JPH0336746B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Technical Field> The present invention relates to a recording apparatus that records characters, images, etc. on recording paper of a predetermined length, and particularly relates to a paper feeding system for recording paper (sheets).

<Prior Art> Conventionally, paper feeding systems have been automated in various recording apparatuses. In other words, it would be easier for the user if the series of operations of taking out the recording sheets one by one from the paper cassette, guiding them to the recording position, and then ejecting the recording sheets onto the paper ejection tray by the ejection roller after recording was completed was automated. . For such automation, a drive source for rotationally driving the paper feed roller, ejection roller, etc. is required. Furthermore, if the paper feed roller and discharge roller are operated during the operation of the recording means, or if they come into contact with the recording paper, the quality of images, characters, etc. formed by the recording means will deteriorate. In order to prevent this, it is necessary to separate the paper feed roller and discharge roller from the recording paper during the recording operation, and a driving source for this purpose is also required.

As described above, due to automation, the equipment becomes complicated and large, and problems arise in terms of reliability.

<Objective> In view of the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a recording apparatus having a paper feeding mechanism with simple holes and which does not affect printing quality.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a sheet conveyance device that can prevent sheets (recording paper) from being fed diagonally.

The configuration of the present invention that achieves the above object is as follows: a first position in which the sheet is brought into contact with the stacked sheets and the sheet is fed; and a second position in which the sheet is moved away from the sheet and the sheet is not fed. a first driving means for driving the feeding means; a first driving means provided on the downstream side of the feeding means in the feeding direction, and rotating in a predetermined direction to cause the feeding from the feeding means; a conveying rotary body that conveys the fed sheet; a second driving means that rotates the conveying rotary body in the predetermined direction and the opposite direction; and a driving force of the second driving means that causes the conveying rotary body to rotate. a moving means that moves the feeding means to a second position when the conveyance rotating body rotates in a predetermined direction, and moves the feeding means to the first position when the conveyance rotating body rotates in the opposite direction; and a control means for controlling the first and second driving means so that the feeding means is driven by the first driving means after the feeding means moves to the first position. This is a sheet conveying device with special features.

<Description of Embodiment> (Apparatus Appearance) Figure 1 and subsequent figures are diagrams showing the recording apparatus of this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the device shown in FIG. 1 with the front cover 4 and stacker 5 removed, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the device shown in FIG. 3 seen from the front. FIG.

In Figures 1 to 4, 1 is an upper cover, 2 is a lower cover, 3 is a bottom cover, 4 is a front cover, and 5 is a stacker, in which printed paper is automatically ejected and stored. . 6 is a printer operation panel, and 7 is a stay cover, which functions as reinforcement and an accent stripe. An upper plate 1a made of a translucent material (eg, acrylic) is fixed to the upper cover 1, so that the inside of the printer can be seen. This is for monitoring the printing condition before the paper is delivered to the stacker, and is designed to enable early monitoring of, for example, the condition of the color of the printed material. Then, if there is a need for correction, etc., correction can be made as soon as possible.

In addition, in Fig. 2, 10 is a power cord, 11
An input source panel is provided in this embodiment with a connector 11a for inputting an NTSC signal, a connector 11b for inputting an RGB input signal, and a connector 11c for inputting image data from an external device such as a personal computer.

In FIG. 3, the support shaft 4a of the front cover 4 is attached to the support point 2a of the lower cover 2, the front cover 4 is attached rotatably around the support shaft 4a, and the hook 4b is connected to the stay cover 7. It is configured to lock with.

Further, the front cover 4 is configured to automatically come off from the fulcrum 2a if it is forcibly rotated downward.

FIG. 4 is a front side view of the device, in which various operation switches are arranged.

12 is an ink cartridge, 13 is an ink cartridge.
The cartridge release knob is shown. Insert the ink cartridge 12 with the ink supply side facing toward the back.
Also, when the ink runs out, use the release knob 13.
When the ink cartridge 10 is rocked downward, the ink cartridge 10
2 is pulled out slightly toward you, so the rear can be removed from the main body of the device by pulling it out toward you.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a knob for releasing a registration roller 103 and a pinch roller 104, which will be described later, from being pressed against the platen 101, and is released by sliding the roller release knob 14 downward. This is effective when troubles such as paper jams occur, and are intended to prevent paper from tearing during jam handling inside the printer. Of course, since the paper is not held between the pair of rollers, the jam paper can be easily pulled out.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a reset button for pressing the registration roller 103 and the pinch roller 104 against the platen 101 again. In this embodiment, when the reset button 15 is pressed, the reset is enabled.

16 is a reset button for the remaining ink amount counter. When the ink cartridge in the printer runs out, the ink amount display (described below) will be displayed.
No ink is displayed by LED6K. The user swings the ink cartridge release knob 13 downward and removes the old cartridge. After installing a new ink cartridge 12, when the reset button 16 for the remaining ink amount counter is pressed, the ink amount counter, which will be described later, is reset.

17 is a paper feed cassette. In this example, approximately
100 sheets of paper can be loaded into the cassette.
The cassette can be loaded by inserting it into the printer with the handle portion 17a facing you. Reference numeral 18 denotes a paper cassette release knob, and by swinging this from top to bottom, the paper cassette 17 is pushed out slightly toward you. The paper cassette 17 can be removed from the printer body by grasping the handle 17a and pulling it out.

Reference numeral 19 denotes switches and volumes for switching inputs, adjusting image quality, etc.

(Operation Panel) Next, the operation panel 6 will be explained with reference to FIG.

6a is a power switch, 6b is a light emitting diode (hereinafter referred to as LED) for displaying the power switch, 6c is a print start switch, 6d is a print display LED,
6e is a stop switch, 6f is a stop display LED,
6g is a switch to change the image size,
In this embodiment, two print sizes can be selected: large (L) and small (S). 6h
1 and 6H2 are LEDs indicating the print size, 6h1 indicates that the large size (L) is selected, and 6h2 indicates that the small size (S) is selected. 6i
displays paper problems such as paper jam or out of paper.
LED 6j is an LED that indicates that an ink cartridge is not installed. 6k is an LED that displays the remaining amount of ink, and in this example, 6k is an LED that displays the remaining amount of ink.
Four LEDs of ka to 6kd are used, but any number can be used.

As described above, in this embodiment, the ink cartridge mounting section, the paper cassette mounting section, the recorded print paper ejection section, and the operation section including the print start switch are all arranged at the front of the device. Therefore, the operability is high because it can be operated from one side, and other devices can be placed on the side, upper side, etc.

(Printer Overview) FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the printer viewed from the operation surface side (front), and FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the printer viewed from the stacker side (left side). 20 is the main board, which is the base of the printer. 100 is a paper feed/discharge system centering on a platen, and 200 is a head and ink supply system. Although these will be described later, they are fixed to the main base plate 20.

21 is a stacker guide, 22 is a stay, 23
is a stay support shaft, and one end of the stacker guide 21 and the stay support shaft 23 is fixed to the main base plate 20. Further, the other end of the stay support shaft 23 is fixed to the stay 22. The stacker 5 has rail surfaces 21a and 22a of the stacker guide 21 and the stay 22.
slide on top. The upper cover 1 has two fitting pins 1b and 1b', and the stacker 5 has a fitting hole 5.
d and 5d', and when the stacker is installed, the pin 1b is fitted into the hole 5d, and the pin 1b' is fitted into the hole 5d' for positioning. becomes motionless. 24 is a leaf spring, 25 is a slide lever, 26 is a stop pin, and 27, 27' are guide shafts. Leaf spring 2
4 acts as a spring that pushes back the stacker 5 in the removal direction. A stop pin 26 is fixed to the slide lever 25, and the guide shafts 27, 2
It is attached so that it can slide on 7'. To release the stacker 5, slide the stacker knob 8 fixed to the slide lever 25 toward the back, and the stacker 5 will be released.

