JP2002127523A - Ink jet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an ink jet printer in which adhesion of ink to a moving cutter can be reduced without forming any marginal part between print arreas and ink can be prevented from being transferred from the moving cutter to a sheet being cut next. SOLUTION: After a sheet 2 is cut by reciprocating a moving cutter 14b, sheets 2 on the upstream side and the downstream side of the moving cutter 14b are carried, respectively, to the upstream side and the downstream side and then the moving cutter 14b is returned vertically after the sheets 2 are separated therefrom. Consequently, the quantity of ink sprayed to the surface of the sheet 2 and adhering to the moving cutter 14b can be reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet printer configured to cut a long print medium by reciprocating a moving blade for cutting the print medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Ink jet printers perform printing by spraying liquid ink onto paper, and have the advantage that the size of the apparatus can be reduced and high quality printing can be performed. The ink sprayed on the paper by printing with such an ink jet printer takes a relatively long time to dry. In addition, when a long sheet of paper such as roll paper or fold paper that needs to be cut is used in an ink jet printer, printing is generally performed before cutting the paper in order to improve print quality.

[0003] Therefore, when the printed long paper is cut in the printer using the reciprocating moving blade, ink adheres to the moving blade and is transferred to the paper at the next cutting. This causes a problem. In order to avoid such a problem, the user is allowed to cut the paper which has been sufficiently dried after being discharged from the printer without disposing a moving blade for cutting the paper inside the printer, or to perform printing. It is necessary to form a margin between the areas, and cut the margin with a moving blade disposed inside the printer.

[0004]

However, in the former case, there is a disadvantage in that the user must perform a complicated and highly precise cutting process, and in the latter case, a margin portion which is not originally required is required. Therefore, there is a disadvantage that the paper is wasted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to automatically cut a long print medium internally and to reduce the amount of ink adhering to a moving blade without forming a margin. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet printer capable of performing the above.

[0006]

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink jet printer, comprising: a printing unit for performing printing on a long print medium by an ink jet method; A moving blade for cutting the print medium, a moving blade drive unit for reciprocating the moving blade, and detecting that the moving blade has moved forward to a predetermined position sufficient to cut the print medium. Moving blade detecting means, a first transport unit for transporting the printing medium downstream of the moving blade with respect to the print medium discharge direction, and the moving blade moving forward to the predetermined position. When the moving blade detection unit detects that the moving blade has started, the moving blade starts moving backward after the start of transport of the print medium downstream of the moving blade to the downstream side. 1 transfer section and the moving blade And a control means for controlling the moving unit.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink jet printer, comprising: a printing section for performing printing on a long print medium by an ink jet method; and a moving blade for cutting the printed print medium while moving. A moving blade driving unit for reciprocating the moving blade, a moving blade detecting unit for detecting that the moving blade has moved forward to a predetermined position sufficient to cut the print medium, A first transport unit for transporting a print medium, which is located upstream of the movable blade with respect to a discharge direction, and when the movable blade detection unit detects that the movable blade has moved forward to the predetermined position. Controlling the first transport unit and the movable blade drive unit such that the return movement of the movable blade is started after the start of transport of the print medium upstream of the movable blade to the upstream side. Control means for To have.

According to the first or third aspect, since the movable blade and the movable blade drive unit for reciprocating the movable blade are provided, it is possible to automatically cut a long print medium inside. Further, when the print medium is cut, the print medium that is downstream of the movable blade is transported downstream, or the print medium that is upstream of the movable blade is transported upstream, and the print medium is transported. When the moving blade is moved back after moving away from the moving blade, the amount of ink sprayed on the surface of the print medium to the moving blade is suppressed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the ink attached to the moving blade from being transferred to the print medium to be cut next. Further, it is possible to prevent the edge of the print medium from being damaged and rolled up due to the application of the shearing force from the movable blade when the movable blade moves backward. Note that when the print medium is cut, the transfer of the print medium downstream of the moving blade to the downstream side starts, or the transfer of the print medium upstream of the movable blade to the upstream side. The same effect can be obtained by moving the moving blade back at the same time as the start of the operation.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink jet printer which is located upstream of the movable blade with respect to a print medium discharging direction and is configured to transport a print medium independently of the first transport unit. And the control unit is located upstream and downstream of the movable blade when the movable blade detection unit detects that the movable blade has moved forward to the predetermined position. The first transport unit, the second transport unit, and the second transport unit are configured to start the return movement of the movable blade after each start of the transport of the print medium to the upstream side and the downstream side.
And the moving blade drive unit is controlled.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink jet printer which is located downstream of the movable blade with respect to a discharge direction of the print medium and is configured to transport the print medium independently of the first transport section. And the control unit is located upstream and downstream of the movable blade when the movable blade detection unit detects that the movable blade has moved forward to the predetermined position. The first transport unit, the second transport unit, and the second transport unit are configured to start the return movement of the movable blade after each start of the transport of the print medium to the upstream side and the downstream side.
And the moving blade drive unit is controlled.

According to the second or fourth aspect, when the print medium is cut, the print media upstream and downstream of the movable blade are conveyed to the upstream and downstream sides, respectively, so that the print medium is removed from the movable blade. By moving the moving blade back after moving away, the amount of ink sprayed on the surface of the print medium to the moving blade is minimized. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably prevent the ink attached to the moving blade from being transferred to the print medium to be cut next. Note that, when the print medium is cut, the same effect can be obtained by moving the movable blade back at the same time as the start of transport of the print medium upstream and downstream of the movable blade to the respective upstream and downstream sides. Can be obtained.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an ink jet printer according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, an ink jet printer 1 according to the present embodiment
A dot impact printing unit 12, an ink jet printing unit 13, and a cutting unit 14 are provided in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing 11. In the housing 11, a long sheet 2 having a winding portion 2a wound in a roll shape is arranged.

After the paper 2 is unwound from the winding section 2a, a number of pairs of transport rollers 16a and 16b (in FIG. 1, a pair of transport rollers upstream of the cutting unit 14 in the discharge direction of the paper 2). 16a and the downstream conveying roller pair 16
After passing through the dot impact printing unit 12 and the ink jet printing unit 13 in sequence by being transported as indicated by b), the paper is cut into a predetermined length by the cutting unit 14 and then discharged from the discharge port 15.

In the present embodiment, the plurality of transport roller pairs 16a are the drive roller pairs which are driven only by the motor 22 (see FIG. 2), the one closest to the cutting unit 14; Has become. Also,
The winding portion 2a of the sheet 2 is held by a drum 17 rotatable about an axis by a motor 21 (see FIG. 2). This not only transports the paper 2 to the downstream side by the transport roller pair 16a, but also transports the paper 2 to the winding unit 2
It can be rewound to the a side. Also,
In the present embodiment, the plurality of transport roller pairs 16b
Only the one closest to the cutting unit 14 is a drive roller pair driven by the motor 23 (see FIG. 2), and the other is a driven roller pair.

The dot impact printing unit 12 performs printing by selectively hitting the paper 2 with a large number of thin pins via an ink ribbon. The dot impact printing unit 12 is used to print additional information such as date and time of printing and a serial number on a surface opposite to a printing surface of the inkjet printing unit 13.

The ink jet printing unit 13 prints the paper 2 by ejecting liquid ink from the nozzles dot by dot. The ink jet printing unit 13 ejects ink from the nozzles using a piezoelectric element, a bubble jet (registered trademark) method. Alternatively, any of other methods may be adopted.

The cutting unit 14 includes a fixed blade 14a disposed on the same side of the sheet 2 as the dot impact printing unit 12, and a movable blade 14b disposed opposite the fixed blade 14a with the sheet 2 interposed therebetween. have. Both the fixed blade 14a and the movable blade 14b are rectangular blades having a width slightly larger than the width of the paper 2. In addition, fixed blade 1
4a is an inclined surface whose upper surface is inclined downward from the downstream side to the upstream side, and the movable blade 14b is an inclined surface whose lower surface is inclined upward from the upstream side to the downstream side. Here, when the movable blade 14b moves forward toward the fixed blade 14a to cut the paper 2, the downstream surface of the fixed blade 14a and the upstream surface of the movable blade 14b are arranged so as to face each other. Have been.

