Self-adaptive printing control method based on printing head heating point detection

Abstract

The invention discloses a self-adaptive printing control method based on printing head heating point detection, which comprises the following steps: detecting resistance data of a thermal printing head heating point, extracting preset and stored resistance range data of damage failure of the printing head heating point according to the resistance data, the detected heating point resistance value data is compared with a preset fault damage resistance value range, and the damage failure position and point number are judged; according to the detected data and the resistance value range of damage and failure of the heating point of the printing head, the effective heating point number and length are confirmed, typesetting avoids a printing blank area, and then the information complete content of a pattern can be printed. According to the invention, when the heating head sheet breaks down, adjustment can be carried out at the first time through the detection circuit, the integrity of bar code graphic information is ensured, and economic loss and influence on user experience are avoided. Through the detection circuit, the self-adaptive printing position is adjusted, the head piece scrapping time is delayed, good expansibility is achieved, and the self-adaptive printing device is suitable for various printing devices.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of printer printing control, and in particular to an adaptive printing control method based on printing head heating point detection. Background Art

[0002] Graphic codes such as barcodes or QR codes use certain geometric shapes distributed in a plane (one-dimensional or two-dimensional direction) in a certain pattern to record data symbol information in black and white. In the compilation of codes, the concept of "0" and "1" bit streams, which constitute the internal logic basis of the computer, is cleverly used to use several geometric shapes corresponding to binary to represent text numerical information. Different code systems have their own specific character sets; each character occupies a certain width; has certain verification functions, etc. From payment, social interaction to travel, in all aspects of life, barcodes or QR codes have changed our lifestyles, and are increasingly widely used in payment, catering, logistics, warehousing, management, traceability, etc., making our lives more and more convenient.

[0003] Barcode or QR code equipment includes reading equipment and printing equipment. If the printed barcode graphics are blurred or missing, it will lead to unrecognizable and missing data, making the barcode invalid. The terminal reading equipment cannot collect data, thus causing the above-mentioned application scenarios to be abnormal, resulting in economic losses and affecting customer experience.

[0004] Printing products heat the thermal print head to make the thermal paper present text or graphics. The basic working principle of the thermal print head is to heat the heating point of the thermal print head with power supply, so that when it is heated to a certain heat (temperature), the thermal paper reaches the required temperature and develops color, thereby presenting the information on the thermal paper. If the resistance of the heating point of the thermal print head is damaged or missing, the actual printed content will be missing. As a result, people or equipment cannot obtain correct and effective information content, including text information, graphic information, barcode graphic information, etc., which has a great impact on life and work. Summary of the invention

[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide an adaptive printing control method based on print head heating point detection to solve the problems raised in the above background technology.

[0006] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following technical solutions: An adaptive printing control method based on print head heating point detection, comprising: Step 1: Detect the resistance data of the heating point of the thermal print head, extract the resistance range data of the damage and failure of the heating point of the print head that is preset and saved according to the resistance data, compare the detected heating point resistance data with the preset fault damage resistance range, and determine the damage and failure position and number of points; Step 2: According to the test data and the resistance range of the damaged and ineffective heating points of the print head, confirm the number and length of effective heating points, avoid printing blank areas in the layout, and print the complete content of the graphic information.

[0007] Furthermore, the resistance range of the damaged and failed heating point of the print head is the resistance range that cannot be heated and color developed, and the printed blank area is the damaged and failed position.

[0008] Furthermore, the graphic information includes text information, image information and barcode.

[0009] Furthermore, the resistance value that cannot be heated to display color is outside the range of ±15% to ±30% of the original resistance value of the head chip.

[0010] Furthermore, step one specifically includes: according to the total number of heating points in the head chip, a binary array with the same number is established and assigned with all 0s, the resistance value of each heating point is detected in sequence, and it is determined whether it exceeds the resistance range of damage and failure. If so, the corresponding binary position of the array is 1, that is, this is a damaged point.

[0011] Furthermore, step two specifically includes: after detecting all the resistance values ​​of the heating points, confirming that the position with the largest number of consecutive 0s in the array starts from the Nth position, and outputting the maximum number of consecutive 0s, and at the same time confirming the number of printing dots in a line of text information, image information or barcode graphics sent by the server, comparing and determining whether the maximum number of consecutive 0s in the array is greater than the number of printing dots in a line of graphics, and printing the complete content of the information of the graphics based on the determination result.

[0012] Furthermore, if the maximum number of consecutive 0s in the array is greater than the number of printing points in a line of the graphic, the QR code or barcode content is shifted N places before printing. If not, the server is fed back to adjust the size of the QR code and resend it.

[0013] Furthermore, the number of consecutive 0s is the effective heating point position and area.

[0014] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: The present invention: 1. When the heating head fails, the detection circuit can be used to make adjustments immediately to ensure the integrity of the barcode graphic information, avoid economic losses, and affect user experience.

[0015] 2. Extend the service life. Through the detection circuit, the adaptive printing position is adjusted to delay the scrapping time of the head piece.

[0016] 3. Save resources. When the warranty period has expired and a printing failure occurs, you can also use adaptive typesetting to print content so that the printing device can still work for a period of time.

[0017] 4. The detection circuit design has few components, low cost, simple and effective, and the failure rate caused by electronic component failure is extremely low.

[0018] 5. It has good scalability and is suitable for various printing devices. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 It is a flow chart of the principle of the scheme of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 2 This is a circuit diagram for detecting heating points of a thermal print head according to the present invention.

[0021] Figure 3 It is a flow chart of the software solution of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0023] See also Figure 1 to Figure 2 , the present invention provides a technical solution: like Figure 1 As shown, the embodiment of the present invention aims to detect and collect the resistance data of the thermal print head through certain detection means, according to the pre-set and saved damaged and failed resistance range (the resistance range that cannot be heated and colored, the default is ±15%~±30% of the original resistance value of the head chip). Compare the detected heating point resistance data with the pre-set fault damage resistance range to determine the position and number of failed thermal print head heating points. That is, confirm the effective heating point position and number of points, avoid the area that cannot be printed and colored when printing and typesetting, and ensure the integrity of the printed information content, including barcode graphic information. Perform a test before each printing, so that when a heating point failure occurs, the printing device can be adjusted in the first time to ensure the integrity of the printed barcode graphic, and ensure that application scenarios such as payment, catering, logistics, warehousing, management, traceability, etc. can be temporarily and effectively carried out to avoid causing economic losses and affecting user experience.

[0024] The embodiment of the present invention can perform a heating point detection before each printing to detect and collect the resistance R data of the thermal print head.

[0025] like Figure 2During normal printing, the VH power supply supplies power to heat each heating point of the thermal head (R*1, R*2.....R*N, where N is the total number of heating points designed), so that when it is heated to a certain heat (temperature), the thermal paper reaches the required temperature and displays color, thereby presenting information on the thermal paper. When detecting the resistance value of the heating point of the thermal print head, in order to avoid overheating and burning due to the heating time of the heating point (power supply) being too long, a low voltage such as VDD is selected for power supply detection. When selecting VH high voltage and VDD low voltage, the power supply logic of the two should be considered to avoid high voltage impacting low voltage. The following is a specific working description: When turning on the detection, first force the VH power supply to be turned off, pull up the DOT-TEST network level, turn on the NMOS tubes Q3 and Q4, and then turn on the PMOS tubes Q1 and Q2. Make the detection circuit become VDD→voltage divider resistor R6→DOT-AD detection voltage→thermal print head resistor R (R*1, R*2.....R*N)→GND. During each test, only one point is heated through MCU control to ensure that the points do not interfere with each other.

[0026] When the detection is turned off, the DOT-TEST network level is pulled down to turn off the NMOS tubes Q3 and Q4, and the PMOS tubes Q1 and Q2. At this time, the VH switch is controlled according to normal printing requirements. When the PMOS tube Q1 is turned off, the VDD power supply is cut off from flowing to the heating point of the thermal print head to avoid causing the VDD load to exceed the limit and affect the operation of the MCU system and other modules. When the PMOS tube Q2 is turned off, the VH high voltage is cut off from flowing to the back-end low voltage system, resulting in high voltage breakdown and burning.

[0027] Resistor R11, resistor R12 and capacitor C5 form an RC charging delay circuit, which delays the opening of NMOS tube Q4 and PMOS tube Q2, ensuring that the residual power at the VH end is released and avoiding high-voltage current backflow caused by premature opening. R10 and D2 form a fast discharge path, which allows the C5 capacitor to discharge quickly and reduce the voltage. The purpose of quickly closing NMOS tube Q4 and PMOS tube Q2 is achieved to prevent high-voltage current backflow. That is, R11, R12, C5, R10 and D2 form a slow opening and fast closing function to realize the process protection circuit of switching between normal printing and detecting the resistance value of the heating point.

[0028] During the normal operation of VH, each time it is powered on, the gate parasitic capacitance of the PMOS tube Q2 will cause the instantaneous Vsg to exceed the threshold voltage, causing the PMOS to turn on for a moment, resulting in voltage and current backflow. Therefore, the capacitor C4 is increased to absorb the surge, and the resistor R8 is increased to discharge the residual electricity. At the same time, R6 and the body diode of the PMOS tube Q1, R5 and D1 diodes simultaneously provide a discharge path for the high-voltage residual current to VDD. At the same time, when R5 and R6 are used as current limiting resistors, the resistance value can be appropriately increased to ensure that when the residual electricity is too large, the discharge current is controlled to be less than the back-end load current, so as to achieve the purpose of not causing abnormal voltage boosting due to the residual current in the back-end VDD, and protect the back-end low-voltage system. Among them, the capacitor C3 acts as a filter to reduce voltage fluctuations and affect the data acquisition results.

[0029] Based on the above hardware detection methods. Figure 3 As shown, according to the total number of heating points in the head chip, a binary array with the same number is established and assigned all 0s. The resistance value of each heating point is detected in sequence, and it is determined whether it exceeds the resistance range of damage and failure. If so, the corresponding binary position of the array is 1, that is, this is a damaged point. After all the tests, confirm the position with the largest number of consecutive 0s in the array (such as the Nth position), and output the maximum number of consecutive 0s (that is, the effective heating point position and area). At the same time, confirm the number of printing points in a row of the QR code or barcode sent by the server. Compare whether the maximum number of consecutive 0s in the array is greater than the number of printing points in a row of the QR code or barcode. If so, the QR code or barcode content is shifted by N bits and then printed. If not, the server is fed back to adjust the size of the QR code and reissue it. Repeat the comparison step. In this way, the barcode graphic information and other contents are finally printed to ensure the integrity of the barcode graphic information.

[0030] Embodiments of the present invention: 1. When the heating head fails, the detection circuit can be used to make adjustments immediately to ensure the integrity of the barcode graphic information, avoid economic losses, and affect user experience.

[0031] 2. Extend the service life. Through the detection circuit, the adaptive printing position is adjusted to delay the scrapping time of the head piece.

[0032] 3. Save resources. When the warranty period has expired and a printing failure occurs, you can also use adaptive typesetting to print content so that the printing device can still work for a period of time.

[0033] 4. The detection circuit design has few components, low cost, simple and effective, and the failure rate caused by electronic component failure is extremely low.

[0034] 5. It has good scalability and is suitable for various printing devices.

[0035] The present invention, the undescribed parts are prior art.

[0036] Although embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and variations may be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present invention, and that the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An adaptive printing control method based on print head heating point detection, characterized in that: include: Step 1: Detect the resistance data of the heating point of the thermal print head, extract the resistance range data of the damage and failure of the heating point of the print head that is preset and saved according to the resistance data, compare the detected heating point resistance data with the preset fault damage resistance range, and determine the damage and failure position and number of points; Step 2: According to the test data and the resistance range of the damaged and ineffective heating points of the print head, confirm the number and length of effective heating points, avoid printing blank areas in the layout, and print the complete content of the graphic information.

2. The adaptive printing control method based on print head heating point detection according to claim 1, characterized in that: The resistance value range of the damaged and failed heating point of the print head is the resistance value range that cannot be heated and color developed, and the printed blank area is the damaged and failed position.

3. The adaptive printing control method based on print head heating point detection according to claim 1, characterized in that: The graphic information includes text information, image information and barcode.

4. The adaptive printing control method based on print head heating point detection according to claim 1, characterized in that: The resistance value range that cannot be heated to display color is outside ±15%~±30% of the original resistance value of the head chip.

5. The adaptive printing control method based on print head heating point detection according to claim 1, characterized in that: Step one specifically includes: according to the total number of heating points in the head chip, establish a binary array with the same number and assign all values ​​to 0, detect the resistance value of each heating point in sequence, and determine whether it exceeds the resistance range of damage and failure. If so, the corresponding binary position of the array is 1, that is, this is the damaged point.

6. The adaptive printing control method based on print head heating point detection according to claim 1, characterized in that: Step two specifically includes: after detecting all the resistance values ​​of the heating points, confirming that the position with the largest number of consecutive 0s in the array starts from the Nth position, and outputting the maximum number of consecutive 0s, and at the same time confirming the number of printing dots in a line of text information, image information or barcode graphics sent by the server, comparing and judging whether the maximum number of consecutive 0s in the array is greater than the number of printing dots in a line of graphics, and printing the complete information content of the graphics based on the judgment result.

7. The adaptive printing control method based on print head heating point detection according to claim 6, characterized in that: If the maximum number of consecutive 0s in the array is greater than the number of printing points in one line of the graphic, the QR code or barcode content is shifted N places before printing. If not, the server is informed to adjust the size of the QR code and resend it.

8. An adaptive printing control method based on print head heating point detection as claimed in claim 6 or 7, characterized in that: The number of consecutive 0s is the effective heating point position and area.

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