Printer, cutter control method and device thereof and storage medium

Abstract

The invention discloses a printer and a cutter control method and device thereof, and a storage medium, and the method comprises the steps: detecting the current travel time needed by a cutter to move from a starting point to an end point through in-place detection switches disposed at the starting point and the end point of a cutter slide rail; comparing the current travel time with a default time; the default time is the advancing time required by the cutter to move from a starting point to an ending point in the cutter sliding rail by adopting a preset speed curve; and the speed of the cutter in the cutter sliding rail is adjusted according to the comparison result, so that the next advancing time of the cutter tends to the default time. On the basis of not increasing redundant devices, the consistency of the paper cutting time of the cutter is improved, so that the defect that the paper cutting speed is reduced or the paper cannot be cut completely due to abrasion of the cutter and the sliding rail caused by long-time use is overcome, and the printing use experience of a user is greatly improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of printing, and in particular to a printer and a cutter control method, device and storage medium thereof. Background Art

[0002] Thermal printers, with their speed and low cost, are widely used in retail, logistics, healthcare, education, and other fields. Small thermal printers currently available on the market typically print by manually placing paper sheets one by one. This printing method requires expensive printing supplies, and the printing process is cumbersome. To address this, some thermal printers incorporate an internal paper bin to accommodate and continuously transport paper rolls. Furthermore, a cutter is included on the printer to ensure a smooth, neat cut after printing, minimizing the user experience. In the prior art, when using a cutter to cut printed paper, the cutter motor is controlled by a program to drive the cutter's movement. The entire movement process is divided into five stages: starting, accelerating, maintaining a constant speed, decelerating, and braking. At the start, the cutter starts from the starting point, then enters the acceleration stage after traveling a certain distance. After accelerating along the slide rail for a certain distance, it maintains a constant speed and smoothly cuts the paper during the movement. When it is about to reach the end point, the cutter decelerates and brakes, stops at the end point, and then returns to the starting point in the same way. Position detection switches are placed at the starting point and the end point to facilitate recognition of the cutter's position. When the system recognizes that the cutter is in place, it starts braking, and a braking distance is reserved at the starting point and the end point. Summary of the Invention

[0003] During the implementation of the present invention, the inventors discovered that, generally, the travel speed curve of the cutter is fixed after the equipment leaves the factory. However, with the continuous use of the printing equipment, the slide rail and the cutter will inevitably wear out, thereby affecting the paper cutting speed; and each printing device will have differences in the assembly and use process, and the strength of the thermal paper used will also be different, which leads to inconsistent cutter speeds for different printing devices. As the use time of the same printing device increases, the paper cutting speed will become slower and slower, and may even fail to cut the paper due to the slow speed, causing paper jams, which brings a bad user experience.

[0004] In view of this, an object of the present invention is to provide a printer and a cutter control method, device, and storage medium thereof, so as to at least improve at least one of the above problems.

[0005] An embodiment of the present invention provides a cutter control method for a printer, comprising: The current travel time required for the cutter to move from the starting point to the end point is detected by setting the in-position detection switches at the starting point and the end point of the cutter slide rail; Comparing the current travel time with a default time; the default time is the travel time required for the cutter to move from a starting point to an end point within the cutter slide rail using a preset speed curve; The speed of the cutter in the cutter slide rail is adjusted according to the comparison result, so that the next travel time of the cutter tends to the default time.

[0006] Preferably, the movement of the cutter in the cutter slide rail includes five stages: starting, accelerating, constant speed, decelerating, and braking. The travel time is made to approach the default time by adjusting the speed in at least one stage.

[0007] Preferably, adjusting the speed of the cutter in the cutter slide rail according to the comparison result so that the next travel time of the cutter tends to the default time specifically includes: When the comparison result shows that the travel time is greater than the default travel time, increasing the speed of the cutter in at least one stage so that the next travel time of the cutter tends to the default time; When the comparison result shows that the travel time is equal to the default travel time, keeping the speed of the cutter in each stage unchanged; When the comparison result indicates that the travel time is less than the default travel time, the speed of the cutter in at least one stage is reduced so that the next travel time of the cutter tends to the default time.