Reference numerals 29 and 30 indicate cassette guides, each of which is fixed to the main base plate 20. The main base plate has a part 20a that is squeezed out, and the vertical positioning of the paper cassette 17 is determined by the squeezed out part 20a and the cassette.
This is done with guides 29 and 30. This is achieved by configuring the paper feeding direction and the perpendicularity of the paper to the platen roller 101 as follows. That is, the cassette release lever 31 has a support shaft 31a and a knob attachment part 31b, and also has a positioning pin 32,
32' is fixedly installed. 33 is a lever return spring;
Reference numeral 34 designates a cassette return spring, which is constructed of a leaf spring in this embodiment, but may be of other types. The paper cassette 17 has an inclined surface 17b and a positioning recess 17.
c, 17c'. When the paper cassette is inserted into the cassette guides 29, 30 while holding the handle 17a, the positioning pins 32, 32' will eventually engage with the paper cassette inclined surface 17b, pushing down the release lever 31, and when the paper cassette is further inserted, one end 17 of the cassette will be released.
d charges the cassette return spring 34, and finally the positioning pins 32, 32' and the cassette groove 17c,
17c' are locked and positioned. The release is released by swinging the release knob 18 press-fitted into the knob attachment portion 31b downward.

Reference numerals 35 and 36 are printed circuit boards, which are electrical circuit components for the printer's sequence control, image processing system, television interface, and the like. The electric circuit components are arranged below the main base plate 20, and can be maintained by removing the bottom cover 3.

FIG. 7 is a top view of the printer with the upper cover removed. 400 is a pump unit which is a recovery system of this printer, and 600 is a power supply unit, each of which is fixedly installed on the main base plate 20.

(Stacker) The stacker 5 is detachably attached to the printer body as described above, and when the stacker knob 8 is released, it slides slightly in the direction of the arrow α in the first figure. If it is further pulled out in the direction of arrow α, it can be completely removed from the printer body. This is a removable device that can be used to remove paper when a problem such as paper jam occurs inside the printer. Statsuka 5
Switch SW that determines whether or not is installed.
Needless to say, if the stacker 5 is removed, the paper conveyance system and recording system will not operate even if the print start operation button is pressed. Further, the upper part of the stacker 5 is made of a transparent upper plate 5a, and the printing state can be monitored from the top or diagonally in front. The transparent upper plate 5a has a fulcrum 5b and is rotatably attached to the stacker 5. The printed paper in the stacker 5 can be taken out by rotating the transparent upper plate 5a, or can be taken out from the opening at the front of the apparatus without turning. That is, from the viewpoint of front operation, the transparent member 5a
The recorded print paper can be taken out without having to turn the handle. Further, a portion of the transparent upper plate 5a is cut out to allow easy insertion of fingers.

Incidentally, the bottom portion 5c of the stacker 5 forms an inclined surface that gradually rises from the bottom to the top as it moves away from a paper ejection roller 124, which will be described later, to make it easier to pick up the print paper. The bottom of the stacker 5 on the paper discharge roller 124 side is deep for the purpose of storing more curled print paper.

As described above, the stacker 5 of this embodiment is composed of an upper plate 5a having a flat upper surface and a loading surface (bottom portion 5c) on which the sheet-shaped recording medium P is loaded, and the upper surface substantially coincides with the upper surface of the device casing. , the loading surface is inclined such that the distance from the upper plate narrows toward the direction in which the recording medium is ejected. Therefore, it is possible to place other equipment on top of the recording device or to arrange the device in a limited space, and even if the recording medium is curled in a direction perpendicular to the discharge direction and is discharged, It is possible to store a large number of recording media.

(Paper Feed Cassette) The paper feed cassette 17 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 5, 6, and 7.

The cassette 17 is normally separated from the upper surface by separating claws 17e and 17, similar to a cassette used in a copying machine or the like.
Return springs 17f, 17 are provided between e' and the middle plate 17G.
It can be set by pushing the paper cassette P against f'. The separation claws 17e, 17e' are mounted so as to be able to swing around a support shaft (not shown), but their range of swing is restricted by a stopper (not shown) to prevent the recording paper from coming out from the top surface of the cassette. 17f, 17
f' is a return spring that acts to push up the middle plate 17g and the paper cassette P. Middle plate 17
g is swingably mounted around fulcrums 17h and 17h'. The paper can be stably separated one by one by the appropriate contact pressure F of this return spring and the friction coefficient (μ) of the paper feed roller 120, which will be described later. That is, if the coefficient of friction between paper and paper is μp, then (μ−μp)F>0 (1) becomes the paper separation force.

The return springs 17f and 17f' used here have a conical shape. That is, by forming the conical shape, even when the middle plate 17g is pushed to the lowest surface, the contact height is only equal to the diameter of one line of the spring, thereby improving the storage property of the recording paper P.

In other words, it is convenient when you want to store a lot of recording paper and keep the overall height of the printer low. However, it is desirable to design the device so that the contact pressure F applied to the pick up roller 120 remains constant even if the stacking height of the cut paper P changes. Normally, conical coil springs are wound at equal pitches.
Since the load is not proportional to the displacement of the spring, in this embodiment, by winding the conical compression spring at unequal pitches, the contact pressure F applied to the paper feed roller can be maintained even if the stacking height of the cut paper P changes. I try to keep it almost constant. Specifically, the pitch is made small where the coil spring has a small winding diameter, and widens as the winding diameter increases.

Since a conical coil spring is used as the return spring in this way, the conical coil spring becomes a completely flat surface when the middle plate as a plate member is pressed to the maximum, and the height of the coil spring becomes equal to one wire diameter of the spring. Therefore, it is possible to increase the number of storage plates for the sheet-like recording medium P and to reduce the size of the paper feed cassette at the same time.

Reference numeral 17i indicates holes in the bottom of the paper cassette container, and although two holes are shown in this embodiment, there may be one or two or more holes. In this embodiment, since the entire printer is made compact, the main body of the paper cassette 17 is also made small. That is, excluding the handle portion 17a, the rest is only slightly larger than the plane of the paper P. For example, when you insert a piece of paper with the wrong side, or when you pull out a piece of paper that has been stored in a cassette for a long time and has become deformed or deteriorated and is no longer usable.
7i, the paper can be easily removed by inserting a finger. Also, use hole 17i to switch SW
3, it is possible to judge whether there is paper or not. In this embodiment, a reflective optical sensor is used as the switch SW3, but other detection methods may be used.

In this way, the paper feed cassette of this embodiment has a hole large enough to allow you to insert your finger into the bottom of the paper feed cassette container, so that it is extremely easy to remove and replace recording media, and at the same time, the paper cassette can be removed easily. Since it is only necessary to make the size of the paper slightly larger than the size of the recording medium, it also contributes to miniaturization of the paper feed cassette.

(Paper feeding system) Here, we will briefly explain the flow of paper using Figure 5.

