TWM627510U - Printing device with function of automatically detecting dead-dot in printhead - Google Patents

Abstract

A printing device with the function of automatically detecting the dead pixels of the printing head, comprising a casing, a printing head, a support module for the printed material, a control module and a printing head detection module. The print head is arranged in the casing, and includes a plurality of print pieces, and the print pieces are arranged in an array with a reference line as a starting point. The printed material support module is disposed on the casing, supports a printed material and enables the printed material to move along an extension axis, and the control module is electrically connected to the print head to control the print parts of the print head. The print head detection module is electrically connected to the control module. When the print head detection module detects a print failure, the print head detection module obtains the position of the damaged print and transmits it. To the control module, the control module calculates the distance value between the position of the damaged print and the reference line.

Description

Printing device with automatic detection of print head dead pixels

This creation is about a printing device that can detect the dead pixels of the printing head, especially a kind of detecting the dead pixels of the printing head before printing, and calculate the distance between the dead pixels and the reference line and the distance between the dead pixels and the reference line. The distance that the printed material must move to avoid dead pixels, and then the printed material is manually or automatically moved to the position to avoid dead pixels for printing.

Printing devices are widely used in every aspect of daily life. In addition to printing devices commonly used in offices, they are also used in other commercial environments, such as printing product labels or printing invoices. The printing head of the existing printing device is composed of a plurality of printing elements arranged in an array. When the print head of the print head is found to be damaged, the entire print head must be replaced.

However, when carefully examining the printed labels or other printed materials, it is found that the size of the label is usually smaller than the size of the print head, so if the location of the damaged print can be found, and the printed material is properly avoided. Printed items, the print head can still be used, which can extend the life of the print head.

In view of this, the purpose of this creation is to provide a printing device with the function of automatically detecting the dead pixels of the printing head, which can automatically detect whether the printed parts of the printing head are damaged before printing. If the piece is damaged, the distance between the damaged print and the print reference line is calculated, and a manual or automatic method is provided to move the printed piece an appropriate distance from the reference line to avoid the damaged print.

An embodiment of the printing device with the function of automatically detecting the dead pixels of the printing head of the present invention includes a casing, a printing head, a supporting module for the printed material, a control module and a printing head detection module. The print head is arranged in the casing, and includes a plurality of print pieces, and the print pieces are arranged in an array with a reference line as a starting point. The to-be-printed material supporting module is arranged on the casing, which supports a to-be-printed material, and enables the printed material to move along an extension axis, and the to-be-printed material extends through the print head and is located at an initial position, at an edge of the printed material at the initial position Align with baseline. The control module is electrically connected to the print head, and controls the print items of the print head. The print head detection module is electrically connected to the control module, and detects each print before each printing. When the print head detection module detects that at least one of the prints is faulty, The print head detection module obtains the position of the damaged print, and transmits it to the control module, and the control module calculates the distance value between the position of the damaged print and the reference line.

In another embodiment, the control module compares the distance value and the width of the printing head with the width of the printed material, and generates a moving distance value of the printed material, and the printed material moves from the reference line along the extension axis according to the moving distance value Distance value for printing.

In another embodiment, the printing device with the function of automatically detecting the dead pixel of the printing head of the present invention further includes a display module, which is electrically connected to the control module, and the control module uses the calculated distance The value and the moving distance value are displayed on the display module.

In another embodiment, the printing material supporting module includes a printing material winding member, a printing material supporting member, a first shaft body and a second shaft body, and the first shaft body and the second shaft body are disposed in the casing The printed material winding member is movably disposed on the first shaft body, the printed material support member is movably disposed on the second shaft body, and the printed material is wound around the printed material winding member and is supported by the printed material. The support member supports and extends through the print head.

In another embodiment, the second shaft body has a chute, and the to-be-printed material support member is movably disposed in the chute.

In another embodiment, the to-be-printed material support module further includes a first marker and a second marker, the first marker is arranged on the first shaft body, the second marker is arranged on the second shaft body, the first marker The marking member indicates the position of the winding member to be printed on the first shaft body, and the second marking member marks the position of the supporting member to be printed on the second shaft body.

In another embodiment, the winding member to be printed is positioned on the first shaft body by a positioning member. When the positioning member releases the positioning of the winding member to be printed and the first shaft body, the winding member to be printed can move along the first shaft body. One-axis movement.