[0008] Preferably, adjusting the speed of the cutter in the cutter slide rail according to the comparison result so that the next travel time of the cutter tends to the default time specifically includes: When the comparison result shows that the difference between the current travel time and the default travel time is greater than a preset time threshold, increasing the speed of the cutter in at least one stage so that the next travel time of the cutter tends to the default time; When the comparison result shows that the absolute value of the difference between the current travel time and the default travel time is less than the preset time threshold, keeping the speed of the cutter unchanged in each stage; When the comparison result indicates that the difference between the default travel time and the current travel time is greater than the time threshold, the speed of the cutter in at least one stage is reduced to make the next travel time of the cutter tend to the default time.

[0009] Preferably, the travel time is made to approach the default time by adjusting the speed in the constant speed phase.

[0010] Preferably, the rotation speed of the cutter motor is adjusted by adjusting the duty cycle of the PWM signal transmitted to the cutter motor, thereby adjusting the speed of the cutter in the cutter slide rail.

[0011] Preferably, the speed of the cutter motor is increased by increasing the duty cycle, thereby increasing the speed of the cutter in the cutter slide rail, and the speed of the cutter motor is reduced by reducing the duty cycle, thereby reducing the speed of the cutter in the cutter slide rail.

[0012] An embodiment of the present invention further provides a cutter control device for a printer, comprising: A travel time detection unit is used to detect the current travel time required for the cutter to move from the starting point to the end point through in-position detection switches set at the starting point and the end point of the cutter slide rail; A comparison unit, configured to compare the current travel time with a default time; the default time being the travel time required for the cutter to move from a starting point to an end point within the cutter slide rail using a preset speed curve; The speed regulating unit is used to regulate the speed of the cutter in the cutter slide rail according to the comparison result, so that the next travel time of the cutter tends to the default time.

[0013] An embodiment of the present invention also provides a printer, comprising a paper cutting section and a control section, wherein the paper cutting section includes a cutter slide rail, an in-position detection switch arranged at both ends of the cutter slide rail, and a cutter capable of moving along the cutter slide rail, and the control section includes a main control chip, a driver chip, and a cutter motor, wherein the main control chip is electrically connected to the in-position detection switch and the driver chip, and the driver chip is electrically connected to the cutter motor, and the cutter motor is used to drive the movement of the cutter; a computer program is stored in the main control chip, and the computer program is configured to be executed by the main control chip to implement the cutter control method as described above.

[0014] An embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program. The computer program can be executed by a processor of a device where the computer-readable storage medium is located to implement the above-mentioned cutter control method.

[0015] In summary, the present invention can improve the consistency of the cutter's paper cutting time through software control without adding unnecessary components, thereby avoiding the disadvantages of reduced paper cutting speed or incomplete paper cutting caused by wear of the cutter and slide rail due to long-term use, thereby greatly improving the user's printing experience. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, the following is a brief introduction to the drawings required for use in the implementation. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some implementation methods of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0017] Figure 1This is a flow chart of a cutter control method for a printer provided by the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 2 and Figure 3 This is a circuit diagram of the in-position detection switches located at both ends of the cutter slide rail.

[0019] Figure 4 This is the speed curve of the cutter in the cutter slide.

[0020] Figure 5 A schematic structural diagram of a control unit of a printer provided by an embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 6 This is a circuit diagram of a motor driver chip.

[0022] Figure 7 This is a schematic structural diagram of a cutter control device for a printer provided by a second embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] The following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field based on the embodiments of the present invention without making any creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0024] See also Figure 1 A first embodiment of the present invention provides a cutter control method for a printer, comprising: S101, detecting the current travel time required for the cutter to move from the starting point to the end point by setting the in-position detection switches at the starting point and the end point of the cutter slide rail.

[0025] In this embodiment, in particular, the printer is a thermal printer with a paper cutting portion, and a paper bin for storing thermal paper rolls is provided in the thermal printer. The thermal paper roll is conveyed from the paper bin to the printing channel and after printing is completed at the print head, it is conveyed out from the paper outlet and cut at the paper cutting portion near the paper outlet.

[0026] In this embodiment, the paper cutting unit generally includes a cutter slide rail, an in-position detection switch provided at both ends of the cutter slide rail, and a cutter. The cutter can move along the cutter slide rail to cut the printing paper. The in-position detection switch (see the circuit diagram) Figure 2 and Figure 3 ) is used to monitor the position of the cutter, determine whether it has correctly reached the two ends of the cutter slide rail and the time it has reached the two ends, and then based on the time difference, determine the current travel time required for the cutter to move from the starting point to the end point.

[0027] S102, comparing the current travel time with a default time; the default time is the travel time required for the cutter to move from a starting point to an end point in the cutter slide rail using a preset speed curve.

[0028] S103, adjusting the speed of the cutter in the cutter slide rail according to the comparison result, so that the next travel time of the cutter tends to the default time.

[0029] In this embodiment, the default time is usually set in the memory at the factory. Figure 4 As shown, generally, the movement of the cutter in the cutter slide rail includes five stages: starting, accelerating, constant speed, decelerating, and braking. In the starting stage, it starts slowly with a small speed, then gradually increases the speed to a certain speed in the acceleration stage, enters the constant speed stage, and gradually decelerates and brakes after traveling a certain distance. When braking, the motor stops output and the cutter speed decreases rapidly, but it will move forward a short distance under the action of inertia, so that the cutter will eventually stop between the in-position detection switch SW2 and the right limit at the end point.

[0030] In this embodiment, if Figure 5 As shown, the moving speed of the cutter is controlled by a control unit, which includes a main control chip 10 (generally an MCU), a motor driving chip 20 and a cutter motor 30.

[0031] In one implementation, Figures 2 to 6 As shown, U1 is a DC motor driver chip. IN1 and IN2 are connected to the main control chip 10, OUT1 and OUT2 are connected to the positive and negative pins of the cutter motor 30, R1 is a current-limiting resistor for the drive current, SW1 and SW2 are the start and end position detection switches, respectively, and / CUT_SNS1 and / CUT_SNS2 are connected to the main control chip 10. The main control chip 10 reads the changes in the / CUT_SNS1 and / CUT_SNS2 signal levels to determine the paper cutting speed of the cutter and sends a PWM signal to the motor driver chip 20 via IN1 and IN2. The motor driver chip 20 receives the PWM signal from the main control chip 10 and controls the average voltage and current output to the cutter motor based on the PWM signal's duty cycle (i.e., the ratio of the high-level time to the entire cycle), thereby controlling the speed of the cutter motor 30 and, in turn, adjusting the cutter's movement speed. It can be understood that the larger the PWM signal's duty cycle, the faster the cutter motor 30's speed and, consequently, the faster the cutter's movement speed. The following is a typical cutter movement control process: During the initial stage, the PWM duty cycle is controlled to be extremely low (e.g. 5% to 10%) to avoid large current shocks and start slowly; During the acceleration phase, the PWM duty cycle is continuously adjusted to a preset value (e.g., 10% to 60%), the average voltage of the cutter motor increases, and the speed increases; During the uniform speed stage, the PWM duty cycle is fixed (e.g. 60%); During the deceleration phase, the PWM duty cycle is continuously adjusted to a preset value (e.g. 60% to 10%), the average voltage of the motor decreases, and the speed decreases. During the braking phase, the PWM duty cycle is adjusted to 0, the motor stops outputting, and braking is achieved.

[0032] In this embodiment: When the comparison result shows that the travel time is greater than the default travel time, it means that the average moving speed of the cutter at this time is less than the default average moving speed. This may be due to wear between the cutter and the slide rail, which causes the cutting speed of the cutter to slow down. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the speed of the cutter in at least one stage to make the next travel time of the cutter tend to the default time, thereby ensuring that the cutter can cut the printing medium normally.

[0033] When the comparison result shows that the travel time is equal to the default travel time, keeping the speed of the cutter in each stage unchanged; When the comparison result shows that the travel time is less than the default travel time, it means that the average moving speed of the cutter at this time is greater than the default average moving speed. It is possible that the initial speed during the braking stage is too high, resulting in the braking distance required for braking being longer than the distance from the end position to the limit position, which in turn causes the cutter to collide. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the speed of the cutter in at least one stage to ensure that the cutter does not collide.

[0034] Among them, considering that even under normal circumstances, the travel time each time cannot be exactly the same, an allowable error is introduced in some preferred embodiments. The time is considered to be consistent within the error range. That is, when the comparison result shows that the absolute value of the difference between the current travel time and the default travel time is less than the preset time threshold, the current travel time is considered to be equal to the default travel time, and the speed of the cutter in each stage is kept unchanged, thereby avoiding frequent speed adjustment.

[0035] In this embodiment, the cutter's travel time can be adjusted by adjusting the speed of any one or more of the four stages. However, for ease of adjustment, this embodiment preferably adjusts the speed of the uniform speed stage. This is because the uniform speed stage accounts for the largest proportion of the entire cutter's travel time, and its movement method is simple, making adjustment easier. When the speed needs to be increased, the actual speed during the uniform speed stage can be calculated based on the time difference, and the actual duty cycle of the PWM signal can then be calculated based on the actual speed.

[0036] For example, assuming the travel distance during the uniform speed phase is fixed at L, the default moving speed is V0, and the time difference between the travel time and the default travel time is T, then the corrected moving speed during the uniform speed phase is V1 = L / (L / V0-T). The duty cycle of the PWM signal can be calculated in reverse based on V1.

[0037] To sum up, this embodiment can improve the consistency of the cutter's paper cutting time without adding unnecessary components, thereby avoiding the disadvantages of reduced paper cutting speed or incomplete paper cutting due to wear of the cutter and slide rail caused by long-term use, as well as the disadvantage of the cutter colliding due to excessive braking distance caused by excessive running speed of the cutter, thereby greatly improving the user's printing experience.

[0038] See also Figure 7 The second embodiment of the present invention further provides a cutter control device for a printer, which includes: The travel time detection unit 210 is used to detect the current travel time required for the cutter to move from the starting point to the end point through the in-position detection switches set at the starting point and the end point of the cutter slide rail; A comparison unit 220 is configured to compare the current travel time with a default time; the default time being the travel time required for the cutter to move from a starting point to an end point within the cutter slide rail using a preset speed curve; The speed adjustment unit 230 is used to adjust the speed of the cutter in the cutter slide rail according to the comparison result, so that the next travel time of the cutter tends to the default time.

[0039] The third embodiment of the present invention also provides a printer, comprising a paper cutting section and a control section, wherein the paper cutting section includes a cutter slide rail, an in-position detection switch arranged at both ends of the cutter slide rail, and a cutter capable of moving along the cutter slide rail, and the control section includes a main control chip, a driver chip, and a cutter motor, wherein the main control chip is electrically connected to the in-position detection switch and the driver chip, and the driver chip is electrically connected to the cutter motor, and the cutter motor is used to drive the movement of the cutter; a computer program is stored in the main control chip, and the computer program is configured to be executed by the main control chip to implement the cutter control method as described above.

[0040] A fourth embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program. The computer program can be executed by a processor of a device where the computer-readable storage medium is located to implement the cutter control method as described above.

[0041] Illustratively, the above-mentioned various devices and various process steps can be implemented by a computer program. The computer program can be divided into one or more units. The one or more units are stored in the memory and executed by the processor to complete the present invention.

[0042] The processor may be a central processing unit (CPU), other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0043] The memory can be used to store the computer programs and / or modules. The processor implements the various functions of the present invention by running or executing the computer programs and / or modules stored in the memory and accessing the data stored in the memory. The memory may primarily include a program storage area and a data storage area. The program storage area may store an operating system and at least one application required for a function (such as a sound playback function, an image playback function, etc.); the data storage area may store data generated based on the use of the mobile phone (such as audio data, a phone book, etc.). Furthermore, the memory may include high-speed random access memory and non-volatile memory, such as a hard disk, internal memory, a plug-in hard disk, a smart media card (SMC), a secure digital (SD) card, a flash card, at least one disk storage device, a flash memory device, or other volatile solid-state storage device.

[0044] If the integrated unit of the electronic device or printer is implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as a standalone product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the present invention can implement all or part of the process steps in the above-mentioned method embodiments by using a computer program to instruct the relevant hardware. The computer program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. When executed by a processor, the computer program can implement the steps of each of the above-mentioned method embodiments. The computer program includes computer program code, which can be in source code form, object code form, executable file, or some intermediate form. The computer-readable medium can include: any entity or device capable of carrying the computer program code, recording medium, USB flash drive, mobile hard drive, magnetic disk, optical disk, computer memory, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), electric carrier signal, telecommunication signal, and software distribution medium. It should be noted that the content of the computer-readable medium can be appropriately increased or decreased based on the requirements of legislation and patent practice in a jurisdiction. For example, in some jurisdictions, according to legislation and patent practice, computer-readable media does not include electric carrier signals and telecommunication signals.

[0045] It should be noted that the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative, wherein the units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place, or they may be distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the modules may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the present embodiment. In addition, in the drawings of the device embodiments provided by the present invention, the connection relationship between the modules indicates that there is a communication connection between them, which may be specifically implemented as one or more communication buses or signal lines. A person of ordinary skill in the art can understand and implement the present invention without inventive effort.

[0046] The above is a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It should be pointed out that for ordinary technicians in this technical field, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the principles of the present invention. These improvements and modifications are also considered to be within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A printer cutter control method, characterized in that: include: The current travel time required for the cutter to move from the starting point to the end point is detected by setting the in-position detection switches at the starting point and the end point of the cutter slide rail; comparing the current travel time with a default time; The default time is the travel time required for the cutter to move from the starting point to the end point in the cutter slide rail using a preset speed curve; The speed of the cutter in the cutter slide rail is adjusted according to the comparison result, so that the next travel time of the cutter tends to the default time.

2. The printer cutter control method according to claim 1, wherein: The movement of the cutter in the cutter slide rail includes five stages: starting, accelerating, constant speed, decelerating, and braking. The travel time is made to approach the default time by adjusting the speed in at least one stage.

3. The printer cutter control method according to claim 2, wherein: Adjusting the speed of the cutter in the cutter slide rail according to the comparison result so that the next travel time of the cutter tends to the default time specifically includes: When the comparison result shows that the travel time is greater than the default travel time, increasing the speed of the cutter in at least one stage so that the next travel time of the cutter tends to the default time; When the comparison result shows that the travel time is equal to the default travel time, keeping the speed of the cutter in each stage unchanged; When the comparison result indicates that the travel time is less than the default travel time, the speed of the cutter in at least one stage is reduced so that the next travel time of the cutter tends to the default time.

4. The printer cutter control method according to claim 2, wherein: Adjusting the speed of the cutter in the cutter slide rail according to the comparison result so that the next travel time of the cutter tends to the default time specifically includes: When the comparison result shows that the difference between the current travel time and the default travel time is greater than a preset time threshold, increasing the speed of the cutter in at least one stage so that the next travel time of the cutter tends to the default time; When the comparison result shows that the absolute value of the difference between the current travel time and the default travel time is less than the preset time threshold, keeping the speed of the cutter unchanged in each stage; When the comparison result indicates that the difference between the default travel time and the current travel time is greater than the time threshold, the speed of the cutter in at least one stage is reduced to make the next travel time of the cutter tend to the default time.

5. The printer cutter control method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that: The travel time is made to approach the default time by adjusting the speed in the constant speed phase.

6. The printer cutter control method according to claim 3, wherein: The speed of the cutter motor is adjusted by adjusting the duty cycle of the PWM signal transmitted to the cutter motor, thereby adjusting the speed of the cutter in the cutter slide rail.

7. The printer cutter control method according to claim 6, wherein: The speed of the cutter motor is increased by increasing the duty cycle, thereby increasing the speed of the cutter in the cutter slide rail, and the speed of the cutter motor is reduced by reducing the duty cycle, thereby reducing the speed of the cutter in the cutter slide rail.

8. A cutter control device for a printer, characterized in that: include: A travel time detection unit is used to detect the current travel time required for the cutter to move from the starting point to the end point through in-position detection switches set at the starting point and the end point of the cutter slide rail; a comparing unit, configured to compare the current travel time with a default time; The default time is the travel time required for the cutter to move from the starting point to the end point in the cutter slide rail using a preset speed curve; The speed regulating unit is used to regulate the speed of the cutter in the cutter slide rail according to the comparison result, so that the next travel time of the cutter tends to the default time.

9. A printer comprising a paper cutting unit and a control unit, wherein the paper cutting unit comprises a cutter slide rail, in-position detection switches provided at both ends of the cutter slide rail, and a cutter capable of moving along the cutter slide rail, the control unit comprises a main control chip, a driver chip, and a cutter motor, the main control chip being electrically connected to the in-position detection switch and the driver chip, the driver chip being electrically connected to the cutter motor, and the cutter motor being used to drive the movement of the cutter; characterized in that: A computer program is stored in the main control chip, and the computer program is configured to be executable by the main control chip to implement the cutter control method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

10. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that A computer program is stored, and the computer program can be executed by a processor of the device where the computer-readable storage medium is located to implement the cutter control method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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