FIG. 5 shows a state in which the paper cassette 17 and the ink cartridge 12 are installed from the front side, and the paper is fed in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction in which these are installed. That is, the topmost sheet of paper is separated by the rotational force of the paper feed roller 120, is conveyed between the paper guides 143 and 146a, and is transferred to the platen roller (hereinafter referred to as platen) 1.
01 and the registration roller 103, and is further fed to form a loop between the paper feed roller 120 and the registration roller 103. The platen 101 rotates at a timing described later, and the pressing spring 102 causes the recording paper to be conveyed in close contact with the platen 101. After that, the platen 101 and the pinch roller 10
4, the paper is held and conveyed. The platen 101 performs a printing operation while performing step-feeding, and when printing is completed, the paper is ejected to the stacker 5 between paper guides 144 and 146 and by a pair of ejection rollers 124 and 145 with the print side facing up.

Here, the paper guide 144 is a translucent paper guide, and as described above, the upper plate 144 forming the device housing
A is also made of a translucent member. In this manner, the guide member that allows the recording medium to pass between the platen roller and the portion of the device housing that faces the guide member are made of a transparent material. Therefore, it is possible to grasp the printing status immediately after printing without touching the recording medium, and for example, it is possible to quickly redo recording or correct image characteristics, etc., without reducing paper feeding accuracy. can.

(Paper feed mechanism) The paper feeding mechanism will be explained in detail below.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view 1 of the platen unit, as seen from the direction A in FIG.

In FIG. 8, reference numeral 101 is a platen serving as a transport rotating body for feeding paper, and side plates 151, 152 (seventh
(Figure) is rotatably supported via a bearing (not shown). In this embodiment, the shaft is made of an elastic body such as rubber (the shaft is metal), but the invention is not limited to this. Reference numeral 102 denotes a paper pressing spring, which is attached to a carriage main plate 216, which will be described later.
(Fig. 7), and the curved portion (R portion) 102a, 102a' is fixed to the platen 10.
1, apply appropriate contact pressure, and move the guide portion 102 up to the vicinity of the pinch roller 104 so that the recording paper smoothly bites into the nip between the pinch roller 104 and the platen 101 (described later) without slack.
b, 102b'. Guide part 102
b, 102b' are not in contact with the platen 101, but the gap between them is small, so between the R portions 102a, 102a' of the paper presser spring 102 and the joint between the pinch roller 104 and the platen 101. There is no slack in the recording paper, and the platen 10
1 and the recording paper can rotate together without slipping.

103 is a registration roller rotatably supported by the paper guide 143, and sleeves 107, 1
Spring 10 through 08 and 107', 108'
5, 105' (FIG. 5) is in contact with the platen 101 at a contact pressure _f1 . In this embodiment, the joint between the platen 101 and the pinch roller 103 is configured to span the entire width of the recording paper. This is to prevent wrinkles, creases, etc. from occurring when even a recording paper that is deformed such as curl is brought into contact with this joint and its leading edge is aligned.

104 is a pinch roller and a translucent paper guide 144
The sleeve 10 is rotatably supported by the sleeve 10.
Spring 1 via 9, 108 and 109', 108'
06,106' (Fig. 5)
is in contact with the contact pressure _f2 . pinch roller 1
04 and the platen 101 are connected to the guide portions 102b and 102 of the paper pressing spring 102 mentioned earlier.
It is configured so that it is located only near b', that is, at both ends of the recording paper P. This is because the printing position of the paper pressing spring 102 is notched, so that the center part of the paper is lifted up from the platen 101 as it is fed. That is, if the registration roller 103 is used, wrinkles, etc. will be formed on the contrary.

The platen 101, the paper pressing spring 102, the registration roller 103, and the pinch roller 104 ensure feeding accuracy of the recording paper, flatness of the printing section, etc. That is, the leading edge of the recording paper, which has been aligned by the platen 101 and the registration rollers 103, enters between the platen 101 and the paper guide 143 (FIG. 5) by the rotation of the platen 101, and is further moved between the platen 101 and the paper pressing spring 102. R part 102 of
a, 102a'. Up to this point, the angle at which the recording paper wraps around the platen 101 is small, there is an appropriate gap between the platen 101 and the paper guide 143, and the recording paper is pushed in by the platen 101 and registration rollers 103. Therefore, there is no guarantee that the platen 101 and the recording paper will be fed without slipping. Therefore, from the R portions 102a and 102a' of the paper pressing spring 102 to the guide portions 102b and 102b',
Up to 4, the platen 101 and the recording paper are fed in close contact with each other. After that, the platen 101 and the pinch roller 104 are used to wind up the recording paper, and the R portions 102a and 102, which are the printing positions, are used.
In the section from a' to the platen 101 and the pinch roller 104, the recording paper is in close contact with each other, and the wrapping angle of the recording paper is also large, so that the recording paper and the platen 101 are integrated without slipping at the printing position. The paper can be fed with a sufficient flatness at the printing position. If flatness cannot be obtained, the recording paper may come into contact with the head (described later), or the distance between the head and the recording paper may vary, so that the landing point of the ink droplet ejected from the head in the main scanning direction may not be the target. The image quality will deteriorate significantly. Furthermore, with respect to the feeding accuracy of the platen 101 in the sub-scanning direction, if there is slippage between the platen 101 and the recording paper, the position of the target landing point in the sub-scanning direction will still be deviated.

Also, springs 105, 105' and 106, 10
The pressure 6' eliminates instability of the platen 101 caused by vibrations of the motor M1 and the like. In other words, since the load on the platen 101 is moderate when viewed from the drive side, the platen does not wobble even if there is play such as bumping of the gears of the platen feeding mechanism, and the positioning function is fully performed. Become.

Here, sleeves 107, 107', 108, 1
08', 109, 109' are applied with springs 105, 10 due to the rotation of the platen 101.
This is to eliminate twisting and twisting of the plates 5', 106, and 106', and to obtain smooth rotation of the platen. The material of the sleeve is preferably a low friction material such as plastic.

In addition, it is desirable to set the relationship between the contact pressures f ₁ and f ₂ so that f ₁ < f ₂ ...(2) from the viewpoint of paper feeding accuracy and stability. In this embodiment, the platen 101 is made of rubber. , and the registration roller 103
Since the pinch roller 104 is made of metal, formula (2) is satisfied by changing the spring pressures of the springs 105, 105' and 106, 106'. However, since the purpose of this is to use the platen 101 and the pinch roller 104 as the main drive for paper feeding,
The following configuration may also be used. That is, the spring is connected to the registration roller 103 and the pinch roller 1 through the sleeve.
It will be suspended between 04 and 04. Of course, as in this embodiment, separate springs may be used. Also,
It is also possible to vary the force of the springs. pinch roller 1
04 and the registration roller 103 so that the friction coefficient of the pinch roller 104 is larger than that of the registration roller 103. Also, without the pinch roller 104,
For example, if the leading edge of the paper being printed enters the stacker 5 and the leading edge of the printing paper is pulled or pushed in this state, the positional accuracy of the paper being printed will be affected. Since a spring with a large load is suspended between the platen 101 and the pinch roller 104 to provide the main drive, printing accuracy is less susceptible to external effects during printing.

(Drive Mechanism for Paper Feed) Next, the drive mechanism for paper feed will be explained with reference to FIG.

First, the rotation of the platen 101 will be explained. M1 is a pulse motor as a second driving means, and 110 and 114 are gears, which transmit the rotation of the pulse motor M1 to the platen 101. The gear ratio is determined by the feed angle of the pulse motor M1. These gears are rotatably supported around respective shafts fixed to side plates 151 (FIG. 7).

Next, the paper feed section will be explained. Reference numeral 115 denotes a known friction clutch, which is composed of gears 115a, 115b, a spring (not shown), and the like. Also, gear 1
15a is connected to the motor M1 via a gear (not shown), and the gear 115b is connected to the gear 11.
6, the gear portion 118 of the sector gear 118
b, and is rotatably supported by the side plate 151.