In another embodiment, the printing material supporting member is positioned on the second shaft body by frictional force, and the printing material supporting member is moved along the second shaft body by overcoming the frictional force.

In another embodiment, it further includes a printed part moving module electrically connected to the control module, and the printed part moving module includes a driving part, a transmission mechanism, a first moving part and a first moving part Two moving parts, the first moving part is connected to the printed material winding part, the second moving part is connected to the printed material support part, the control module drives the driving part according to the moving distance value, and the driving part passes the The transmission mechanism drives the first moving member and the second moving member to move the printing material winding member along the first shaft body and move the printing material supporting member along the second shaft body.

In another embodiment, the driving member includes a servo motor, the transmission mechanism includes a gear set, the first moving member includes a lead screw, and the second moving member includes a lead screw.

The printing device with the function of automatically detecting the dead pixels of the printing head of the present invention detects whether the printed parts of the printing head are damaged before printing. When the printed parts of the print head are detected to be damaged, the control module calculates the distance that the printed material must move according to the position of the damaged print parts detected by the print head detection module. And the distance that the printed material must be moved is displayed on the display module, so that the user can manually move the printed material by an appropriate distance to avoid damaged prints, or the control module can generate a control signal to drive the printed material to move the module. , to move the printed material an appropriate distance to avoid damaged prints. In this way, even if some of the printed parts of the print head are damaged, the printed parts can be moved an appropriate distance to avoid the damaged print parts, and the printing device can still print without the need to replace the print head. , thereby prolonging the service life of the print head and saving the cost of purchasing print head consumables for the user.

Please refer to FIG. 1 , FIG. 2 , FIG. 3 , FIG. 4 , FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 , which illustrate an embodiment of the printing device with the function of automatically detecting the dead pixels of the printing head of the present invention. The printing device 100 with the function of automatically detecting the dead pixels of the printing head of this embodiment includes a casing 10 , a printing head 20 , a printing material support module 30 , a control module 40 and a printing head detection module Group 50.

The printing head 20 is disposed in the casing 10 and includes a plurality of printing elements, and the plurality of printing elements are arranged in an array with a reference line L as the starting point. As shown in FIG. 5 , the printing head 20 may be, for example, a thermal The print head, the plurality of print elements can be micro heaters, for example, the print head 20 has 320 square dot heaters (print elements), through logic control, the current can be passed through the micro heaters corresponding to the position of the pattern to be generated , make the micro-heater generate heat to heat the printed material (thermal paper), thereby causing the coating of the printed material to chemically react and change color to produce a pattern. As the printed material moves in a direction perpendicular to the print head 20, a pattern is generated line by line, thereby generating a two-dimensional pattern.

The to-be-printed material support module 30 is disposed in the casing 10, which supports a to-be-printed material P, and enables the to-be-printed material P to move along an extension axis E, and the to-be-printed material P extends through the print head 20 and is located at an initial position (as shown in the figure). 5), an edge of the printed material P at the initial position is aligned with the reference line L. The printing material supporting module 30 in this embodiment includes a printing material winding member 31 , a printing material supporting member 32 , a first shaft body 33 and a second shaft body 34 . The first shaft body 33 and the second shaft body 34 are disposed on a wall surface of the housing 10 and extend from the wall surface along the extension axis E to protrude from the wall surface. The to-be-printed material P is wound around the to-be-printed material winding member 31 , and the to-be-printed material winding member 31 is movably disposed on the first shaft body 33 .

In this embodiment, the printing material winding member 31 is positioned on the first shaft body 33 by a positioning member 35. The positioning member 35 in this embodiment is a positioning bolt. By passing the positioning member 35 through the printing material winding member 31 and locked on the first shaft body 33 , so that the printed material winding member 31 is positioned on the first shaft body 33 . When the positioning member 35 releases the positioning of the printing material winding member 31 and the first shaft body 33 , the printing material winding member 31 can move along the first shaft body 33 .

The to-be-printed material supporter 32 is movably disposed on the second shaft body 34 , the to-be-printed material P is wound around the to-be-printed material winding member 31 and is supported by the to-be-printed material supporter 32 to extend through the print head 20 . The second shaft body 34 in this embodiment has a chute 341 , and the printed material supporting member 32 is movably disposed in the chute 341 . The to-be-printed material support member 32 includes a bearing portion disposed below the second shaft body 34 and a toggle portion disposed above the second shaft body 34 . The printed material support 32 is positioned on the second shaft body 34 by frictional force, and the printed material supporter 32 overcomes the frictional force and moves along the second shaft body 34 by the user manually or automatically driven by the mechanism described later. The chute 341 moves.