The movable blade 14b is rotatable about a fulcrum 18a, and is supported at the fulcrum 18a by a support member 18 which is bent in a "-" shape. Support member 1
8, a rotational torque is applied from a motor 24 (see FIG. 2). Thus, the movable blade 14b can reciprocate up and down with the rotation of the support member 18. The moving blade 14b cuts the printed paper 2 conveyed from the upstream side of the conveying path by the movement to the bottom dead center (forward movement) by the interaction with the fixed blade 14a.

Next, a more detailed structure around the cutting unit 14 of the ink jet printer according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, illustration of the dot impact printing unit 12, the inkjet printing unit 13, and the like is omitted.

As described above, in the ink jet printer 1 of the present embodiment, the drum 17 holding the winding portion 2a is driven to rotate by the motor 21, and the transport roller pair 16a, which is a driving roller pair, is rotated by the motor 22. The driven conveying roller pair 16b, which is a driving roller pair, is driven to rotate by a motor 23, and the support member 18 of the movable blade 14b is driven to rotate by a motor 24. The motors 21 to 24 are controlled by the controller 25.

In the vicinity of the upper end of the support member 18, a button-down type bottom dead center sensor 26 is disposed. The bottom dead center sensor 26 has a button (not shown) provided there.
When the support member 18 is at a position other than the bottom dead center (top dead center and between the top dead center and the bottom dead center), the support member 1
8, but is arranged at a position where it comes into contact with the support member 18 when the support member 18 is at the bottom dead center.
Then, the bottom dead center sensor 26 sends a detection signal to the controller 25 that the movable blade 14b has reached the bottom dead center when the button is pressed in contact with the support member 18.

Next, the operation of the ink jet printer 1 according to the embodiment configured as described above will be described. First, while printing is performed on the back surface (the lower surface in FIG. 2) and the front surface (the upper surface in FIG. 2) of the long sheet 2 by the dot impact printing unit 12 and the ink jet printing unit 13, the driving rollers are driven by the motors 22 and 23, respectively. By driving the pair of transport rollers 16a and 16b, the printed paper 2 is transported downstream toward the discharge port 15.

Then, the leading end of the sheet 2 is
The motors 22 and 23 are stopped when the paper 22 has passed a predetermined distance below the movable blade 14b and the boundary between two adjacent image areas formed on the paper 2 has moved to a position facing the movable blade 14b. To stand still. Thereafter, printing by the dot impact printing unit 12 and the inkjet printing unit 13 is temporarily stopped.

Next, the movable blade 14b is moved downward by rotating the support member 18 by the motor 24.
As a result, the paper 2 sandwiched between the movable blade 14b and the fixed blade 14a is cut at the boundary between the two image areas, and the paper 2 moves at the same time or when the movable blade 14b further moves downward. The blade 14b reaches its bottom dead center. Then, the button of the bottom dead center sensor 26 is pressed by contacting the upper end portion of the support member 18.
Then, the bottom dead center sensor 26 sends a detection signal to the controller 25 that the movable blade 14b has reached the bottom dead center.

The controller 25, which has received the detection signal from the bottom dead center sensor 26, controls the motor 23 before starting the reciprocation of the movable blade 14b, and the cutoff by the transport roller pair 16b, which is the drive roller pair, is completed. The conveyance of the sheet 2 to the downstream side is started, and the motor 21 is controlled to control the motor 21 so as to be upstream of the moving blade 14b by the drum 17 (between the moving blade 14b and the winding portion 2a). (Winding part 2a side)
Start rewinding to. Here, the reciprocation of the moving blade 14b is started simultaneously with the start of the conveyance of the cut sheet 2 to the downstream side and the start of the rewinding of the sheet 2 upstream from the moving blade 14b to the upstream side. Is also good.

After the paper 2 before and after the movable blade 14b is sufficiently separated from the movable blade 14b, the motor 24 is controlled to rotate the support member 18 counterclockwise in FIG. Move it back to the home position.

Even after the movable blade 14b starts to return, the transport of the cut sheet 2 downstream from the movable blade 14b by the motor 23 and the transport roller pair 16b, which is a drive roller pair, to the downstream side. Continue as it is. As a result, the printed paper 2 cut to a predetermined length
Exhausted from 5

On the other hand, the rewinding of the sheet 2 upstream from the moving blade 14b by the motor 21 and the drum 17 to the upstream side is stopped when the end of the sheet 2 is separated from the moving blade 14b to some extent. . Thereafter, after the movable blade 14b moves above the transport path of the sheet 2, the movable blade 14b
The sheet 2 that has been located on the upstream side is conveyed downstream by the motor 22 and the conveying roller pair 16a, which is a driving roller pair, and returned to the position where the sheet 2 was cut. Thereby, the positional relationship between the dot impact printing unit 12 and the ink jet printing unit 13 and the paper 2 is returned to that at the time of paper cutting, so that the printing temporarily stopped when the paper 2 is cut can be resumed.

In order to prevent the printing position shift between the ink jet printing unit 13 and the paper 2 due to the reciprocating conveyance of the paper 2 which is located on the upstream side of the moving blade 14b, the paper 2 is cut. It is preferable that the distance between the inkjet printing unit 13 and the cutting unit 14 or the length of each image area is adjusted so that the inkjet printing unit 13 sometimes prints the vicinity of the boundary between the two image areas.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the ink jet printer 1 has the cutting unit 14 including the movable blade 14b therein, the support member 18 for reciprocating the movable blade 14b, and the motor 24. Therefore, the long paper 2 can be automatically cut inside the printer 1.

In this embodiment, when the sheet 2 is cut, the sheet 2 upstream and downstream of the moving blade 14b is conveyed to the upstream side and the downstream side, respectively, so that the sheet 2 is moved. Since the moving blade 14b is moved backward after moving away from the moving blade 14b, the ink sprayed from the ink jet printing unit 13 onto the surface of the paper 2 (the upper surface in FIG. 2) does not adhere to the moving blade 14b when moving backward. The amount of ink adhering to the blade 14b is greatly reduced. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the ink attached to the movable blade 14b from being transferred to the sheet to be cut next as much as possible.

In this embodiment, the paper 2 and the movable blade 14b are separated from each other when the movable blade 14b moves backward, so that the shear force from the movable blade 14b is applied to the paper 2 when the movable blade 14b moves backward. It will not be added. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the edge of the sheet 2 from being damaged and turned by the shearing force from the movable blade 14b.

As described above, a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment.
Various design changes can be made. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the cutting unit 14 in which the paper 2 is cut by the interaction with the fixed blade 14a by reciprocating the movable blade 14b having a length larger than the width of the paper 2 up and down. However, the present invention can be applied to other cutting units as long as the movable blade reciprocates. For example, the present invention can be applied to a cutting unit of a type in which a disk-shaped movable blade cuts a sheet while rolling on the sheet, and the cutting unit does not necessarily have to have a fixed blade.

In the above-described embodiment, both the paper upstream and the downstream of the movable blade are conveyed in the respective directions after the paper is cut. It can be obtained by carrying. However, as described above, more suitable effects can be obtained by transporting the paper on the upstream side together.

In the above-described embodiment, the paper upstream of the moving blade is transported upstream and then transported downstream to return to the original position. If a margin is formed on the paper by the amount, it is necessary to stop the paper transport to the upstream side and restart printing immediately without having to transport the paper downstream to return the paper to its original position. Is possible.

In the above embodiment, the bottom dead center sensor detects that the movable blade has reached the bottom dead center.
It is not always necessary to detect the end position of the forward movement such as the bottom dead center, but it is sufficient to detect that the movable blade has moved forward to a position sufficient to cut the sheet.

In the above-described embodiment, the operation of the movable blade is either of a structure in which the forward movement to the backward movement is performed continuously or a structure in which the moving blade is intermittently performed such as the forward movement to the stop movement. It may be.

In the above-described embodiment, the fixed blade has an upper surface formed as an inclined surface inclined downward from the downstream side toward the upstream side, and the movable blade has a lower surface directed from the upstream side to the downstream side. When the moving blade moves forward toward the fixed blade to cut the paper,
Although the downstream surface of the fixed blade and the upstream surface of the movable blade were arranged to face each other, the fixed blade has an inclined surface whose upper surface is inclined downward from the upstream side to the downstream side. The moving blade has a lower surface that is inclined upward from the downstream side toward the upstream side, and when the moving blade moves forward toward the fixed blade to cut the paper, The surface on the upstream side and the surface on the downstream side of the movable blade may be arranged so as to face each other.

