Search

EP-4461548-B1 - PRINTER

EP4461548B1EP 4461548 B1EP4461548 B1EP 4461548B1EP-4461548-B1

Inventors

  • CHAN, EUGENE
  • SUZUKI, AKIRA

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20240207

Claims (12)

  1. A printer (1) configured to form an image on roll paper (R), the printer (1) comprising: a housing (10) configured to house the roll paper (R); a first guide and a second guide coupled to the housing (10), the first guide and the second guide each being movable in a width direction of the roll paper (R), the first guide being separated from the second guide in the width direction to hold the roll paper (R) therebetween; a detection assembly (120) configured to detect a position of the first guide and a position of the second guide; and a controller (81, 82, 83) configured to determine a width of the roll paper (R) based on a detection result of the detection assembly (120); characterised in that the detection assembly (120) includes a sensor configured to detect whether the first guide is in a position associated with the sensor; and the controller (81, 82, 83) is configured to acquire a detection signal from the sensor and determine the width of the roll paper (R) based on the detection signal.
  2. The printer (1) of claim 1, wherein: the sensor is a first sensor, the position associated with the first sensor is a first position, and the detection signal is a first detection signal; the detection assembly (120) includes a second sensor configured to detect whether the second guide is in a second position associated with the second sensor; and the controller (81, 82, 83) is configured to acquire a second detection signal from the second sensor and determine the width of the roll paper (R) based on the first detection signal and the second detection signal.
  3. The printer (1) of claim 2, wherein the first sensor is offset from the second sensor in the width direction.
  4. The printer (1) of claim 2 or 3, wherein: the detection assembly (120) includes a third sensor configured to detect whether the first guide is in a third position associated with the third sensor; and the controller (81, 82, 83) is configured to acquire a third detection signal from the third sensor and determine the width of the roll paper (R) based on the first detection signal, the second detection signal, and the third detection signal.
  5. The printer (1) of claim 4, wherein: the controller (81, 82, 83) is configured to determine that the roll paper (R) has a first width in response to activation of the first sensor and the second sensor; and determine that the roll paper (R) has a second width different from the first width in response to activation of the third sensor and the second sensor; or wherein the detection assembly (120) includes a fourth sensor configured to detect whether the second guide is in a fourth position associated with the fourth sensor; and the controller (81, 82, 83) is configured to acquire a fourth detection signal from the fourth sensor and determine the width of the roll paper (R) based on the first detection signal, the second detection signal, the third detection signal, and the fourth detection signal.
  6. The printer (1) of any of claims 2 to 5, wherein the controller (81, 82, 83) is configured to: determine, based on the first detection signal and the second detection signal, whether the roll paper (R) is positioned closer to a first side of the housing (10) or a second side of the housing (10) in the width direction; and in response to a determination that the roll paper (R) is disposed closer to the first side, set an image forming range corresponding to the first side.
  7. The printer (1) of any of claims 1 to 6, further comprising a spindle (140) coupled to the housing (10) and extending in the width direction, the spindle (140) engaging the first guide and the second guide.
  8. The printer (1) of claim 7, wherein: the spindle (140) extends through a first aperture defined by the first guide and through a second aperture defined by the second guide; and/or the first guide and the second guide are each movable along the spindle (140) and rotatable about the spindle (140), and/or the first guide is rotatable about the spindle (140) between (a) a first position in which the first guide engages the housing (10) to limit movement of the first guide in the width direction and (b) a second position in which the first guide is movable in the width direction.
  9. The printer (1) of any of claims 1 to 8, wherein: the first guide includes a protrusion; the detection assembly (120) includes a sensor configured to provide a detection signal in response to the sensor receiving the protrusion; and the controller (81, 82, 83) is configured to determine the width of the roll paper (R) based on the detection signal.
  10. The printer (1) of any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the first guide includes a protrusion and the housing (10) defines a groove that receives the protrusion to limit movement of the first guide.
  11. The printer (1) of any of claims 1 to 10, further comprising a printing head configured to form the image on the roll paper (R), wherein the controller (81, 82, 83) is configured to vary operation of the printing head based on the determined width.
  12. A printer (1) configured to form an image on roll paper (R), the printer (1) comprising: a housing (10) configured to house the roll paper (R), the housing (10) defining a first groove, a second groove, a third groove, and a fourth groove; a first guide defining a first aperture and including a first protrusion; a second guide defining a second aperture and including a second protrusion; and characterised in that the printer further comprises a spindle (140) extending through the first aperture and the second aperture and coupling the first guide and the second guide to the housing (10), the first guide being movable along the spindle (140) between a first position in which the first protrusion is received within the first groove and a second position in which the first protrusion is received within the second groove, and the second guide being movable along the spindle (140) between a third position in which the second protrusion is received within the third groove and a fourth position in which the second protrusion is received within the fourth groove.

Description

FIELD Embodiments described herein relate generally to a printer. BACKGROUND In a printer that forms an image on roll paper such as plain paper or heat sensitive paper, movement in the width direction of the roll paper is restricted by paper guides. Therefore, if the roll paper is set in the printer, a user manually moves the paper guides after placing the roll paper in the printer. After the movement, the user manually performs work for setting the width of the roll paper in the printer. The manual setting work for the paper width by the user explained above is likely to cause an error such as an input mistake. If the paper width setting is wrong, problems are likely to occur in that, for example, the printer cannot exert original performance thereof and cannot detect deterioration in printing quality and a small residual amount of the roll paper (i.e., the roll paper is almost depleted). US 2020/130970 A1 relates to a printer body including an installation area where a recording medium is installed, a print head that prints information on the recording medium, a controller, a movable guide that guides the side of the recording medium in the installation area, and a first switch that detects a position of the movable guide attached to the installation area. The controller performs a print control process corresponding to the width of the recording medium based on information obtained by the first switch SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One of the objects of the present invention is to improve prior art techniques and overcome at least some of the prior art problems as for instance above illustrated. The object of the invention is achieved by the subject-matter of the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments are defined in the dependent claims. Further examples are provided for facilitating the understanding of the invention. According to a first aspect of the invention, it is provided a printer configured to form an image on roll paper, the printer comprising a housing configured to house the roll paper; a first guide and a second guide coupled to the housing, the first guide and the second guide each being movable in a width direction of the roll paper, the first guide being separated from the second guide in the width direction to hold the roll paper therebetween; a detection assembly configured to detect a position of the first guide and a position of the second guide; and a controller configured to determine a width of the roll paper based on a detection result of the detection assembly. Optionally, in the printer according to the first aspect of the invention, the detection assembly includes a sensor configured to detect whether the first guide is in a position associated with the sensor; and the controller is configured to acquire a detection signal from the sensor and determine the width of the roll paper based on the detection signal. Optionally, in the printer according to the first aspect of the invention, the sensor is a first sensor, the position associated with the first sensor is a first position, and the detection signal is a first detection signal; the detection assembly includes a second sensor configured to detect whether the second guide is in a second position associated with the second sensor; and the controller is configured to acquire a second detection signal from the second sensor and determine the width of the roll paper based on the first detection signal and the second detection signal. Optionally, in the printer according to the first aspect of the invention, the first sensor is offset from the second sensor in the width direction. Optionally, in the printer according to the first aspect of the invention, the detection assembly includes a third sensor configured to detect whether the first guide is in a third position associated with the third sensor; and the controller is configured to acquire a third detection signal from the third sensor and determine the width of the roll paper based on the first detection signal, the second detection signal, and the third detection signal. Optionally, in the printer according to the first aspect of the invention, the controller is configured to determine that the roll paper has a first width in response to activation of the first sensor and the second sensor; and determine that the roll paper has a second width different from the first width in response to activation of the third sensor and the second sensor. Optionally, in the printer according to the first aspect of the invention, the detection assembly includes a fourth sensor configured to detect whether the second guide is in a fourth position associated with the fourth sensor; and the controller is configured to acquire a fourth detection signal from the fourth sensor and determine the width of the roll paper based on the first detection signal, the second detection signal, the third detection signal, and the fourth detection signal. Optionally, in the printer according to the first aspe