JPH07108593B2 - Paper detection device for printer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial field of application) The present invention is used in a printer device, and in particular, paper detection capable of detecting the presence or absence of paper in a direction perpendicular to the paper feeding direction. Regarding the device.

(Prior Art) A printer device is most often used as a hard copy device of a data processing device such as a computer. There are various types of printer devices due to differences in print formation and the like, but it can be said that they are the same in that paper is set in the device and print formation is performed by the print head.

Generally, in this type of printer device, the print head (print head) is on the left on the rod (rail). Can be moved to the right, while winding the paper around the rotatable platen,
By the rotation operation of the platen, the paper is vertically fed to feed a predetermined portion of the paper to the printing portion, that is, the print head, and the print head moves or traverses the rod to achieve a desired vertical length.
The print is formed in the horizontal position. In addition to such a basic configuration, there is generally one having a vertical feed paper detection function added. This is to detect the presence or absence of the end of the vertically long paper or the presence or absence of the paper by using an optical reflection sensor or the like to prevent the detection of paper shortage and the direct impact of the print head on the platen. There is.

In a printer device having such a function, it is an effective means in a fixed-size paper dedicated machine or a roll paper machine.
In the so-called personal computers, word processors, and the like, which are becoming popular, small-machines such as non-roll paper machines and papers of various sizes are used. Problems such as direct impact of the print head on the platen were not resolved.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As described above, in the conventional printer device, when various types of paper having various lateral dimensions are used, the paper runs out, or the print head is directly hit to the platen. That was the problem.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to perform lateral paper detection,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a paper detection device of a printer device that can use papers having various lateral dimensions and can prevent the print head from directly hitting the platen.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving Problems) The present invention is characterized by taking the following means in order to solve the above problems and achieve the object. That is, the present invention is directed to a paper detection device of a printer device for performing printing on the above-mentioned paper by a print head that feeds paper in a predetermined direction and moves a rod provided at right angles to the paper feed direction to the left and right. A sensor housing in which the print head is mounted in a substantially central position, and light-reflective sensors for the left position and the right position, which are provided at the left and right positions with the print head of the sensor housing as the center, respectively. Detecting the presence or absence of the paper in the moving range of the print head based on the signals from the left position light reflection type sensor and the right position light reflecting type sensor, and applying the detection signal to the printer device as a printer operation signal. And a structure including the means.

(Operation) According to the present invention having such a configuration, in addition to the vertical feed sheet detection function generally provided in the printer apparatus, the horizontal feed sheet detection function is added to the printer apparatus. As a result, it is possible to save paper and prevent the print head from being damaged.

Further, in the present invention, since the light reflection type sensors for the left position and the right position are respectively provided at the left and right positions with the print head of the sensor housing as the center, the moving range of the print head, that is, the printable range is set. It is possible to detect with high accuracy, which contributes to the improvement of the degree of freedom of printer operation.

Further, in the present invention, since the sensor housing provided with the light reflection type sensors for the left position and the right position is attached to the print head of the printer device, the existing sensor housing has only the function of detecting the lengthwise feed paper. By installing the paper detection device according to the present invention in the printer device, the transverse feed paper detection function is easily added to this existing printer device, and the practical advantage of this existing printer device is increased. be able to.

(Embodiment) An embodiment of the printer according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a plan view of an essential part of the apparatus of this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is an electric circuit diagram of the reflection type sensor in FIG.

In FIG. 1, the print head 1 can move left and right (horizontal direction) on two rods (rails) 2a and 2b, and feeds paper (vertical direction) parallel to the rods 2a and 2b. A platen 3 is arranged. By rotating the platen 3 and laterally driving the print head 1, the print head 1 is placed at a desired vertical / horizontal position of the paper 4 set on the platen 3.
It is possible to form a print by.

A substantially C-shaped sensor housing 5 is attached to the print head 1, and reflective sensors 6a and 6b are attached to the left and right positions of the sensor housing 5 with the print head 1 as the center.