The to-be-printed material support module 30 further includes a first marker 36 and a second marker 37 , the first marker 36 is disposed on the first shaft 33 , and the second marker 37 is disposed on the second shaft 34 . The first marking member 36 and the second marking member 37 are respectively disposed on the first shaft body 33 and the second shaft body 34 along the extension axis E. The first marking member 36 and the second marking member 37 have a plurality of scales. The first marking member 36 and the second marking member 37 in the example both have 12 scales (0-11), and the reference line L is the position where the scale is 0, and then a plurality of scales are arranged at equal distances from each other. The first marking member 36 is used to mark the position of the printing material winding member 31 on the first shaft body 33 , and the second marking member 37 is used to mark the position of the printing material supporting member 32 on the second shaft body 34 .

The control module 40 is electrically connected to the print head 20 and controls a plurality of print parts of the print head 20. The control module 40 includes a microprocessor and a memory unit, and the memory unit stores a program for controlling the print head 20 and described later A program for detecting the print head 20 and calculating the moving distance of the printed material P. The print head detection module 50 is electrically connected to the control module 40, and detects each print item of the print head 20 before each print. When the print head detection module 50 detects that at least one of the printed parts is faulty, the print head detection module 50 obtains the position of the damaged printed part and transmits it to the control module 40 , and the control module 40 Calculate the distance value D1 between the position of the damaged print and the reference line L.

The printing device 100 with the function of automatically detecting the dead pixels of the printing head of this embodiment further includes a display module 60 which is electrically connected to the control module 40 , and the control module 40 displays the calculated damaged print The distance value D1 between the part and the reference line L and the moving distance value D2 of the printed material P are displayed on the display module 60, and the warning light 61 lights up to remind the user that there is a damaged printed part and the printed material P needs to be moved. The user can manually move the printed material winding member 31 and the printed material support member 32 along the extension axis E according to the moving distance value D2 of the printed material P displayed by the display module 60 to a maximum value D2. the best printing position (as shown in Figure 6).

As shown in FIG. 2, in step S1, before printing, the print head detection module 50 is used to detect whether the print head 20 has damaged prints. Taking the thermal print head as an example, the detection The measurement method is to measure the current of each printed part (micro heater). The printed part generates heat by means of current flowing through the resistance, so if the printed part is damaged, such as the printed part is broken, the printed part will The resistance value will become extremely large, so that the current value through the printed part is 0, so as to detect whether the printed part is damaged. If no damaged print is detected in step S1, step S2 is entered to continue the printing process. If it is detected that the print is damaged, go to step S3.

In step S2, the printing process is continued.

In step S3, the position of the damaged print is detected, and the print head detection module 50 transmits the detected position of the damaged print to the control module 40, and the control module 40 calculates The distance value D1 between the position of the damaged printed part and the reference line L, the control module 40 compares the distance value D1 and the width of the printing head 20 to the width D3 of the printed material P, and generates a moving distance value D2 of the printed material . Then go to step S4.

In step S4 , as shown in FIG. 4 , it is displayed whether the printed part is damaged, and both the width D3 of the printed material P and the moving distance value D2 of the printed material are displayed on the display module 60 . In addition, the control module 40 also comprehensively judges whether the printed material P can be moved by moving the printed material P according to the position of the damaged printed part (the value of its distance from the reference line L), the width of the printing head 20 and the width of the printed material P. Avoid damaged prints. If the damaged prints cannot be avoided, proceed to step S5, and if the damaged prints can be avoided, proceed to step S6.

In step S5 , since the damaged print cannot be avoided even if the printed material P is moved, the printing process can be continued only by replacing the print head 20 , and the display module 60 will display a print head replacement message.

In step S6, the printed material P is moved from the reference line L along the extension axis E by the moving distance value D2 according to the moving distance value, so as to avoid the damaged print and continue printing. As shown in FIG. 6 , since the moving distance of the printed material is displayed on the display module 60 , the user can release the positioning member 35 to move the first shaft 33 an appropriate distance, and the user can also move the printed material. The supporting member 32 is moved along the second shaft body 34, thereby moving the printed material P from the reference line L by an appropriate distance to avoid the damaged printing member. Then go to step S2, and continue to execute the printing process.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the location of damaged prints by detecting the impedance of each print. Using the resistor parallel concept to speed up the thermal printing head capacitance charging slope and reduce test loops. Utilize the first in first out (first in first out) feature to reduce test loops and shorten the stabilization time of charge-discharge effects on thermal print heads. When the resistance value of the parallel resistors is found to be abnormal, the second round of abnormal point testing is performed to know the position of the real abnormal point, that is, the position of the real damaged print.

FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the printing device with the function of automatically detecting the dead pixels of the printing head of the present invention. The printing apparatus 100 with the function of automatically detecting the dead pixel of the printing head of this embodiment further includes a printed material moving module 70 which is electrically connected to the control module 40 . The printing material moving module 70 includes a driving member 71 , a transmission mechanism 72 , a first moving member 73 and a second moving member 74 . The first moving member 73 is connected to the printing material winding member 31 , and the second moving member 74 is connected to the printing material supporting member 32 . The driving member 71 in this embodiment includes a servo motor, the transmission mechanism 72 includes a gear set, the first moving member 73 includes a lead screw, and the second moving member 74 includes a lead screw. The driving member 71 outputs power and transmits the power to the first moving member 73 and the second moving member 74 through the transmission mechanism 72 to rotate the first moving member 73 and the second moving member 74 .

The control module 40 drives the driving member 71 according to the calculated moving distance value of the printed material P. The driving member 71 drives the first moving member 73 and the second moving member 74 through the transmission mechanism 72 to make the printed material winding member 31 move along the first axis. The body 33 moves and moves the printed material support 32 along the second shaft body 34, thereby moving the printed material P by an appropriate distance so as to avoid the damaged print.

The printing device with the function of automatically detecting the dead pixels of the printing head of the present invention detects whether the printed parts of the printing head are damaged before printing. When the printed parts of the print head are detected to be damaged, the control module calculates the distance that the printed material must move according to the position of the damaged print parts detected by the print head detection module. And the distance that the printed material must be moved is displayed on the display module, so that the user can manually move the printed material by an appropriate distance to avoid damaged prints, or the control module can generate a control signal to drive the printed material to move the module. , to move the printed material an appropriate distance to avoid damaged prints. In this way, even if some of the printed parts of the print head are damaged, the printed parts can be moved an appropriate distance to avoid the damaged print parts, and the printing device can still print without the need to replace the print head. , thereby prolonging the service life of the print head and saving the cost of purchasing print head consumables for the user.

However, the above are only the preferred embodiments of the present creation, and should not limit the scope of implementation of the present creation, that is, any simple equivalent changes and modifications made according to the patent scope of the present creation and the description of the new model, All are still within the scope of this creative patent. In addition, any embodiment of the present invention or the scope of the patent application is not required to achieve all the purposes or advantages or features disclosed in the present invention. In addition, the abstract section and the title are only used to aid the search of patent documents and are not intended to limit the scope of rights of this creation. In addition, terms such as "first" and "second" mentioned in this specification or the scope of the patent application are only used to name the elements or to distinguish different embodiments or scopes, and are not used to limit the number of elements. upper or lower limit.

10: Shell 20: print head 30: Printed material support module 31: Printed material winding 32: Printed material support 33: The first axis 34: The second shaft 341: Chute 35: Positioning pieces 36: First marked piece 37: Second marker 40: Control Module 50:Print head detection module 60: Display module 61: Warning Lights 70: Printing material moving module 71: Drivers 72: Transmission mechanism 73: First moving piece 74: Second moving piece 100: Printing device with automatic detection of print head dead pixels D1: The value of the distance between the position of the damaged print and the reference line D2: The moving distance value of the printed material D3: The width of the printed material E: Extended axis L: Baseline P: to be printed

FIG. 1 is a system block diagram of a printing device with the function of automatically detecting dead pixels of the printing head. FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the inventive printing device with the function of automatically detecting dead pixels of the printing head to detect the printing head and move the printed material by an appropriate distance according to the detected damaged print. FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing whether the print head of the printing device with the function of automatically detecting the dead pixel of the print head of the present invention determines whether the print item is damaged by detecting impedance. Figure 4 is the display module of the printing device with the function of automatically detecting the dead pixels of the printing head of the present invention, showing whether the printed part is damaged, the width of the printed material and the distance that the printed material must move to avoid the damaged printed part schematic diagram. Figures 5 and 6 are images of the damaged prints being detected by the printing device with the function of automatically detecting dead pixels of the print head of the present creation, and the user moves the printed material an appropriate distance according to the displayed information to avoid the damaged prints. Schematic of the printout. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a damaged print that is automatically moved by the printing device with the function of automatically detecting dead pixels of the print head to avoid the damaged print by moving the printed material by an appropriate distance.

20: print head

30: Printed material support module

40: Control Module

50:Print head detection module

60: Display module

70: Printing material moving module

Claims (10)

A printing device with the function of automatically detecting dead pixels of a printing head, comprising: a shell; a printing head, disposed in the casing, comprising a plurality of printing elements, the printing elements are arranged in an array with a reference line as a starting point; A to-be-printed material support module is disposed on the casing, which supports a to-be-printed material and enables the to-be-printed material to move along an extension axis, and the printed material extends through the printing head and is located at an initial position, which is located in the initial position. An edge of the printed material at the position is aligned with the reference line; a control module, electrically connected to the print head, to control the print items of the print head; and A print head detection module, electrically connected to the control module, detects each of the printed parts before each printing, when the print head detection module detects at least one of the If the printed part fails, the print head detection module obtains the position of the damaged at least one of the printed parts and transmits it to the control module, and the control module calculates the damaged at least one of the printed parts The distance between the position and the baseline. The printing device with the function of automatically detecting the dead pixels of the printing head according to claim 1, wherein the control module compares the distance value and the width of the printing head with the width of the printed material, and generates a A moving distance value of the printed material, and the printed material moves the moving distance value from the reference line along the extension axis according to the moving distance value for printing. The printing device with the function of automatically detecting the dead pixel of the printing head as described in claim 2, further comprising a display module electrically connected to the control module, and the control module uses the calculated distance value and the moving distance value is displayed on the display module. The printing device with the function of automatically detecting dead pixels of the printing head according to claim 2, wherein the printed material support module includes a printed material winding member, a printed material support member, a first shaft and a A second shaft body, the first shaft body and the second shaft body are disposed on the housing and extend along the extension axis, the printed material winding member is movably disposed on the first shaft body, the printed material support member It is movably arranged on the second shaft body, and the to-be-printed material is wound around the to-be-printed material winding member and supported by the to-be-printed material support member to extend through the printing head. The printing device with the function of automatically detecting dead pixels of the printing head according to claim 4, wherein the second shaft body has a chute, and the to-be-printed material support member is movably disposed in the chute. The printing device with the function of automatically detecting dead pixels of the printing head according to claim 4, wherein the printed material support module further comprises a first marker and a second marker, and the first marker is arranged on the The first shaft body, the second marking member is disposed on the second shaft body, the first marking member indicates the position of the printed material winding member on the first shaft body, and the second marking member indicates that the printed material supports the position of the part on the second shaft body. The printing device with the function of automatically detecting dead pixels of the printing head according to claim 4, wherein the winding member of the printed material is positioned on the first shaft body by a positioning member, and when the positioning member releases the printed material When the winding member is positioned with the first shaft body, the to-be-printed material winding member can move along the first shaft body. The printing device with the function of automatically detecting the dead pixels of the printing head according to claim 7, wherein the printed material support member is positioned on the second shaft body by frictional force, and the printed material is made to be printed by overcoming the frictional force The support member moves along the second shaft. As claimed in claim 2 or 3, the printing device with the function of automatically detecting the dead pixel of the print head further comprises a printed material moving module, which is electrically connected to the control module, and the printed material moving module comprises: A driving member, a transmission mechanism, a first moving member and a second moving member, the first moving member is connected to the printed material winding member, the second moving member is connected to the printed material support member, the control mold The group drives the driving member according to the moving distance value, and the driving member drives the first moving member and the second moving member through the transmission mechanism to make the printed material winding member move along the first shaft and support the printed material The member moves along the second axis. The printing device with the function of automatically detecting the dead pixels of the printing head as claimed in claim 9, wherein the driving member comprises a servo motor, the transmission mechanism comprises a gear set, the first moving member comprises a lead screw, the The second moving member includes a lead screw.

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