Sector gear 11 having a notch 118a
8. This sector gear 118 is rotatably supported on the side plate 151 along with a gear 129, which will be described later, on the same axis 112. The gear 129 is rotatably supported by the side plate 151 described above, and is connected via the gear 125 to the motor M2 serving as the first driving means.

Shaft 120 of paper feed roller 120 as feeding means
b is rotatably supported on the sector gear 118 and swings up and down as the sector gear 118 rotates. That is, the friction clutch 115 and the sector gear 118 constitute a moving means for moving the feeding means.

121 is a one-way clutch 11 attached to the paper feed roller shaft.
1 and is connected to gear 129 via a gear (not shown). Therefore, the paper feed roller 120 is rotationally driven only in the direction of the arrow A by the rotation of the motor M2 in one direction (the direction of the arrow C) by the gears 125, 129, 121 and the one-way clutch 111. Further, even if the sector gear 118 rotates, the sector gear 118 rotates coaxially with the gear 129, so no problem occurs in the connection between the gears 129 and 121.

The paper feed roller 120 includes a metal shaft 120b and an elastic roller 120a made of rubber or the like fixed to the metal shaft 120b, and is supported by the sector gear 118 and a side plate 136 facing the sector gear 118. That is, the pulse motor M1 causes the roller 120a to swing up and down, and the motor M2 rotates the roller 120. These two operations are controlled independently.

Next, driving of the discharge roller 124 will be explained. The discharge part is a side plate 12 having a bent part 123a.
3. Opposed side plate 137, gear 131,1
35 and a discharge roller 124.

The discharge roller 124 includes a metal shaft 124b and an elastic roller 124a fixed thereto, and is rotatably supported by a base plate 137 facing the base plate 123.

Here, the gear 131 is rotatably supported by the side plate 151, and is connected to the gear 129 via a gear (not shown), and further connected to the motor M2. Furthermore, the gear 131 is connected to the gear 1 fixed to the discharge roller shaft 124b via a gear train (not shown).
It meshes with 35. That is, the rotation of motor M2 is transmitted to gear 135. In addition, by adjusting the number of gear stages, it rotates in the opposite direction to the paper feed roller 120. That is, when the motor M2 is driven in the direction in which the paper feed roller 120 is not driven (the direction opposite to the arrow C),
The discharge roller 124 rotates in the direction of arrow B, that is, in the recording paper discharge direction.

The side plate 123 is coaxial with the gear 131, and the main plate 15
1 and is rotatably supported by the bending portion 123.
a is engaged with a notch 118a of the sector gear 118. Therefore, as the sector gear 118 rotates, the side plate 123 rotates about the support shaft 132, and the discharge roller shaft 124b swings up and down.

Here, when the sector gear 118 is rotated in the direction of arrow E by the motor M1, the paper feed roller shaft 120b moves downward and the discharge roller shaft 124b moves upward, making it possible to feed the paper. Also, sector gear 1
When 18 rotates in the opposite direction, the respective roller shafts move in the opposite direction and move to the retracted position.

Then, when the motor M2 rotates in the direction of arrow C in the paper feeding enabled state, the paper feed roller 120 is rotated by the gear 121 in the paper feeding direction (arrow A) to feed the paper. At this time, the ejection roller 124 rotates in the opposite direction to the ejection direction, but there is no problem because the recording paper is not on the ejection roller at this time. Thereafter, the recording paper is fed by the platen 101. For ejecting, the motor M2 rotates in the opposite direction to the arrow C, and the ejecting roller 125 rotates in the ejecting direction. On the other hand, paper feed roller 1
20 is not rotated by the one-way clutch 111, so it does not affect the ejection operation.

Although the side plate 123 and the sector gear 118 are shown as separate members for the sake of simplicity, they can also be made of the same member.

(Registration roller, pinch roller release, reset mechanism) Figure 9 is a perspective view of the platen unit.
It is a view seen from the direction of figure B. Using FIG. 9, the pinch roller 104 is pressed against the platen 101.
Then, the release and reset of the registration roller 103 will be explained.

Reference numeral 138 denotes a stopper for releasing the pinch roller 104 and registration roller 103, and is fixed to the side plate 151.

Reference numeral 139 denotes a release lever, which is attached to the side plate 152 by the pins 140a, 140b and the guide groove 139.
a, 139b so as to be slidable. The release lever 139 includes an operating portion (bending portion) 139g, a pin 139c, and an arm portion 139 that are connected to the exterior knob 14 by a member not shown.
d, a SW section 139e, and a stopper section 139f. The switch SW7 is a switch that is turned on when the pinch roller 104 and registration roller 103 are in the set position (printable position).

141 is a lever rotatably supported around 141a; 142 is a leaf spring;
2, a stopper pin 142b is fixed to the upper end, and an exterior reset knob 15 is fixed to the center.

4 is the aforementioned front cover, 4a is a hinge connected to the main body, 4b is a lock claw, and 4c is a position where the exterior reset button 15 is pressed by rotating the front cover 4 (closing the cover) using the hinge 4a. It is a raised part fixed to the

[1] Pinch roller and registration roller release operation When paper is jammed, it is necessary to make it easy to remove the jammed recording paper. At that time, exterior knob 1
4 downward, the release lever 139 releases the guide grooves 139a, 139b and the pin 140a,
140b to slide down. At that time,
The pin 139c pushes the lever 141, and the shaft 141
a to push up the pinch roller 104. At the same time, the arm portion 139d pushes down the registration roller 103. Then,
The other ends of both roller shafts are pulled away from the platen 101 using the end face of the stopper 138 as a fulcrum. When the release lever 139 is further pushed down, the pin 142b of the leaf spring 142 rides on the stopper portion 139f due to the spring force and is locked. This operation breaks the contact between the platen 101, the pinch roller 104, and the registration roller 103, and the paper wrapped around the platen 101 can be easily removed.

[2] Pinch roller and registration roller set operation Next, after removing the paper, to set the rollers 103 and 104 in the printable state (position in the figure), press the outer set knob 15 against the leaf spring 142.
push against. With this operation, the stopper pin 142b and the stopper portion 139f are disconnected from each other. As a result, springs 105, 105', 10
6,106' force causes the pinch roller 104,
The registration roller 103 contacts the platen 101 and returns to the initial position. At the same time, the lever 141 rotates in the opposite direction to that described above, and the pin 139
c and push up the release lever 139. Then, the switch SW7 is turned on, and each member is set in the printable position as shown in the figure.

The above operation was set by the operator pressing the knob 15, but even if the front cover 4 is closed,
Since the convex portion 4c presses the knob 15, resetting is possible by simply closing the front cover 4.
In this way, both rollers 103 and 104 return to the printable position.

As described above, the operator does not have to press the knob 15, but simply closes the front cover 4, and both the resist and pinch rollers are automatically reset.

(Head and Ink Supply System) Next, the specific configuration of the head and ink supply system 200 in this embodiment will be described.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of one head of the head unit 211.The basic configuration is that a sub-tank body 301 and a sub-tank lid 302 are integrally attached, and in this embodiment there are four (Y: yellow) in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper. , M: magenta, C: cyan, B: black), and a nozzle unit is attached to each ink chamber. The nozzle unit is composed of a cylindrical nozzle 304 made of glass or the like, a cylindrical piezo 305 fixed around the nozzle with adhesive or the like, and a filter 306 for preventing dust from entering the nozzle and adjusting flow resistance. By applying the driving pulse 309, the nozzle 304 integrated with the piezo contracts.
Eject ink droplets. 307 is a supply tube for supplying ink to the ink chamber 303 from a main tank bag 355 stored in the ink cartridge 12, which will be described later; 308 is a supply tube for supplying ink to the ink chamber 303;
04 is a recovery tube that communicates with the pump unit 400 to recover from clogging or the like.

The head unit 211 is equipped with a heater 213 on the lower surface of the sub-tank body 301 in order to prevent unstable ejection due to changes in ink characteristics at low temperatures (particularly wide fluctuations in viscosity).
A temperature measuring resistor (not shown) detects the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere or the temperature of the ink itself, and a control circuit (not shown) is operated to maintain the ink in the sub-tank at a constant temperature.

The detailed structure of the ink cartridge 12 and its attachment to and removal from the printer body will be described in detail. 1st
1 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line X-X in FIG.
6 and the left and right guide plates 351, 352 from the operation surface side. Figure 12 is the 7th
Ink cartridge 1 in the cross-sectional view in the Y-Y direction in the figure.
2 is stored to form an ink supply path. FIG. 13 shows the ink cartridge 12
FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the configuration when the printer is removed from the printer main body, and is a view seen from the direction C in FIG. 7.
In Figures 11 and 12, the ink cartridge 12 includes a cartridge body 353 and a cartridge lid 35.
4. It is composed of a flexible main tank bag 355 that stores ink of each color of Y, M, C, and B, a waste ink absorbing member 356, and a partition plate 357,
In this embodiment, there are four main tank bags 355 (Y,
M, C, B) are stored in the vertical direction, and a waste ink absorbing member 356 is installed below the main tank bag 355 and separated by a partition plate 357. The cartridge main body 353 and the cartridge lid 354 are integrally connected by a known claw method during assembly.

A rubber plug 358 is attached to one end of the main tank bag 355.
is integrally attached to the cartridge body 3.
53 and the cartridge lid 354 and are fixed.

To load the ink cartridge 12 into the printer body, insert the ink cartridge 12 with the rubber stopper 358 side facing toward the back. At this time, the hollow pin 360 fixed to the printer main body pushes the rubber stopper 358 and reaches the ink space 358a inside the rubber stopper, forming an ink supply path and supplying the head unit 211 via the flexible supply tube 307. Ink is supplied to the ink chamber 303. The ink absorbing member 356 absorbs waste ink from a recovery system, which will be described later.

From the main tank bag 355 to the ink chamber 303
Ink is supplied to the ink via four flexible supply tubes 307. That is, each time one ink droplet is ejected, ink is supplied from the main tank bag 355 to the ink chamber 303 due to capillary action. flexible supply tube 307
is coupled to a hollow pin 360 fixed to the printer body approximately in the center of the carriage travel range. And as mentioned above, the main tank bag 355
A rubber stopper 358 attached to one end is coupled with a hollow pin 360 in conjunction with the installation operation of the ink cartridge 12, and the tip of the hollow pin 360 reaches a hollow part filled with ink inside the rubber stopper 358. ,
An ink path is formed.

Next, the removal of the ink cartridge 12 from the main body will be explained.

In FIG. 13, 13 is a knob for removing the ink cartridge, 370, 371, and 372 are levers that rotate around shafts 370b, 371b, and 372b, respectively, and lever 372 is for pushing out the ink cartridge 12. It has a pressing surface 372a that comes into contact with the rubber stopper side surface of the cartridge.

When the knob 13 is pushed down, the levers 370,3
71 and 372 rotate in the direction of the arrow, respectively, and press the pressing surface 3.
72a pushes the ink cartridge 12 toward the operation surface.

In other words, when the ink cartridge 12 is completely stored in the printer body, there is no space to grasp the ink cartridge 12 with your fingers, and the force required to pull out the rubber stopper 358 from the hollow pin 360 is greater than expected, making it difficult to pull it out. It is difficult.

In this embodiment, in the case of detachment, by using lever interlocking, it is possible to pull out only the connecting stroke of the hollow pin 360 and the rubber stopper 358 with a slight force, and then manually remove the ink cartridge 1.
It is configured to extract 2.

When the rubber stopper 358 of the ink cartridge 12 is removed from the hollow pin 360, the ink cartridge 12 protrudes slightly (approximately 30 mm in this embodiment) from the printer body, so it is easy to remove the ink cartridge 12 by hand. It can be easily pulled out.

(Carriage Scanning Mechanism) FIG. 14 is a perspective view (D view) of the head and ink supply system unit, and FIG. 15 shows details of the linear encoder section. In FIG. 14, a head unit 211 is fixed to a carriage 212. A heater 213 is disposed between the head 211 and the carriage 212, and is controlled by a temperature measuring resistor (not shown) to keep the ink at a predetermined temperature, as described above.

216, 216' are carriage side plates that support the guide shafts 214, 215, and one end of the shaft (21
6 side) is fixed with a screw, and the other end (21 side) is fixed with a screw.
6' side) is supported by the notched groove 216a.
Numerals 217 and 218 are oil reservoir members, which the carriage 212 comes into contact with before and after printing, for example, to supply oil to the bearing portion 212a. 219 is motor M3
Belt pulley 22 with a pinion attached to
It meshes with the gear part 220a of 0. Belt pulley 220 is rotatably supported by a shaft fixed on carriage side plate 216, and drives timing belt 221 by motor M3. A part of the timing belt 221 is connected to the carriage 212.
The carriage 212 scans as the belt 221 moves. 22
Reference numeral 2 denotes an idle pulley, which is rotatably supported by a shaft fixed to a slide plate 223. The slide plate 223 is fixed to the carriage base plate 216 while applying an appropriate tension to the timing belt 221.

224 is the slit plate of the linear encoder, which is attached to the slit receiving part 2 of the carriage side plate 216, 216'.
It is stretched approximately parallel to the guide shaft 214 between 16c and 216d. Further, holes are provided at both ends of the slit plate 224, one of which engages with the projection 216c of the carriage side plate 216, and the other hole engages with the hook 225a of the tension member 225.
The tension member 225 is slidably supported by the guide shaft 215, and a spring (not shown) is inserted into the slit 22.
4 is given appropriate tension. Slit plate 224
is provided with equally spaced slits 224a on the upper side and zone slits 224b and 224c on the lower side (FIG. 15).

Reference numeral 226 is a light emitting section of the linear encoder, to which light emitting elements 227a and 227b are fixed. 228 is the light receiving part of the linear encoder, and the light receiving slit 229
and light receiving elements 230a, 230b are fixed.

The light receiving slit 229 is provided with equally pitched slits 229a of the same pitch at positions corresponding to the equally pitched slits 224a on the upper side of the slit plate 224, and the zone slits 224 of the slit plate 224.
A single slit 229b is provided at a position corresponding to b and 224c. Also, switch SW9
As mentioned above, this is a switch that is turned on when the carriage 212 is at one end of the home position.

The ink cartridge 12 is connected to the cartridge main plate 21
6, the ink supply tube 307
The fixed end on the ink cartridge side is located approximately at the center of the scanning range of the head unit 211, and the length of the supply tube 307 is minimized.
Further, in the lower space of the carriage base plate 12 where the ink cartridge is not located, there is provided a space in which an ink tube 307 and a flexible printed wiring cable (not shown) move. As explained above, the carriage side plate 2, which is a support plate for the head unit 211,
By arranging the ink cartridge 12 below the ink cartridge 16, an appropriate water head difference is obtained, and ink is supplied from the main tank bag 355 to the ink chamber 303 of the head unit 211, as described above in the description of the head. This allows the supply tube 307 to be made as short as possible while keeping the overall height low, so that an efficient ink supply system with a small overall size is constructed.

Next, the operation will be explained using FIGS. 14 and 15. In this embodiment, a DC motor is used for M3, and the reciprocating movement of the head unit 211 is DC servo controlled by the output of a linear encoder, so that the carriage reciprocates at a constant speed.

The operation of the head and printing will be explained in detail below.

In FIG. 14, the position where the head unit 211 faces the pump unit 419 is the head unit 21.
The head unit 211 is at the home position of 1, and the head unit 211 waits at the home position after the normal printing operation is completed and when the power switch 6a is turned off. At this time, the bearing portion 212a of the carriage 212 is in contact with the oil sump member 218. The motor M3 is activated by the print start signal, the head unit 211 moves in the direction of arrow I, and the other bearing part 21 of the carriage 212
2a contacts the oil sump member 217, and after refueling, it is reversed and J
move in the direction.

In this embodiment, two print sizes, large and small, can be selected. That is, by operating the image size changeover switch 6g on the switch panel 6, the image size can be changed to large size (L) or small size (S).
can be selected. In this embodiment, when the power switch 6a is turned on, the small size (S) is automatically selected. For example, a case will be explained in which the user presses the image size changeover switch 6g and selects the large size. At this time, the display LED 6h1 is lit.

When the zone slit 224c' is detected by the light emitting/receiving unit of the encoder fixed to the head unit 211 which is inverted after refueling and is moving in the J direction, it is inverted and main scanning is started again in the I direction.
That is, the light emitted from the light emitting element 227b is projected onto the zone slit 224c', the light receiving slit 229b, and the light receiving element 230b, and is reversed after being detected. The light from the light emitting element 227a passing through the equally spaced slits 224a of the slit 224 passes through the equally spaced slits 22 of the light receiving slit 229, which moves together with the carriage 212.
9a intermittently reaches the light receiving element 230a, and the light receiving element 230 outputs a corresponding on/off signal. Based on the signal, the motor M3 is servo-controlled to cause the carriage to scan at a constant speed. Further, the on/off side of the on/off signal corresponds to one pixel dot, and also controls the timing of ejecting ink from the head. That is, after starting the second scan in the I direction (zone slit 22
At the same time as edge detection on the home position side (4c'), the presence or absence of image data is confirmed, and if data is found, printing is started from a predetermined position. From then on,
The ink is ejected based on the image data,
Print a predetermined image. Further, the head scans in the I direction, and after detecting the edge of the zone slit 224c on the side plate 216 side, the motor M3 is stopped.
Furthermore, the presence or absence of image data is confirmed, and if data is present, the motor M3 is reversed and scans in the J direction this time, and the same printing process as described above is repeated. Further, while the platen 101 is being reversed from the I direction to the J direction, the platen 101 is moved in steps by a predetermined amount by the drive of the pulse motor M1 to perform sub-scanning corresponding to one line.

The above-mentioned main scanning and sub-scanning are repeated, and when the predetermined printing is completed, the head returns to the home position, and the print paper is ejected to the stacker 5 by the above-mentioned paper ejection operation, completing the predetermined operation.

If small size printing is selected, the edges of the zone slits 224c, 224c' on the zone slit 224b side are detected and the carriage is reversed. Therefore, in the case of small size printing, printing is performed within the width of zone slit 224b, and in the case of large size printing, printing is performed within the width of zone slits 224c, 224.
Printing is performed within the width from one end of c' to the other.

(Control Circuit) FIG. 16 is an overall control block diagram of the device shown in FIG. 1. In the figure, 901 is an input signal group, RGB
Includes signals, NTSC signals, PAL signals, SECAM signals, external data signals from computers, etc. 902 is an input signal processing circuit that converts each NTSC, PAL, and SECAM TV signal into R, G, and B three-color signals. 9
03 is an A/D converter, 904 is a line memory that stores data for several lines, and 905 is an interpolation circuit that is executed in the case of a large size. An image processing circuit 906 executes masking processing, undercolor removal processing, and the like. 907 is a D/A converter, 908 is a head driver, 909 is an inkjet head corresponding to the piezo 305, 910 is a power switch 6a,
A group of input switches such as a print switch 6c, a stop switch 6e, and a pump switch 911 is a central processing unit (hereinafter referred to as CPU) that executes the programs shown in Figures 17 onward to control the entire system.
Stored in ROM. 913 is a pump system sensor, 917 is an ink temperature sensor, 918 is a heater control circuit that controls the temperature of the heater 213, 92
0 is an encoder sensor, 921 is a driver for the carriage motor M3, 923 is a driver for the motor M1, 925 is a driver for the motor M2, and 927 is a display driver that drives the display group 928. The display group 928 includes the display LEDs 6b, 6d, 6
Includes f, 6h, 6i, 6j, and 6ls. and
The following detection switches are also connected to the CPU 911.

SW1 (FIG. 5) controls the paper feed motor M2 and detects the presence or absence of paper. SW2 (Figure 5)
detects the leading edge and trailing edge of the recording paper, and activates the pulse motor M.
1 and detects the presence or absence of paper. SW3
(FIG. 7), as already mentioned, detects the presence or absence of paper in the cassette. In this embodiment, SW1,
Although reflective optical sensors were used for SW2 and SW3, other mechanical switches can also be used. SW4
(FIG. 5) shows a switch that detects whether or not the paper cassette 17 is loaded. SW5 (5th
Figure) is a switch that detects whether or not the ink cartridge 12 is installed, SW7 (Figure 9).
are the registration roller 103 and the pinch roller 104
This is a switch that detects whether or not the platen 101 is pressed against the platen 101.As will be described later, during jam processing,
This is provided because the registration roller 103 and pinch roller 104 may be released from the platen 101. SW8 is, as already mentioned, Statuka 5.
This is a switch that detects whether or not the device is attached. SW9 (Figure 14) is a switch that detects whether the head is in the home position or not.
SW10 (FIG. 5) is a switch that detects the presence or absence of paper at the paper discharge port.

17 to 22 are diagrams showing program flowcharts stored in the CPU 911.

<Start, Standby Routine (FIG. 17)> First, the initial standby routine shown in FIG. 17 will be explained.

Figures 17 to 23 show the overall flow of the system. CPU9 with the main power (not shown) turned on.
11 constantly detects whether the user presses the power SW 6a (S1). When it is detected that the power SW 6a has been pressed, the LED 6b blinks (S2), the print size S is automatically selected, and 6h2 lights up (S3). Paper-based sensor SW
3. Use SW4, SW7, and SW8 to sense the stacker, paper cassette, remaining amount of paper, and pressure on the pinch roller to the platen. If all are in correct condition, proceed to the next step. If any one is abnormal, LED6i will blink. , set a paper sensor abnormality flag in the register inside the CPU and proceed to the next step (S4). Similarly sensor SW
Step 5 detects the amount of ink cartridge. If the cartridge is not set correctly, the LED 6j will blink, a flag indicating that the cartridge is abnormal will be set, and the process will proceed to the next step (S5). In S6, the temperature of the ink is detected by a sensor 917, and when the temperature is lower than a certain value, the LED 6b continues to blink. Furthermore, when the switch SW6a is pressed, if the ink temperature is below a predetermined value, the heater control circuit 918
(S7). When the ink temperature reaches a predetermined value, the tip error flag is detected, and if there is an error,
The LED 6b also continues to blink while the LED 6i or 6l is blinking, and this state continues until the flag disappears (S8). When the flag disappears and the ink temperature reaches a certain value, the LEDs 6i and 6j are turned off and the LED 6b is turned on (S9). next
Use SW1, SW2, and SW10 to check whether there is any paper left in a place other than the paper cassette or stacker.
If there is any paper left, the LED 6i will flash and the paper will be ejected as described later, and if there is no paper left, the carriage 211 will be returned to the home position (hereinafter referred to as HP) if it is not in the home position (HP). (S10). As a general rule, paper should only be in the stacker and paper cassette, and the cartridge should be in the HP, but these operations may occur if the main power was turned off during printing, the power was unplugged, or a power outage occurred during the last use. This is a recovery operation assuming an abnormality. Among the conventional S1 to S10, power SW by interrupt
No input switch is accepted other than pressing 6a to turn off the power.

Next, it enters a standby state (S11) and accepts the size change switch SW6g, the print switch SW6c, and the pump operation switch. When the print switch SW6c is pressed, the print operation routine shown in FIG. 21 is entered. During this time, pump switches and size change switches (6g) will not be accepted. Also, when the pump switch is pressed, the pump operates, and during this time, the print switch and size change switch are not accepted. After these operations, the device returns to the standby routine and enters the standby state.

<Print Routine (FIG. 22)> The print operation will be explained in detail below. Note that during printing, the stop switch SW6e is accepted. When print switch SW6c is pressed, LED6d
is turned on, the paper is sensed using SW1, SW2, and SW10, and when any of them detects that there is paper, the LED 6i blinks and the paper discharge routine is started and the paper discharge operation begins. Next, check the ink temperature, and if it is lower than a certain temperature,
Change LED 6b to blinking and wait until the set temperature is reached (S13). After this step, even if the ink temperature drops below the set temperature during printing, one sheet will be printed out. Next, a sensor check operation S check routine shown in the flowchart of FIG. 19 is performed. This first checks the synchronization signal included in the TV signal, and if it does not exist, blinks the LED 6d and waits until the synchronization signal arrives. Or it returns to standby by an interrupt by the stop switch 6e. If the synchronization signal is coming normally, paper sensors SW3, 4, 7,
8. Check the cartridge sensor SW5, and if it is abnormal, blink the LEDs 6i and 6j and go to standby, and if it is normal, proceed to the next step (S14). Step S15 rotates the motor M1 in the -D direction (opposite direction to arrow D) by N1 pulses.
This operation will be explained using FIGS. 8 and 9. Due to the rotation of the motor M1 in the -D direction, the gear 110,
The friction clutch 115, gear 116, and sector gear 118 are driven to bring the paper feed roller 120 into contact with the paper in the paper cassette 17 and move it to a position where paper can be fed. At this time, the sector gear 118 stops at a stopper (not shown), and the subsequent rotation is absorbed by the friction clutch. Therefore, the rotation angle of the motor M1 only needs to be set to a required rotation angle or more, allowing highly accurate control. is not required. Also, sector gear 1
18, the bent portion 123a of the side plate 123 of the discharge roller 124 is pushed by the cutout portion 118a of the sector gear 118, and the discharge roller 124 is set at the position where it can be discharged.

Next, in step S16, the motor M2 is excited in the driving direction of the one-way clutch, that is, in the direction of arrow C.
As a result, the recording paper is fed out by the frictional force between the rubber portion 120a of the paper feed roller 120 and the recording paper P. Then, the uppermost sheet of recording paper is separated from the other recording sheets by the separation claws 17e and 17e', and the paper guide 14
3,146. Run the timer at the same time. At this time, the ejection roller 124 is also rotated in the opposite direction to the ejection direction, but since there is no paper on the ejection roller 124, there is no effect.

Next, in step S17, it is checked whether the switch SW1 has detected recording paper before the timer counts the time T1. Then, in step 18, if the paper is not fed to SW1 due to an accident such as the paper not coming out from the separation claw, in other words, if SW1 is not turned on even after the timer setting time T1 has elapsed, it is considered a jam. The display LED 6j is displayed blinking, the motor M2 stops rotating, and the motor M
1 by N1 pulses in the direction of arrow D, and the paper feed roller 120 and the paper discharge roller 124 are retracted to the initial retraction position. This is to make it possible to remove the cassette 17 when the jam is recovered, and to make it easier to take out the jammed paper.

If the jam does not occur, restart the timer in step S19, measure the time T2, and start the motor M.
Stop the rotation of 2. This time T2 is set so that the paper is evenly bitten between the platen 101 and the registration rollers 103, and a loop necessary for the paper trajectory correction (registration) is obtained. and,
This timer T2 starts counting when it detects that the paper is near the registration roller 103, so the loop amount is constant, and the subsequent paper feeding amount is uniform. This is superior to feed rate control, etc. and motor M
After stopping the rotation of the motor M1, the motor M1 is excited with N2 pulses (N2>N1) in the paper feeding direction (D direction). As a result, the platen 101 and registration roller 10
The recording paper is friction fed by the contact pressure with 3. Further, the paper is wrapped around the platen 101 by the paper presser spring 102. Then, the leading edge of the paper bites into the contact surface between the pinch roller 104 and the platen 101.
Thereafter, the contact pressure between the pinch roller 104 and the platen 101 becomes dominant, resulting in friction feed. Then, when SW2 detects the leading edge of the paper, it stops sending pulses to the pulse motor M1, and energizes it to a predetermined phase to hold the paper at the printing position.

In parallel with the above operation, as the motor M1 rotates in the D direction, the gear 110, friction clutch 115, sector gear 118, and side plate 123 are driven in the opposite direction to the above, and hit a stopper portion (not shown).
Thereafter, the rotation is absorbed by the friction clutch. As a result, the paper feed roller 120 and the ejection roller 124
moves to the retracted position and retreats from the paper guide section, and does not affect subsequent paper feeding in any way.

Therefore, the platen 101 and the paper presser spring 10
2. Registration roller 103, pinch roller 104
Accurate friction feed is performed by
The flatness and feeding accuracy of the recording paper in the printing section 101a are guaranteed. In step S20, if the recording paper does not reach SW2 even after N2 pulse excitation, it is assumed that there is a jam, an indication is made on the display LED 6j, the motor M1 is stopped, and the process returns to the standby routine.