In this case, the same effect as in the above-described embodiment can be obtained by conveying at least the sheet on the upstream side after cutting the sheet. However, it is the same as in the above-described embodiment that a more suitable effect can be obtained by transporting the sheets on the downstream side together. Depending on the arrangement of the movable blade and the fixed blade, there may be a case where at least the sheet on the upstream side may be conveyed, and a case where at least the sheet on the downstream side is conveyed.

The ink jet printer of the present invention can be used by connecting it to a computer or the like, or can be used by being incorporated in a copying machine, a facsimile or the like. Further, as a print medium, a thin plastic or the like can be used other than the paper.

[0042]

As described above, claim 1 or claim 3
According to this method, since the movable blade and the movable blade drive unit for reciprocating the movable blade are provided, it is possible to automatically cut a long print medium inside. Further, since the amount of ink sprayed on the surface of the print medium to the moving blade is suppressed, it is possible to prevent the ink adhered to the moving blade from being transferred to the next print medium to be cut as much as possible. . further,
It is possible to prevent the end portion of the print medium from being damaged and turned up due to the application of the shearing force from the moving blade when the moving blade moves back.

According to the second or fourth aspect, the amount of ink sprayed on the surface of the print medium adhered to the moving blade is minimized, so that the ink adhered to the moving blade is applied to the next print medium to be cut. Transfer can be more reliably prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an ink jet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating a detailed structure around a cutting unit in the ink jet printer shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink jet printer 2 Paper 2a Winding part 11 Housing 12 Dot impact printing unit 13 Ink jet printing unit 14 Cutting unit 14a Fixed blade 14b Moving blade 15 Discharge port 16a Transport roller pair 16b Transport roller pair 17 Drum 18 Support members 21 to 24 Motor 25 Controller

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A printing section for performing printing on a long printing medium by an inkjet method, a moving blade for cutting a printed printing medium while moving, and a reciprocating movement of the moving blade. A moving blade drive unit, moving blade detecting means for detecting that the moving blade has moved forward to a predetermined position sufficient to cut the print medium, and a downstream of the moving blade with respect to the print medium discharge direction. A first transport unit for transporting a print medium, and a downstream side of the movable blade when the movable blade detection unit detects that the movable blade has moved forward to the predetermined position. Control means for controlling the first transport unit and the movable blade drive unit such that the return movement of the movable blade is started after the start of transport of the print medium to the downstream side in Ink-jet type Printer. 2. A printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second transport unit upstream of the movable blade with respect to a print medium discharge direction and configured to transport the print medium independently of the first transport unit. The control unit is configured to, when the moving blade detection unit detects that the moving blade has moved forward to the predetermined position, move the printing medium upstream and downstream from the moving blade to the upstream side and the downstream side. And controlling the first transport unit, the second transport unit, and the movable blade drive unit such that the return movement of the movable blade is started after each start of the transport. 2. The ink jet printer according to 1. 3. A printing section for performing printing on a long printing medium by an ink jet method, a moving blade for cutting a printed printing medium while moving, and a reciprocating movement of the moving blade. A moving blade drive unit, moving blade detecting means for detecting that the moving blade has moved forward to a predetermined position sufficient to cut the print medium, and upstream of the movable blade with respect to the print medium discharge direction. A first transport unit for transporting a print medium, the transport blade being upstream from the movable blade when the movable blade detection unit detects that the movable blade has moved forward to the predetermined position. Control means for controlling the first transport section and the movable blade drive section so that the return movement of the movable blade is started after the start of transport of the print medium to the upstream side in Ink-jet type Printer. 4. A printing apparatus further comprising a second transport unit downstream of the movable blade with respect to a print medium discharge direction and configured to transport the print medium independently of the first transport unit. The control unit is configured to, when the moving blade detection unit detects that the moving blade has moved forward to the predetermined position, move the printing medium upstream and downstream from the moving blade to the upstream side and the downstream side. And controlling the first transport unit, the second transport unit, and the movable blade drive unit such that the return movement of the movable blade is started after each start of the transport. 4. The ink jet printer according to 3.