In FIG. 2, the reflection type sensor 6a (or 6b) is the paper 4
Light emitting diode 10 as a light emitting element and a phototransistor as a light receiving element so that light is projected and received on the surface of
11 are arranged. The light emitting diode 10 emits modulated light having an audible band frequency when the oscillation output of the oscillator 12 having an audible band frequency is amplified and given through the amplifier 13. The phototransistor 11 is
The received light output is amplified through the amplifier 14 and input to the control unit 15. Here, the control unit 15 detects that the paper 4 is present when the output from the phototransistor 11 reaches a predetermined signal level, that is, at the position of the reflective sensor 6a (or 6b), and this detection is performed. The signal is given to a printer control system (not shown) as a print operation permission signal.

Next, the operation of this embodiment configured as described above will be described. That is, when the print head 1 moves to the left and right before the start of the printing operation and the left reflective sensor 6a reaches the leftmost end, if the paper 4 is present, the light emitting diode 10, A sheet detection operation is performed by the phototransistor 11, and a left side permission signal is sent to the control unit 15 when there is a sheet. Next, when the reflective sensor 6b on the right reaches the rightmost end,
If the sheet 4 is present, the sheet presence detection signal sends a right side permission signal to the control unit 15. When the left and right permission signals are received, the printing operation becomes possible and the predetermined printing operation is performed.

According to this embodiment as described above, the following operational effects can be obtained.

According to the present embodiment, by adding the horizontal paper detection function in addition to the normal vertical paper detection function, the printing operation on the non-regular paper is prevented, and the operator can promptly determine the effective paper size, By reporting the invalidity, the efficiency of the printing work can be improved and the invalid printing of the non-regular paper can be prevented, which leads to the saving of the paper. Further, since the control system itself grasps all the information regarding the paper shape, automation of the printing work will be promoted. Furthermore, since the print head 1 is prevented from directly hitting the platen 4, damage to the device is prevented. Further, according to the present embodiment, in addition to the vertical feed paper detection function generally provided in the printer device, the horizontal feed paper detection function is added to the printer device. As a result, it is possible to save paper and prevent the print head 1 from being damaged. Further, in this embodiment, since the light reflection type sensors 6a and 6b for the left position and the right position are provided at the left and right positions with the print head 1 of the sensor housing 5 at the center, respectively.
The moving range, that is, the printable range can be detected with high accuracy, which contributes to improvement in the degree of freedom in printer operation. Further, in the present embodiment, the sensor housing 5 provided with the left- and right-position light reflection type sensors 6a and 6b is attached to the print head 1 of the printer device, and therefore has only the vertical feed paper detection function. By installing the configuration for paper detection according to the present embodiment in the existing printer device, the transverse feed paper detection function can be easily added to the existing printer device. The practical advantages of the device can be increased.

In the above embodiment, the left edge and the right edge of the sheet 3 are detected, but by providing a marker on the preliminary sheet 3 and detecting this marker,
Alternatively, the printing may be performed only outside.

Besides this, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[Effects of the Invention] As described in detail above, according to the present invention, a sheet is fed in a predetermined direction, and printing is performed on the sheet by a print head that moves left and right on a rod provided at a right angle to the sheet feeding direction. In the printer apparatus for performing the above, the print head is provided with a sensor including a light projecting element for projecting light onto the paper and a light receiving element for receiving the reflected light thereof, and based on the output of this sensor, a sensor is formed in a direction perpendicular to the paper feeding direction. This is a configuration including means for determining the presence or absence of paper.

According to this configuration, since the print head is provided with the optical type paper determination sensor, the presence or absence of the paper in the direction perpendicular to the paper feeding direction can be detected, the paper can be saved, and the failure of the print head can be prevented. It is possible to provide a printer device capable of preventing the above.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a configuration of an embodiment of a printer device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a detailed view of a reflection type sensor and an electric circuit in FIG. 1 ... Print head, 2a, 2b ... Rod, 3 ... Paper, 4
... Platen, 5 ... Housing, 6a, 6b ... Reflective sensor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A paper detection device of a printer device for performing printing on the above-mentioned paper by a print head which feeds paper in a predetermined direction and moves a rod provided at right angles to the paper feed direction to the left and right. A sensor housing in which the print head is installed substantially in the center, and light-reflective sensors for the left position and the right position which are provided at the left and right positions with the print head of the sensor housing as the center, respectively. Detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of the paper in the moving range of the print head based on the signals from the position and right position light reflection type sensors and giving the detected signal to the printer device as a printer operation signal. A paper detection device for a printing device, comprising: