A printer and a paper roll detection mechanism thereof

Abstract

The application provides a printer and a paper roll detection mechanism thereof. The paper roll detection mechanism of the printer comprises an infrared emitter and an infrared receiver arranged on both sides of a paper conveying channel of the printer respectively. The infrared emitter has a light emitting hole, and the infrared receiver has an incident hole. The light emitting opening of the light emitting hole and the incident opening of the incident hole correspond to each other and are both in an elongated opening structure. The signal strength of the detection of the dash-dot knife mark gap position can be improved, and the accurate detection of the dash-dot knife mark gap can be realized.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of printers, in particular to a printer and a paper roll detection mechanism thereof. BACKGROUND

[0002] The market of printers widely uses various types of label papers, such as bottom paper label paper with interval surface (as shown in Figure 9 ), bottom paper label paper with black line mark (as shown in Figure 10 ), and paper roll with dotted line mark (as shown in Figure 11 ), etc. The detection technology of the characteristic mark of the paper is mostly the traditional infrared cylinder light source detection technology as shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2 , in which a is the infrared cylinder light source, b is the receiver, and c is the paper. The traditional infrared cylinder light source detection technology has high requirements on the manufacturing technology of the paper, and the paper must have obvious characteristics for the printer and other equipment to read and identify, such as bottom paper label paper with interval surface and bottom paper label paper with black line mark, etc.

[0003] However, the bottom paper label paper with interval surface as shown in Figure 9 requires a layer of bottom paper 52 plus surface paper 51 for the manufacturing of the paper roll, and the surface paper 51 is regularly and equidistantly arranged. Such paper roll needs to increase the cost of the paper. The bottom paper label paper with black line mark 55 (as shown in Figure 10 ) and various types of thermal paper with black line mark printing characteristics increase the cost of the black printing process, and the black printing also causes environmental problems.

[0004] The paper roll 5 with dotted line mark as shown in Figure 11 only sets the dotted line mark 56 on the paper roll through cutting, which does not increase the cost of the paper and does not print the line mark. It is low in cost and environmentally friendly. However, the dotted line mark 56 is a small slit, and when detecting the dotted line mark 56, the existing infrared cylinder light source detection technology cannot achieve good detection due to small signal change (as shown in the detection signal waveform m). Figure 12 SUMMARY

[0005] Therefore, the present application provides a printer and a paper roll detection mechanism thereof, which can be well applied to the detection of the paper roll with dotted line mark.

[0006] To achieve the above object, the technical solutions of the present application are as follows:

[0007] ​A paper roll detection mechanism of a printer, comprising an infrared emitter and an infrared receiver arranged on both sides of a paper path of the printer respectively; the infrared emitter has a light emitting hole, and the infrared receiver has an incident hole; the light emitting opening of the light emitting hole and the incident opening of the incident hole correspond to each other and are both in an elongated opening structure.

[0008] Further, the light emitting hole is a through hole with equal aperture, and the incident hole is a funnel-shaped through hole with aperture gradually reduced from inside to outside.

[0009] Further, the depth of the light emitting hole is greater than the depth of the incident hole.

[0010] Further, the depth of the light emitting hole is 4mm, and the depth of the incident hole is 0.68mm.

[0011] Further, the size of the incident opening is smaller than the size of the light emitting opening.

[0012] Further, the light emitting opening is a rectangular opening with a length of 5.0mm and a width of 0.7mm; and the incident opening is a rectangular opening with a length of 2.5mm and a width of 0.3mm.

[0013] Further, the long sides of the light emitting opening and the incident opening of the incident hole are both perpendicular to the extension direction of the paper path of the printer.

[0014] Further, the infrared emitter comprises a light-tight mounting shell and an emitter body assembled in the mounting shell; the light emitting hole is arranged on the mounting shell and corresponds to the light emitting surface of the emitter body.

[0015] Further, the infrared receiver comprises a light-tight mounting shell and a receiver body assembled in the mounting shell; the incident hole is arranged on the mounting shell and corresponds to the receiving surface of the receiver body.

[0016] A printer, comprising at least the paper roll detection mechanism of the printer.

[0017] The technical scheme provided by the present application has the following beneficial effects:

[0018] The elongated light emitting opening of the light emitting hole of the infrared emitter can improve the scattering light source of the infrared emitter, and the useful emitted light is concentrated and projected in the narrow small gap space. When the infrared light is concentrated and emitted from the light emitting opening and passes through the paper into the incident opening of the receiving end, the strength of the infrared receiver sensing light signal jumps significantly with the change of the detected paper characteristics, so as to be easily identified by the infrared receiver sensing. The technical solution of setting the elongated opening on both sides of the detected paper can increase the signal-to-noise ratio of the useful characteristic change signal of the paper by five or six times, so as to more accurately identify whether the paper position is at the dotted knife mark gap or at the paper position. Therefore, the signal strength of the dotted knife mark gap detection is improved, and the precise detection of the dotted knife mark gap is realized. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 A printer with the existing infrared cylindrical light source detection mechanism is shown.

[0020] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the A area in the embodiment is shown. Figure 1

[0021] Figure 3 A printer with the paper roll detection mechanism in the embodiment is shown.

[0022] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the B area in the embodiment is shown. Figure 3

[0023] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the appearance of the infrared emitter in the embodiment is shown.

[0024] Figure 6 A sectional view of the infrared emitter in the embodiment is shown.

[0025] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the appearance of the infrared receiver in the embodiment is shown.

[0026] Figure 8 A sectional view of the infrared receiver in the embodiment is shown.

[0027] Figure 9 A schematic diagram of the bottom label paper with spaced paper is shown.

[0028] Figure 10 A schematic diagram of the bottom label paper with black line marks is shown.

[0029] Figure 11 A schematic diagram of the paper roll with the dotted knife mark gap is shown.

[0030] Figure 12 A comparison diagram of the detection signal of the existing infrared cylindrical light source detection and the paper roll detection mechanism of the embodiment on the dotted knife mark gap is shown.​​ Detailed Implementation

[0031] To further illustrate the various embodiments, the present invention provides accompanying drawings. These drawings are part of the disclosure of the present invention, primarily used to illustrate the embodiments and to explain the operating principles of the embodiments in conjunction with the relevant descriptions in the specification. With reference to these drawings, those skilled in the art should be able to understand other possible implementations and the advantages of the present invention. Components in the drawings are not drawn to scale, and similar component symbols are generally used to represent similar components.

[0032] The present invention will now be further described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0033] Reference Figures 3 to 8 As shown, this embodiment provides a paper roll detection mechanism for a printer, including an infrared emitter 10 and an infrared receiver 20 respectively disposed on both sides of the paper feed channel of the printer 6; the infrared emitter 10 has a light emission hole 11, and the infrared receiver 20 has an incident hole 21. The light emission opening 12 of the light emission hole 11 corresponds to the incident opening 22 of the incident hole 21 and both have a slender opening structure.

[0034] The elongated light-emitting opening 12 of the light-emitting aperture 11 of the infrared emitter 10 improves the scattering of the infrared emitter 10, concentrating the useful emitted light into the narrow slit space, thus emitting a thin strip of light beam from the light-emitting opening, forming a slit light source. When the infrared light is concentrated and emitted from the light-emitting opening 12 and passes through the paper into the incident opening 22 of the infrared receiver 20, the intensity of the light signal sensed by the infrared receiver 20 exhibits a significant jump in amplitude with the change in the characteristics of the detected paper, making it easily sensed and identified by the infrared receiver 20. This technical solution, which provides elongated openings on both sides of the detected paper, can improve the noise ratio of the useful characteristic change signal of the paper by five to six times, and can be used in applications such as... Figure 11 When the paper roll 5 with the dotted knife mark 56 is shown, it can more accurately identify whether the paper is located at the dotted knife mark 56 or at another location on the paper. This significantly improves the signal strength for detecting the position of the dotted knife mark 56, enabling precise detection of the dotted knife mark 56.

[0035] When the paper is conveyed through the paper feed channel to the point where the dotted blade slit 56 aligns with the strip-shaped light beam emitted from the light emission opening 12, the strip-shaped light beam aligns with the dotted blade slit 56 and passes through the blade slit to the incident opening 22 of the infrared receiver 20. At this time, the intensity of the infrared light signal sensed by the infrared receiver 20 jumps significantly with the changes in the characteristics of the detected paper, making it easy for the detection element to sense and identify.

[0036] Further, in the embodiment, the light-out hole 11 is an equal-aperture through hole, which can better reduce the scattering light emission. The incident hole 21 is a funnel-shaped through hole with the aperture gradually reducing from inside to outside; that is, the size of the incident opening 22 is the smallest, and the light beam is reduced after being emitted from the incident opening 22, thereby increasing the received light quantity of the infrared receiver 20.

[0037] Meanwhile, the depth of the light-out hole 11 is greater than the depth of the incident hole 21. Specifically, the depth H1 of the light-out hole 11 is 4 mm, and the depth H2 of the incident hole 21 is 0.68 mm. In this way, the light-out hole 11 is arranged in an elongated and deep structure, which can better concentrate the useful emitted light in the range of the elongated small gap; the incident hole 21 is arranged in an elongated and shallow structure, which can better receive the useful infrared light in the range of the elongated small gap, thereby further enhancing the received signal.

[0038] Meanwhile, the size of the incident opening 22 is smaller than the size of the light-out opening 12. Specifically, the light-out opening 12 is a rectangular opening with a length L1 of 5.0 mm and a width W1 of 0.7 mm; the incident opening 22 is a rectangular opening with a length L2 of 2.5 mm and a width W2 of 0.3 mm. In this way, it is ensured that the light beam emitted through the light-out opening 12 can completely cover the incident opening 22, so that the alignment difficulty is small; meanwhile, the concentration of the light beam emission and the sensitivity of the reception are also ensured.

[0039] The above arrangement of the light-out hole 11 and the incident hole 21 is one of the more preferred embodiments. Of course, in other embodiments, the structure and size of the light-out hole 11 and / or the incident hole 21 are not limited thereto. For example, the light-out hole 11 can also be arranged in a structure with unequal apertures, such as a funnel-shaped structure with the aperture gradually decreasing from inside to outside, etc. The size of the light-out opening 12 and the incident opening 22 can also be the same. The depth of the incident hole 21 and the depth of the light-out hole 11 can also be the same, etc.

[0040] Specifically, in the prior art, the dashed line cutter mark 56 is perpendicular to the length direction of the paper roll, and therefore, in the embodiment, the long sides of the light-out opening 12 of the light-out hole 11 and the incident opening 22 of the incident hole 21 are perpendicular to the extension direction of the paper passage of the printer 6. In this way, the light beam can be parallel to the dashed line cutter mark 56 to realize coincidence. Of course, in other embodiments, if the dashed line cutter mark 56 on the paper roll 5 is obliquely extended, then the long sides of the light-out opening 12 of the light-out hole 11 and the incident opening 22 of the incident hole 21 are also obliquely arranged, so that the light beam can be parallel to the dashed line cutter mark 56 to realize coincidence.

[0041] Further, in the embodiment, the infrared emitter 10 comprises a light-tight mounting housing (defined as the first mounting housing 2) and an emitter body 1 assembled in the first mounting housing 2, and the light exit hole 11 is formed on the first mounting housing 2 and corresponds to the light exit surface of the emitter body 1. In this way, the emitter body 1 is conveniently mounted, and stray light is prevented from being emitted through the first mounting housing 2.

[0042] Similarly, the infrared receiver 20 comprises a light-tight mounting housing (defined as the second mounting housing 4) and a receiver body 3 assembled in the second mounting housing 4, and the incident hole 21 is formed on the second mounting housing 4 and corresponds to the receiving surface of the receiver body 3. In this way, the receiver body 3 is conveniently mounted, and stray light is prevented from being emitted through the second mounting housing 4 to affect the judgment of the detection signal.

[0043] Of course, in other embodiments, the structures of the infrared emitter 10 or the infrared receiver 20 are not limited to this.

[0044] Through the scheme provided by the embodiment, as shown in Figure 12 , waveform m is the waveform when the existing infrared cylindrical light source detection technology detects the dashed line cutter mark seam 56, and waveform n is the waveform when the scheme detects the dashed line cutter mark seam 56; compared with waveform m, the signal change of waveform n is larger, and a more obvious jump is generated; the detection accuracy of the line cutter mark seam is higher.

[0045] The embodiment also provides a printer comprising at least the paper roll detection mechanism of the printer. The printer comprising the paper roll detection mechanism improves the signal strength by using seam light sources and seam receivers, and is particularly suitable for detecting the paper roll 5 with the dashed line cutter mark seam 56 to solve the problem that the detection of such a paper roll is not obvious. Of course, the printer is also suitable for detecting existing paper, such as the bottom paper label paper (as shown in Figure 9 ) with a spaced surface paper and the bottom paper label paper (as shown in Figure 10 ) with a black line mark.

[0046] Although the present application is specifically shown and described in connection with the preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that various changes in form and details can be made to the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A paper roll detection mechanism of a printer, comprising an infrared emitter and an infrared receiver respectively arranged at two sides of a paper passageway of the printer; characterized in that: The infrared emitter has a light-out hole, and the infrared receiver has an incident hole, the light-out opening of the light-out hole and the incident opening of the incident hole correspond to each other and are both in an elongated opening structure; The light-out hole is an equal-aperture through hole, and the incident hole is a funnel-shaped through hole with a gradually reduced aperture from inside to outside; the depth of the light-out hole is greater than the depth of the incident hole; the size of the incident opening is smaller than the size of the light-out opening; the long sides of the light-out opening and the incident opening are both perpendicular to the extension direction of the paper passage of the printer.

2. The paper roll detection mechanism of the printer according to claim 1, wherein: The depth of the light-out hole is 4 mm, and the depth of the incident hole is 0.68 mm.

3. The paper roll detection mechanism of the printer according to claim 1, wherein: The light-out opening is a rectangular opening with a length of 5.0 mm and a width of 0.7 mm; and the incident opening is a rectangular opening with a length of 2.5 mm and a width of 0.3 mm.

4. The paper roll detection mechanism of the printer according to claim 1, wherein: The infrared emitter comprises a light-tight mounting shell and an emitter body assembled in the mounting shell, and the light-out hole is formed in the mounting shell and corresponds to the light-out surface of the emitter body.

5. The paper roll detection mechanism of the printer according to claim 1, wherein: The infrared receiver comprises a light-tight mounting shell and a receiver body assembled in the mounting shell, and the incident hole is formed in the mounting shell and corresponds to the receiving surface of the receiver body.

6. A printer characterized by: At least a paper roll detection mechanism of the printer according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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