate circuit 10 from one of the ports PE0 to PE7 where error information is output and the port PA0 where the control signal DRVACTV is output. give. If you do this, the error information will be “L”
When you select ports PE0 to PE7 that are
Since the light emitting diode 11 is lit up, the details of the error can be easily and quickly known.

For example, as shown in FIG. 6, if the light emitting diode 11 lights up when connected to the port PE1, it can be determined that a spacing hunting error has occurred.

In this way, the error information display device of the present invention only requires the use of a simple display circuit as shown in FIG.
~It is possible to wire PE7 to a monitor connector.

That is, instead of outputting error information to an interface with a host system as in conventional error information display methods, it is possible to output it to a connector that can be easily checked as necessary. Therefore, when checking,
There is no need to use a host system or special checker.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the case where there are eight types of error information has been explained. However, in general, printers are provided with several output terminals, for example, for signal lines for driving the platen, and output terminals are also used for other driving purposes.

Similarly, it is meaningless for these output terminals to continue outputting drive signals when an error occurs and the printer stops operating. Therefore, if the types of error information you want to display increase,
Other output terminals for driving the platen can be used for displaying error information, and the types of error information that can be displayed are not limited to eight types.

As explained in detail above, in the error information display device of the present invention, when an error occurs in a printer having many drive systems, the operation is stopped to ensure operator safety and protect the device. Focusing on the fact that there is no point in outputting many drive signals from the central control unit when an error occurs, the central control unit Error information is output from the output terminal instead of the drive signal.

Effects Therefore, according to the printer error information display device of the present invention, there is no need to provide a dedicated output terminal for displaying error information because printers have many drive systems and their drive signals are also numerous. To,
Various types of error information can be displayed.

Furthermore, since it is fully possible to output one type of error information using one output terminal of the central control unit, it is sufficient to display it as is, and there is no need to encode it. Therefore, the display circuit can also be easily constructed using only a gate circuit and a display means such as a light emitting diode.

Furthermore, the error information is sent to the output terminal of the central control unit.
In other words, since it is output to the connector, there is no need to use a host system or special checker when checking the cause of the error.
Many excellent effects can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is an example of the definition of status information output to the host system, Figure 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a printer display circuit that displays error information using multiple light emitting elements, and Figure 3 is a block diagram of an example of a printer display circuit that displays error information using multiple light emitting elements. An example of a code for displaying four types of error information using three light emitting diodes, and FIG. 4 shows the main part of the drive system of a daisy wheel type serial printer suitable for implementing the error information display device of the present invention. FIG. 5 is an example of a parallel port used in the error information display method of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the printer error information display device of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing one embodiment thereof. In the drawings, 1 is a central control unit, 2 is an amplifier,
3 is a light emitting element group, 4 is a selection servo system,
41 is its servo control unit, 42 is an amplifier, 43 is a selection motor, 44 is a sensor unit, 5
is a spacing servo system, 51 is its servo control unit, 52 is an amplifier, 53 is a spacing motor, 54 is a sensor unit, 6 is an amplifier, 7 is a hammer magnet, 8 is an amplifier, 9 is a ribbon feed solenoid, 10 is an AND gate circuit, 11
indicates a light emitting diode.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A central control unit composed of a microcomputer, etc., a plurality of drive circuits, and a group of drive signal lines that supply drive signals from output terminals of the central control unit to these drive circuits. A printer having: a control signal line for supplying a control signal from the central control unit that makes all or part of the drive circuit inoperative when an error occurs; and a control signal line that supplies error information indicating a preset type of error. an error information storage means for storing error information and outputting error information to a corresponding output terminal of the central control unit when an error occurs; and an error information storage means selectively connected to the output terminal of the central control unit when an error occurs, and lighting according to the error information. When an error occurs, all or part of the drive circuit is rendered inactive by a control signal from the control signal line, and the drive circuit that has been rendered inactive is driven. The central control unit outputs error information instead of the drive signal to the output terminal of the central control unit connected to the group of signal lines for use, and detects the content of the error that has occurred based on whether or not the display means is lit. An error information display device characterized by: