JP2003291443A - Media arranging unit, recorder, control method of media arranging unit, control program and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress occurrence of miss print and paper jam by detecting the arranging state of media. <P>SOLUTION: A controller 41 controls a carrying motor and a drive wheel train section 44 and makes a decision whether media are in an arranged state or not under a state where the media are carried sequentially or reversely. When a decision is made that the media are in an arranged state based on an arrangement detection signal SL being delivered from an arrangement sensor 31 at the time of sequential feeding of media, the controller 41 controls the carrying motor and the drive wheel train section 44 to perform sequential feeding in order to abut the forward end of the media against an arranging shutter 33. Subsequently, the controller 41 drives a first carry roller 21 and a second carry roller 22 to perform reverse carriage of the media and determines that the media are arranged when a decision is made again that the media are arranged based on the arrangement detection signal SL delivered from the arrangement sensor 31. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a medium alignment device for aligning media such as sheets, a recording device for recording an image containing characters on the medium, a control method for the medium alignment device, a control program, and a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a recording apparatus for recording an image on a medium (recording medium) while a carriage having a recording head mounted thereon travels. Some of such recording apparatuses are provided with a medium aligning device that aligns a medium that is obliquely supplied to a conveying roller that conveys the medium.

For example, as a first conventional medium aligning device, there has been proposed a medium aligning device which is capable of advancing and retracting in a medium aligning path and in which an aligning shutter is arranged orthogonally to a medium conveying direction. According to this conventional medium aligning device, the medium is transported by the transport roller and the leading end of the medium is abutted against the aligning shutter. Then, when the transport roller is rotated by a specified amount after the leading edge of the medium hits the alignment shutter, the alignment is considered to be completed, and the medium is transported in the next printing process.

Further, in the medium aligning device shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-39322 or Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-9953 as the second conventional medium aligning device, the same as the first conventional medium aligning device. An aligning shutter is arranged at. Further, a plurality of sensors are installed in the vicinity of the alignment shutter along the longitudinal direction of the alignment shutter, and at the time of abutting the leading edge of the medium against the alignment shutter, at least two of these sensors detect the leading edge of the medium. If detected, it is configured to detect the completion of media alignment.

After that, in any of the above-described medium aligning devices, the aligning shutter is retracted from the transport path, and the aligned media are transported to the recording head position by the transport rollers.

[0006]

In the first conventional medium aligning apparatus described above, it is assumed that the alignment is completed when the conveying roller is rotated by the specified amount after the leading edge of the medium hits the aligning shutter. Even in an incompletely aligned state, the alignment may be regarded as completed, and the medium is supplied to the next printing process, which may cause a printing error. In particular, when the alignment state is bad, there is a problem that it causes a paper jam.

In the second conventional medium aligning device, the alignment state can be grasped to some extent, but the alignment cannot be detected with higher accuracy.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a medium alignment device, a recording device, and a medium alignment device which can detect the alignment state of the medium with higher accuracy and reduce the occurrence of printing errors and paper jams. It is to provide a control method, a control program, and a recording medium.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in a medium aligning device for aligning the medium by abutting the tip of the medium against an aligning member in a medium conveying path, the medium is aligned. The alignment detection unit that detects whether or not the state is imitated, a medium transport unit that performs forward transport and reverse transport of the medium in the transport path, and the medium transport unit that controls the medium transport unit. When the sheet is sequentially fed, the sheet is sequentially fed to the aligning member so as to abut the tip of the medium, and after the medium is in a state of being imitated, the sheet is fed backward and conveyed again. And a control determination unit that determines that the media are aligned when the alignment detection unit imitates that the media are aligned.

According to the above-mentioned structure, the control determination section controls the medium transporting section to cause the aligning member to perform forward feeding so as to abut the leading end of the medium during forward feeding of the medium, and it is assumed that the medium is aligned. After the state of being set, the medium is reverse-fed and conveyed, and it is determined that the medium is aligned when the state of the medium is aligned by the alignment detection unit again. To do.

In this case, the control determination section causes the medium to be reversely fed and conveyed again when the alignment detector detects that the medium is aligned during forward feeding of the medium. When the media is not in a state of being imitated by the alignment detection unit, the processes of the forward feed, the reverse feed, and the alignment detection for hitting the alignment member are predetermined. It may be repeated a number of times.

Further, the control discriminating unit abuts the leading end of the medium on the aligning member when the medium is in a state of being regarded as being aligned by the alignment detecting unit during the forward feeding of the medium. The medium transport unit may continue the progressive transport of the medium for a predetermined time sufficient.

Further, the control discriminating unit controls the medium conveying unit for a predetermined time when the medium is re-fed and conveyed, and when the alignment detecting unit is in a state of imitating that the medium is aligned again. The reverse transportation of the medium may be continued.

Furthermore, the alignment detecting section determines whether the medium is in alignment by the same alignment detecting sensor section during the forward feeding and the reverse feeding. Alternatively, it may be detected.

Further, the alignment detection unit detects whether or not the media are aligned by different alignment detection sensor units during the forward transport and the reverse transport. You may do it.

Further, the alignment detection sensor units are arranged at a predetermined distance from the surface of the medium in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the medium, and at a predetermined distance in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the medium. Alternatively, a plurality of medium presence / absence sensors for respectively detecting the presence / absence of the medium may be provided.

Furthermore, the state in which the medium is considered to be aligned means that at least two medium presence sensors among the plurality of medium presence sensors have the medium. Is detected within a predetermined time from the time when the presence of the medium is detected, or that at least two medium presence sensors of the plurality of medium presence sensors are depleted of the medium. May be detected within a predetermined time from the time when the absence of the medium is detected.

Further, the aligning member may be an aligning shutter provided so as to be movable back and forth in the transport path.

Further, in a recording apparatus in which a recording head mounted on a carriage records an image on a medium on a conveying path, the recording head is arranged on the upstream side of the recording head on the conveying path, and the medium is aligned. The alignment detection unit that detects whether or not the state is imitated, the medium transport unit that performs the forward transport and the reverse transport of the medium in the transport route, and the medium transport unit that transports the medium in the transport route of the medium. An alignment member that aligns the media by abutting the tips thereof and the medium transport unit are controlled to cause the alignment member to perform forward feeding so as to abut the tip of the medium during the forward feeding of the medium, and the media are aligned. After the state in which the medium is imitated, the medium is reversely fed and conveyed, and the state in which the medium is imitated again in the alignment detecting unit is changed. In the case where the medium is aligned, a medium determining unit having a control determining unit that determines that the medium is aligned; and, after the medium is aligned by the medium aligning unit, the medium is conveyed to the recording head side, and A recording unit for recording an image is provided.

According to the above arrangement, the control discriminating unit of the medium aligning unit controls the medium transporting unit to cause the aligning member to perform the forward transport so that the leading end of the medium is abutted, and the medium is considered to be aligned. After the state of being copied, the medium is reversely fed and conveyed, and when the state of being copied again by the alignment detection unit is set, the medium is aligned. Determine that there is.

Along with this, the recording section conveys the medium to the recording head side and records an image.

In this case, whether the alignment detecting section is in a state in which it is assumed that the media are aligned by the same alignment detecting sensor section during the forward feeding and the reverse feeding. Whether or not it may be detected.

Further, the alignment detection unit detects whether or not the media is aligned by different alignment detection sensor units during the forward transport and the reverse transport. You may do it.

Further, the alignment detection sensor portions are arranged at a predetermined distance from the surface of the medium in a direction perpendicular to each other, and at a predetermined distance from each other in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the medium. Alternatively, a plurality of medium presence / absence sensors for respectively detecting the presence / absence of the medium may be provided.

Furthermore, the state in which it is assumed that the mediums are aligned means that at least two medium presence sensors among the plurality of medium presence sensors have the medium. Is detected within a predetermined time from the time when the presence of the medium is detected, or that at least two medium presence sensors of the plurality of medium presence sensors are depleted of the medium. May be in any of the states detected within a predetermined time from the time when the absence of the medium is detected.

Further, in the method of controlling the medium aligning device for aligning the medium by abutting the tip of the medium against the aligning member in the medium transporting path, the tip of the medium is projected to the aligning member in the transporting path. A forward-feeding conveyance step of performing the forward-feeding conveyance of the medium, and a backward-feeding conveyance step of performing the backward-feeding conveyance of the medium after the medium is in a state of being regarded as aligned during the forward-feeding conveyance of the medium. A reverse feed alignment determination step of determining whether or not the medium is in a state of being imitated as being aligned in the reverse feed transport step, and the medium is aligned in the reverse feed alignment determination step. When it is determined that the medium is in the state of being imitated, a control determination process of determining that the media are aligned is provided.

In this case, the control determination process is
When the state in which the medium is imitated to be aligned during the forward feeding of the medium is performed, the medium is reversely fed and conveyed, and the state is not again imitated to be aligned. In this case, a series of processes of the first forward feed conveyance step, the alignment detection step, the forward feed alignment determination step, the second forward feed conveyance step, the reverse feed conveyance step, the reverse feed alignment determination step, and the control determination step are performed. You may make it repeat a predetermined number of times.

Further, the control determining step is performed for a predetermined time sufficient for the tip of the medium to hit the aligning member when the medium is in a state of being regarded as being aligned during forward feeding of the medium. In the meantime, the second progressive feeding process may be continued.

Further, in the control determining step, the reverse feeding of the medium is continued for a predetermined time when the medium is again regarded as being aligned during the backward feeding of the medium. You may

Furthermore, the state in which the medium is regarded as being aligned means that the medium is located at a position in the transport path that is separated from the medium by a predetermined distance in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the medium. Detecting the presence or absence, in a state where the presence of the medium at a plurality of locations is detected within a predetermined time, or in a state where the absence of the medium at the plurality of locations is detected within a predetermined time Good.

Further, the control program that causes the computer to function as a control device for controlling the medium aligning device that aligns the medium by abutting the tip of the medium against the aligning member in the medium transporting path is the transporting medium. In the path, the medium is fed forward so that the tip of the medium is abutted against the aligning member, and when the medium is in the state of being aligned when being fed forward, Reverse transport is performed, and it is determined whether or not the medium is regarded as being aligned during the reverse transport, and it is determined that the media are aligned during the reverse transport. When it is determined that the medium is copied, it is determined that the media are aligned.

The control program may be recorded in a computer-readable recording medium.

[0033]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic side sectional view of a main part of a dot impact printer which functions as a recording device having a medium alignment device according to the present invention. Further, FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of a main part of the dot impact printer.

The dot impact printer 10 records dots by hitting a large number of recording wires of the recording head 13 onto a sheet ST which is a medium via an ink ribbon (both not shown), and an image including characters is recorded. Is recorded on the sheet ST. Here, the sheet ST is, specifically,
In addition to cut sheets and films cut into a predetermined length, a plurality of copy sheets or passbooks are stacked.

The dot impact printer 10 is roughly classified into a printer body 11, a sheet aligning device 17, an upper case 50 and a lower case.
case) 51.

The printer body 11 of the printer 10 is roughly classified into a body frame 12 (see FIG. 2) and a recording head 1.
3, carriage 14, flat platen 15, sheet guide 1
6, a first transport roller 21, a second transport roller 22, a third transport roller 23, and a fourth transport roller 24. The first transport roller 21 and the second transport roller 22 are
It also constitutes a part of the sheet aligning device 17.

The body frame 12 is, as shown in FIG.
The sheet guide 16 and the sheet guide 18 are fixed.

The recording head 13 includes a large number of recording wires (not shown), and the ink ribbon is located in front of the recording wires in the protruding direction. The ink ribbon is folded and stored in a ribbon cartridge mounted on the carriage 14 or the body frame 12. Recording head 13
While the carriage 14 is traveling in the main scanning direction, the recording wire is projected to hit the ink ribbon,
The ink of the ink ribbon is attached to a sheet conveyed between the platen 15 and the recording head 13, and an image including characters is recorded on this sheet.

In the recording operation by the recording head 13, one line of recording is performed by the recording wire of the recording head 13 while the recording head 13 travels leftward or rightward in the main scanning direction. Each time it is performed, the first transport roller 21, the second transport roller 22, the third transport roller 23
Further, the fourth transport roller 24 transports the sheet ST for a predetermined length (for a normal space), and the above operations are repeated.

The carriage 14 is slidably inserted into the carriage shaft 19, carries the recording head 13 and has a pressing roller 14A for adjusting the platen gap. The carriage 14 is coupled to a timing belt (not shown) that reciprocates according to the rotation direction of a carriage drive motor (not shown). Therefore, the carriage 14
Is guided to the carriage shaft 19 via the timing belt according to the rotation direction of the carriage drive motor. Then, the carriage 14 travels (scans) in the main scanning direction that coincides with the axial direction of the carriage shaft 19 and the longitudinal direction of the platen 17.

Here, the pressing roller 14A is rotatably supported by the recording head 13, and when the carriage 14 travels in the main scanning direction, the surface of the flat platen 15 or the sheet S.
It contacts the surface of T and rolls. When the sheet ST is carried in between the recording head 13 and the flat platen 15, the pressing roller 14A presses the flat platen 15 via the sheet ST.

The flat platen 15 is formed in a planar shape,
The lower case 51 is elastically supported by a biasing spring (not shown) so as to be movable in a direction in which the recording head 13 is moved toward and away from the recording head 13. Also, the flat platen 15 is a lower case 5.
It is possible to engage with a stopper (not shown) formed in 1.
Unnecessary movement toward the recording head 13 side by the biasing spring is restricted.

That is, the flat platen 15 resists the urging force of the urging spring and moves in the thickness direction of the sheet ST in the recording head 1.
When the sheet ST having a different thickness is carried between the recording head 13 and the flat platen 15 by moving the recording head 13 in the direction away from the recording head 13 (downward in FIG. 1), the recording head 13 is irrespective of the sheet thickness. The platen gap between the sheet and the surface of the sheet ST is always kept constant. Similarly, when the thickness of the sheet ST changes in the middle like a passbook,
The recording head 13 and the sheet ST regardless of changes in the sheet thickness
The platen gap with the surface of the is always kept constant. In any case, the pressing roller 14
The sheet A is sandwiched between the flat platen 15 and the sheet A.

The sheet guide 16 is formed with a flat surface on the side which comes into contact with the sheet ST, and constitutes a sheet conveying surface as a medium conveying path for conveying the sheet ST.

The sheet aligning device 17 is roughly classified into a plurality of alignment detecting sensors 31 provided in the main scanning direction, a plurality of insertion detecting sensors 32 provided in the main scanning direction, an alignment shutter 33, a first conveying roller 21 and The second transport roller 22 is provided.

Each alignment detection sensor 31 functions as a medium presence / absence sensor that constitutes the alignment detection sensor section, and is composed of a pair of light emitting diodes and phototransistors. Then, depending on whether the detection light is blocked between the light emitting diode and the phototransistor, the sheet ST
The presence or absence of is detected. In this embodiment, the seat ST
The alignment detection sensor 3 detects that there is
It is assumed that the output of No. 1 is in the ON state (“Hi” level). By the way, when the sheet ST is supplied to the printer 10, the leading edge of the sheet is placed on the platen 15 and the first side.
It may be obliquely supplied to the transport roller 21, the second transport roller 22, the third transport roller 23, and the fourth transport roller 24. When the recording head 13 performs the recording operation on the sheet ST in the state where the sheet is obliquely supplied in this way, the image recorded on the sheet ST is skewed and desired recording cannot be performed. Becomes Each alignment detection sensor 31 has a sheet ST depending on whether the detection light is blocked between the light emitting diode and the phototransistor.
The presence or absence of the sheet ST will be detected.
Is obliquely supplied, from the timing when the output of any of the alignment detection sensors 31 arranged at the position corresponding to the size of the sheet ST is turned on,
The time until the last output of the alignment detection sensor 31 is turned on is longer than that in the case where the sheet ST is fed in a straight aligned state. Therefore the controller 4
1 (see FIG. 4) is
The time from the time when the output of any of the alignment detection sensors 31 arranged at the position corresponding to the size of the sheet ST is turned on to the timing when the output of the last alignment detection sensor 31 is turned on. By comparing with the reference time corresponding to the case of being able to imitate the aligned state in advance, it is determined that the sheet ST can be imitated as the aligned state. Similarly, when the sheet ST is in the non-aligned state during reverse feeding, the output of any one of the alignment detection sensors 31 arranged at the position corresponding to the size of the sheet ST is turned off. The time from the timing when the sheet ST is brought into the state to the timing when the output of the last alignment detection sensor 31 is brought into the OFF state is longer than that in the case where the sheet ST is fed in the straight aligned state. Therefore, if the controller 41 is performing the reverse feeding, the sheet ST
The time from the timing when the output of any of the alignment detection sensors 31 arranged at the position corresponding to the size is turned off to the timing when the output of the last alignment detection sensor 31 is turned off is set in advance. By comparing with the reference time corresponding to the case where the sheet ST can be imitated, it is determined that the sheet ST can be imitated.

Further, each of the insertion detection sensors 32 has a sheet S
They are arranged at a predetermined distance from the surface of T in the vertical direction (see FIG. 3) and at a predetermined distance from each other in the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the sheet ST (see FIG. 2). It is composed of a pair of light emitting diodes and a phototransistor for detecting the presence or absence of the sheet ST.

Then, it is detected whether or not the sheet ST is inserted in the optical path depending on whether or not the detection light is blocked between the light emitting diode and the phototransistor.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the alignment shutter 33 is located on the upstream side of the recording head 13 in the sheet conveying direction toward the recording head 13 (direction of arrow A), that is, as a pair of third conveying rollers. 23 and the fourth transport roller 24,
It is arranged between the first transport roller 21 and the second transport roller 22 which form a pair.

Further, the alignment shutter 33 has an arrow A
2 and in a direction (main scanning direction) orthogonal to the conveyance direction (sub-scanning direction) of the recording head 13 shown by the arrow B and the sheet by using the shutter drive motor 45 (see FIG. 4). The guide 16 is configured to be able to move forward and backward. In other words, the alignment shutter 33 has the shutter drive motor 45.
Using, the aligning teeth 33A of the aligning shutter 33 project and advance above the sheet guide 16. Alternatively, the aligning shutter 33 uses the shutter drive motor 45 so that the aligning teeth 33A of the aligning shutter 33 are retracted below the sheet guide 16 or flush with the sheet guide 16.

Further, the sheet guide 18 is the sheet guide 16
Is arranged above and guides the conveyance of the sheet ST together with the sheet guide 16.

Upper case 50 and lower case 51
Accommodates the printer body 11 having the sheet aligning device 17.

By the way, the flat platen 15 and the sheet guide 1
6, sheet guide 18, first transport roller 21, second transport roller 22, third transport roller 23 and fourth transport roller 2
4 functions as a sheet conveying mechanism section in cooperation with each other.

First transport roller 21 and second transport roller 2
2 are arranged in a pair so as to face each other with the sheet ST in between. Further, the first transport roller 21 and the second transport roller 22 are arranged on the front side of the printer body 11 with respect to the flat platen 15.

The third transport roller 23 and the fourth transport roller 24 are arranged in a pair so as to face each other with the sheet ST in between. Further, the third transport roller 23 and the fourth transport roller 24 are arranged on the rear side of the printer body 11 with respect to the flat platen 15.

Further, the upper portions of the first conveying roller 21, the third conveying roller 23 and the flat platen 15 are provided with a sheet guide 16
Is protruding above.

At least one of the pair of transport rollers, of the first transport roller 21 and the second transport roller 22, or the third transport roller 23 and the fourth transport roller 24, is configured as a drive roller. The other transport roller is configured as a driven roller or a drive roller that comes into contact with the drive roller and rotates.

In this case, the first transport roller 21 and the second transport roller 22 or the third transport roller 23 and the fourth transport roller 24 are each configured to transport the sheet ST in the same direction and at the same speed. .

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of the main parts of the control system of the dot matrix printer 10.

The control system of the dot matrix printer 10 is roughly provided with a controller 41, an operating section 42, a display section 43, a conveyance motor (PF motor) and a drive wheel train section 44. Further, the control system of the dot matrix printer 10 includes a plurality of alignment detection sensors 31 described above,
It is provided with the plurality of insertion detection sensors 32 described above and the shutter drive motor 45 described above.

The controller 41 substantially includes a microprocessor unit, and a ROM (not shown).
Alternatively, the entire dot matrix printer 10 is controlled based on a control program stored in advance in the EEPROM, and the alignment detection signals SL output from the alignment detection sensors 31 and the insertion detection sensors 32 are output.
Sheet S based on the insertion detection signal SI which is the output signal of
Performs T alignment control.

Under the control of the controller 41, the operation section 42 allows the user to perform various instruction operations and setting operations.

The display section 43 performs various displays including an error display under the control of the controller 41.

The transport motor (PF motor) and the drive train wheel unit 44 drive the first transport roller 21 and the second transport roller 22 under the control of the controller 41, and drive the sheet ST.
The carrying operation and the aligning operation will be performed.

The operation of the dot matrix printer 10 of this embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, the operation of aligning the sheets ST will be described in detail with reference to the processing flowchart of FIG.

The sheet ST is automatically or manually supplied from the front side of the printer body 11 as shown in FIG. 1 or 2.

In this state, the controller 41
The insertion detection signal SI from the insertion detection sensor 32 is monitored,
It is determined whether or not the sheet ST is inserted (step S
1).

If it is determined in step S1 that all the insertion detection signals SI are in the OFF state, the sheet ST has not been inserted yet, so the standby state is entered and the monitoring of the insertion detection signals SI is continued.

In the determination of step S1, the sheet ST
When any of the insertion detection sensors 3 is inserted,
When the optical path of the detection light 2 is blocked, the insertion detection signal SI of the corresponding insertion detection sensor 32 is turned on. As a result, the controller 41 sets the processing counter value NC to 0 (step S2). This processing counter value NC
Defines the number of times of the alignment processing of the inserted sheets ST, and is used for performing error processing when the alignment is not completed even after performing the alignment processing a predetermined number of times.

Therefore, the controller 41 determines whether the processing counter value NC is 2 or less (step S3). That is, in this embodiment, when the alignment process is not completed even after the alignment process is performed twice, the process is performed to interrupt the alignment process. In addition,
The number of times of this processing may actually be performed a plurality of times, and can be set arbitrarily.

In the determination of step S3, when the processing counter value NC exceeds 2, it means that the alignment process has not been successful. Therefore, the process proceeds to step S13, and the sheet ST is discharged ( In step S13), a message indicating that the alignment process (indicated as skew correction in the drawing) is incomplete is displayed on the display unit 43, and the process ends.

If it is determined in step S3 that the processing counter value NC is 2 or less, the drive of the carry motor and the drive train wheel portion 44 are started (step S4).

As a result, the pair of first conveying rollers 21
Then, the second transport roller 22 starts driving, and the sheet S
T is nipped between the first transport roller 21 and the second transport roller 22 and starts transport. Then, the sheet ST is conveyed in the direction of arrow A from the front side to the rear side of the printer body 11 (hereinafter, referred to as forward feeding).

The controller 41 drives the alignment shutter 33 via the shutter drive motor 45 in parallel with or before the conveyance of the sheet ST. As a result, the alignment teeth 33A of the alignment shutter 33 are projected and advanced above the sheet guide 16.

In the present embodiment, when the presence of the sheet ST is detected, the alignment detection signal SL which is the output of the alignment detection sensor 31 is in the ON state (“Hi” level). It is determined whether or not the alignment detection signal SL of the alignment detection sensor 31 is turned on (step S5).

In the determination in step S5, when the alignment detection signals SL of the plurality of alignment detection sensors 31 have not been turned on yet, the sheet ST which is the medium has not been considered to be aligned yet. The standby state is entered, and the process of step S5 is repeated.

When the alignment detection signals SL of the plurality of alignment detection sensors 31 are turned on in the determination in step S5, it means that at least the alignment state can be considered, so the controller 41 is concerned. When a predetermined time NE1 [sec] has elapsed after reaching the state, the driving of the carry motor and the drive train wheel portion 44 is stopped. That is, the driving of the first transport roller 21 and the second transport roller 22 is stopped. In this case, the predetermined time NE1 is set to be a time sufficient for the sheet ST conveyed by the first conveying roller 21 and the second conveying roller 22 to come into contact with the alignment teeth 33A of the alignment shutter 33.

Next, the controller 41 adds 1 to the processing counter value NC, that is, NC = NC + 1 (step S7).

Subsequently, the controller 41 stops the driving of the carry motor and the drive train wheel 44 for a predetermined time N.
When s [sec] has elapsed, the conveyance motor and the drive train wheel portion 44 are driven to convey the printer body 11 from the rear side to the front side in the direction of arrow B (hereinafter, reverse feed conveyance).

The controller 41 monitors the alignment detection signal SL, and detects a plurality of alignment detection signals SL in the ON state.
Of the above, the time difference Nt [msec] from the timing tS when the alignment detection signal SL that is turned off earliest is detected to the timing tE when the alignment detection signal SL that was on until the end is turned off. It is calculated by the following formula (step S9).

Nt = tE-tS After that, the controller 41 detects all the alignment detection signals SL.
After a lapse of a predetermined time NE2 [sec] from the timing when it is detected that is turned off, the drive of the carry motor and the drive train wheel portion 44 is stopped (step S10).

Then, the controller 41 compares the time difference Nt with a predetermined reference time difference NLMT, and determines whether or not Nt≤NLMT (step S11). In this case, the reference time difference NLMT has a value corresponding to the maximum time difference when the sheet ST can be regarded as being in the aligned state.

Therefore, in the determination of step S11,
When the time difference Nt exceeds the reference time difference NLMT (step S11; No), the process proceeds to step S3, and the sheet ST alignment operation is performed again or again until the process counter value NC = 3. Do (Step S3 ~
S11), and in the case of the present embodiment, if it is not determined that the sheets ST are aligned even after performing three alignment operations (step S3; No), the controller 41
As the sheet supply failure, the sheet ST is discharged (step S13), and the display section 43 displays an error message indicating that the sheet ST is not in the aligned state, that is, the alignment incomplete error message (step S14), and the process ends.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S11 that the time difference Nt is less than the reference time difference NLMT (step S11; Yes), the controller 41 determines the sheet S
Since it is determined that T is in the aligned state, the process is shifted to the next recording sequence as the completion of the alignment.

That is, in the recording sequence, the sheet ST is conveyed between the recording head 13 and the flat platen 15 in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction of the carriage 14 (detailed later).

The carriage 14 is slidably inserted in a carriage shaft 19 fixed to the body frame 12. Further, the carriage 14 carries the recording head 13.

Here, the carriage shaft 19 is arranged parallel to the extending direction of the flat platen 15 or the rotating shafts of the first transport roller 21, the second transport roller 22, the third transport roller 23 and the fourth transport roller 24. Therefore, the carriage 14 is moved (scanned) in the main scanning direction that coincides with the axial directions of the carriage shaft 19, the platen 15, the first transport roller 21, and the like.

The recording head 13 is provided with a large number of recording wires (not shown). While the recording head 13 is traveling in the main scanning direction by the carriage 14, the recording wires are projected and hit against an ink ribbon (not shown). The ink of the ribbon is attached to a sheet on the sheet guide 16 which is conveyed between the platen 15 and the recording head 13, and an image including characters is recorded on this sheet.

In the recording operation by the recording head 13, for example, one line of recording is performed by the recording wire of the recording head 13 while the carriage 14 is traveling leftward or rightward in the main scanning direction. Each time it is performed, the platen 15, the first transport roller 21, the second transport roller 22, the third transport roller 23, the fourth transport roller 24, the fifth transport roller 25, and the sixth transport roller 26 keep the sheet for a predetermined length (normally). It is carried out by transporting (for a space between lines) and repeating these operations.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the alignment state of the sheets ST is determined both during the forward feeding and backward feeding of the sheets ST. It is possible to detect the occurrence of misprinting and paper jam.

In the above description, the transmission type optical sensor is used as the alignment detecting sensor and the insertion detecting sensor, but various sensors such as a reflection type optical sensor can be used as long as the sensor can determine the presence or absence of the medium. It is possible to do so.

Further, in the above description, the same alignment detection sensor is used as the alignment detection sensor unit in the forward feed and the reverse feed, but different alignments are used in the forward feed and the reverse feed. It is also possible to use the detection sensor as the alignment detection sensor unit. For example, by arranging the alignment detection sensor used during reverse feeding in the main scanning direction on the back side in the forward feeding direction, the reverse feeding time can be shortened and a higher speed recording operation can be performed.

Further, in the above description, the case where the alignment shutter is used as the alignment member has been described.
It is not limited to this. The point is that it has a function of abutting and aligning the leading end of the sheet in the sheet conveying path. For example, when the flat platen is used, a part of the flat platen (for example, a side surface portion of the flat platen) can be used as the alignment member.

Furthermore, in the above description, the case where the dot impact printer is used as the recording device has been described, but the medium is conveyed even in another recording device such as an ink jet printer or a page printer, and the medium is aligned. The same can be applied to any recording device that needs to detect

Further, in the above description, the case where the controller stores in advance a control program for controlling the recording device or the medium aligning device in the ROM or the like has been described. However, these control programs are stored in an external device such as a hard disk. It is also possible to record on a recording device and start up, record these control programs on a removable recording medium such as an optical disk for installation, or to download and install via a network. . When downloading, it is possible to download each time it is executed. Further, a computer-readable recording medium such as a ROM can be configured to be replaceable.

[0098]

As described above, according to the present invention, after the medium is imitated as being aligned during the forward feeding, the backward feeding is performed to judge the aligned state of the medium, so that the medium is reliably aligned. It is possible to detect the state, and it is possible to reliably suppress the occurrence of misprinting and paper jam.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side sectional view of a dot matrix printer (recording device) of an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a dot matrix printer (recording device) of FIG.
FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part of the medium alignment device.

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of a main part of a control system of a dot matrix printer.

FIG. 5 is a processing flowchart of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Dot Impact Printer (Recording Device) 11 Printer Main Body 13 Recording Head 14 Carriage 15 Flat Platen 16 Sheet Guide (Conveyance Path) 17 Aligning Device (Media Aligning Device or Media Aligning Section) 21 First Conveying Roller (Media Conveying Section) 22 2 Conveyance Rollers (Medium Conveyance Section) 31 Alignment Detection Sensors (Alignment Detection Sensor Section, Medium Presence / Absence Sensor) 32 Insertion Detection Sensor 33 Alignment Shutter (Alignment Member) 41 Controller (Control Discrimination Section) 42 Operation Section 43 Display Section 44 Conveyance Motor And drive wheel train 45 shutter drive motor SL alignment detection signal ST sheet (medium)

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F-term (reference) 2C058 AB17 AC04 AC11 AD01 AE02                       AE09 AF20 AF41 GB05 GB23                       GB31                 2C059 AA13 AA26 AA47 AA55                 3F048 AA05 AB01 BA20 BB02 CA09                       CC03 DA07 DB02 DB06 DC13                       EB33                 3F049 AA02 DA12 EA17 EA27 LA07                       LB03                 3F102 AA11 AB01 BA02 BB02 CA04                       CB01 CB05 CB06 CB07 DA06                       EA03 FA03 FA07 FA08 FA09

Claims (21)