When paper is detected with switch SW2, step S21
Proceed to. That is, the apparatus becomes ready for recording at the stage when S20 is completed. In step S21, the recording size is input and the television signal is NTSC or not.
Depending on whether the paper is PAL or SECAM, the motor M1 feeds the paper by x ₁ to x ₄ lines. This is cueing for positioning the print sub-scanning direction (paper feeding direction) at the center of the print paper. Similarly, set N3, N4, and N7 according to the size and signal.
N3 is the number of dots in the main scanning direction, and N4 is the number to position the main scanning direction at the center of the print paper.
And N7 indicates the number for detecting the end of paper, which will be provided later.
Next, in step S22, the sub-scanning direction counter C2,
After resetting C3 and transferring data to the line memory 904, M3 is turned on and the DC servo causes the carriage 212 to run at a constant speed in the I direction. This has been explained above with reference to FIG. 22a. Next, moving to FIG. 22, in step S23, the counter C1 in the main scanning direction is reset to detect the point at which the zone slit (hereinafter referred to as ZS) changes from black to white, that is, the HP side edge of ZS224c. Then, in step S24, if the size is S, the black → white point of the next ZS, that is, ZS224
Detect the HP side edge of b. Next, in S25, when a timing slit (hereinafter referred to as TS) is detected from black to white, the main scanning counter C1 is counted up.
Then, in S26, if this value C1 is smaller than N4, the TS black→white point detection is repeated. This loop determines the position of the first print point, and C1<N4+N3, that is,
Print one point at a time until you have finished printing the number of points according to the input and size. Print timing is
This is the timing of TS black → white. This print timing signal creation may be controlled by gate opening/closing of the TS signal. After printing one line, move to point B in Figure 22c and step S27.
Checks whether 4/3 times the number of points in the main scanning direction has been printed in the sub-scanning direction, and if printing has been completed, one sheet of printing is completed in step S28, the carriage 212 is returned to HP, and the paper is ejected. Return to starting state. If all lines have not been printed in the sub-scanning direction, the white→black edge of ZS is detected in S29. For small size, use the edge opposite to the HP of 224b, for large size, use the edge of 224c.
Detects the edge on the opposite side of the HP. After detection, the terminal of the carriage motor M3 is shot to stop it in S30. At the same time, the counter C2 in the sub-investigation direction is incremented, and the motor M1 is driven to feed the paper one line. Then, in step S31, it is determined whether the stop switch SW6e has been pressed before printing one line is finished. If an interrupt occurs, the next step is to turn on the print switch SW in step S32.
When 6c is pressed, the next line is printed, and when the stop switch SW6e is pressed again, the paper is ejected and the printer enters the standby state. Here, even if the printing stop switch SW6e is pressed, the printing is always stopped after one line has been printed. Next, in S33, if the stop switch SW6e is not pressed, it senses SW2, and if there is no paper, it is a jam, LED6i blinks, and goes to standby.If there is paper, it is normal, and in S34, senses SW1, and if there is no paper, it is normal. If not, the counter C3 in the second sub-scanning direction is counted up. C
3 is a counter for detecting the trailing edge of paper, and this means that just before the end of printing one sheet, SW1 does not detect paper, and paper SW2 detects paper for N7 lines or more, and then the recording paper is detected. It is determined that there is a jam because there is a risk that ink droplets will be ejected where there is no paper and the platen will be contaminated. Such a situation occurs when the recording paper is shorter than a predetermined length or when the paper feed pitch is longer than usual. In the case of an abnormality, the LED6i will also flash and return to standby. If SW1 and SW2 are normal, the S check routine operates again at S35.
The data is transferred to the line memory 904 in S36.
Next, in S37, rotate the carriage motor in the opposite direction. In the case of a large size S38, the encoder sensor 2 is fixed to the carriage 212.
Since the stop position of 26 is always outside ZS224c, it goes directly to the flowchart point. For small size, if ZS is black, encoder sensor 22
Since the stop position of No. 6 is located outside the ZS 224c, the process goes directly to the point, and if ZS is white at the stop position, it stops inside the ZS 224c, so the process goes to the flowchart point. In order to prevent this control from malfunctioning, the black area between ZS 224b and 224c is made sufficiently smaller than the stopping distance of the carriage 211. Starting from the point, print out one sheet by repeating the operation sequentially. Then, in step S27, C2>N3
When the counter in the sub-scanning direction detects the end at ×4/3, the carriage 211 is returned to HP and the paper discharge operation begins.

<Paper discharge routine (Fig. 21)> In step S41, the pulse motor M1 is excited by N12 pulses in the direction of arrow D to feed the recording paper, and the paper is removed from the pinch roller 104. In S42, the paper detection switch SW2 is turned off ( If it is (no paper), it will cost an additional N13 for S43
After pulse driving, stop excitation. If SW2 does not turn off even after N12 pulse excitation, it is considered a jam, and the paper feed is stopped after the display LED 6j blinks. Then, in S44, the pulse motor M1 is excited by N1 pulses in the direction opposite to the direction of the arrow D, and the feed/discharge rollers 120, 124 are set from the retracted position to the position where paper can be fed, as in the case of paper feeding.

Next, in S45, the motor M2 is driven to rotate in the direction opposite to the arrow C, thereby rotating the discharge roller 124 in the direction of the arrow B, and discharges the paper. This rotational force is in the opposite direction to the one-way clutch of the paper feed roller 120, so it has no effect on the paper in the paper cassette 17. After the discharge is finished, that is,
At S46, the motor M2 is stopped after no paper is detected using the paper detection switch SW10.

Next, in S47, move the pulse motor M1 in the direction of arrow D.
N1 pulses are excited to retract the paper feed roller 120 and discharge roller 124 from the paper feeding position.
As a result, even when taking out the paper cassette 17,
The paper cassette 17 comes out smoothly without getting caught on each roller.

This completes the paper ejecting operation.

<Power off interrupt routine (Fig. 18)> Power off by the power switch 6a is constantly monitored by an interrupt, and when turned off, the home routine (Fig. 20) is performed, and then all actuators are turned off and started. Return to routine.

<Home Routine (Fig. 20)> Motor M3 is operated for time T3 to return the carriage 212 to the home position HP. If HP is not detected by switch SW9 within time T3, an abnormality is displayed and the process returns to the start routine. Also, when it is detected, the process returns to the start routine.

Note that the term "recording paper" used in this specification is not limited to mere paper, but includes general sheet-like bodies on which recording is possible, such as sheets made of synthetic resin.

Furthermore, although this embodiment has been described using an intagjet print as an example of a recording device, the present invention is of course applicable to other recording devices such as a thermal transfer printer and an electrophotographic printer.

It is particularly effective for a type of recording device that forms characters, images, etc. using dots.

<Effects> As explained above, the present invention makes it possible to perform complex operations ranging from feeding to conveyance of stacked sheets with a small number of drive means, and furthermore, it is possible to perform complicated operations from feeding to conveyance of stacked sheets, and furthermore, after the sheet feeding means contacts the sheets, Since the feeding means can be driven, it is possible to prevent the sheet from being fed diagonally.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to simplify the device, improve reliability, and downsize the device.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the inkjet recording apparatus of this embodiment seen from the front, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 seen from the back, and FIG. 3 shows the front cover 4 and A perspective view with the stacker 5 removed,
Figure 4 is a view of Figure 3 from the front (operation surface) side.
5 is a sectional view taken along line X-X' in FIG. 1, FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line Y-Y' in FIG. 1, and FIG. 7 is a top view with the top cover removed from FIG. FIG. 8 is a first perspective view around the platen 101, and FIG. 9 is a first perspective view of the platen 1.
10 is a sectional view of the ink jet head unit 211, FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the ink cartridge taken along line XX' in FIG. 7,
Figure 12 shows the ink cartridge in Figure 7 Y-
13 is a diagram showing the ink cartridge removal mechanism, Figure 14 is a perspective view of the cartridge mechanism, Figure 15 is a detailed perspective view of the encoder section, and Figure 16 is a diagram showing the entire device. The control block diagrams in FIGS. 17 to 21 and FIGS. 22a, b, and c are diagrams showing programs stored in the central processing unit 911. In the figure, 101 is a platen roller as a conveyance means, 102 is a paper pressing spring, 103 is a registration roller, 104 is a pinch roller, 120 is a paper feed roller, 124 is an ejection roller, M1 is a pulse motor, and M2 is a motor.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A feeder movable between a first position where it contacts stacked sheets and feeds the sheets, and a second position where it is spaced apart from the sheets and does not feed the sheets. means: a first driving means for driving the feeding means; a sheet provided downstream of the feeding means in the feeding direction and fed by the feeding means by rotating in a predetermined direction; a conveying rotary body for conveying; a second driving means for rotating the conveying rotary body in the predetermined direction and the opposite direction; and a driving force of the second driving means to rotate the conveying rotary body in the predetermined direction. moving means for moving the feeding means to a second position when the conveyance rotation body rotates in the opposite direction; a control means for controlling the first and second driving means so that the first driving means drives the feeding means after the first driving means moves to the first position; Device.