[Claims] 1. A medium aligning device for aligning the medium by abutting the tip of the medium against an aligning member in a medium transport path, and determining whether or not the medium is regarded as aligned. An alignment detection unit that detects whether or not, a medium transport unit that performs forward transport and reverse transport of the medium in the transport path, and a medium transport unit that controls the medium to the alignment member during the forward transport of the medium. After the medium is fed forward so as to abut the tip, and after the medium is in a state of being regarded as being aligned, the medium is reversely fed and conveyed, and the medium is aligned again in the alignment detector. A medium aligning device comprising: a control determining unit that determines that the medium is aligned when it is in a state of being imitated. 2. The medium aligning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control determination unit determines that the medium is aligned when the medium is aligned in the alignment detection unit during forward feeding of the medium. Reverse feed conveyance is performed, and when the alignment detection unit does not again imitate that the media are aligned, the forward feed conveyance for hitting the alignment member, the reverse feed conveyance, and the A medium alignment device, wherein the alignment detection process is repeated a predetermined number of times. 3. The medium aligning device according to claim 1, wherein the control determination unit is in a state in which the medium is aligned in the alignment detection unit when the medium is sequentially fed. The medium aligning device is configured to continue the forward transport of the medium to the medium transporting unit for a predetermined time sufficient for the leading edge of the medium to hit the alignment member in the case of the occurrence. 4. The medium aligning device according to claim 1, wherein the control determination unit imitates that the medium is aligned again in the alignment detection unit during reverse feeding of the medium. A medium aligning device, wherein the medium transporting unit continues the backward transport of the medium for a predetermined time when the state becomes a state. 5. The medium alignment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the alignment detection unit uses the same alignment detection sensor unit during the forward feeding and the reverse feeding. A medium aligning device for detecting whether or not the medium is in a state of being regarded as being aligned. 6. The medium alignment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the alignment detection unit uses different alignment detection sensor units for the forward feed and the reverse feed. To detect whether or not they are imitated,
A media aligning device characterized by the above. 7. The medium alignment device according to claim 5, wherein the alignment detection sensor unit is arranged at a predetermined distance from a surface of the medium in a vertical direction, and the medium is conveyed. 1. A medium aligning device, comprising a plurality of medium presence / absence sensors which are arranged to be separated from each other by a predetermined distance in a direction perpendicular to the direction, and which detect the presence or absence of the medium. 8. The medium aligning device according to claim 7, wherein the state in which the medium is regarded as being aligned means that at least two medium presence sensors among the plurality of medium presence sensors have the medium. Is detected within a predetermined time from the time when one of the medium presence sensors detects the presence of the medium, or at least two medium presence sensors out of the plurality of medium presence sensors have run out of the medium. The medium aligning device is characterized in that any one of the medium presence / absence sensors detects the absence of the medium within a predetermined time. 9. The medium aligning device according to claim 1, wherein the aligning member is an aligning shutter that can be moved forward and backward in the transport path. . 10. A recording apparatus in which a recording head mounted on a carriage records an image on a medium on a conveyance path, the recording head is arranged on the upstream side of the recording head on the conveyance path, and the medium is aligned. The alignment detection unit that detects whether or not the state is imitated, the medium transport unit that performs the forward transport and the reverse transport of the medium in the transport route, and the medium transport unit that transports the medium in the transport route of the medium. An alignment member that aligns the media by abutting the tips thereof and the medium transport unit are controlled to cause the alignment member to perform forward feeding so as to abut the tip of the medium during the forward feeding of the medium, and the media are aligned. After the state in which it is imitated, the medium is reversely fed and conveyed, and again in the alignment detector, it is imitated that the media are aligned. In this case, the medium discriminating unit that has a control discriminating unit that discriminates that the medium is aligned; and, after the medium is aligned by the medium aligning unit, the medium is conveyed to the recording head side, and the image A recording device comprising: a recording unit for recording the. 11. The recording apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the alignment detection unit determines that the media are aligned by the same alignment detection sensor unit during the forward transport and the reverse transport. A recording apparatus, which detects whether or not a copying state has been reached. 12. The recording apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the alignment detection unit imitates that the media are aligned by different alignment detection sensor units during the forward transport and the reverse transport. Detect whether or not
A recording device characterized by the above. 13. The recording apparatus according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the alignment detection sensor unit is arranged at a predetermined distance from a surface of the medium in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the medium, and the medium is conveyed in a transport direction. A recording apparatus comprising a plurality of medium presence / absence sensors which are arranged at a predetermined distance from each other in a direction perpendicular to the medium and which detect the presence or absence of the medium. 14. The recording apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the state in which the medium is regarded as being aligned means that at least two medium presence sensors among the plurality of medium presence sensors have the medium. Is detected within a predetermined time from the time when one of the medium presence / absence sensors detects the presence of the medium, or at least two medium presence / absence sensors of the plurality of medium presence / absence sensors are out of the medium. The recording apparatus is characterized in that any one of the medium presence / absence sensors detects within a predetermined time from the time when the absence of the medium is detected. 15. A method for controlling a medium aligning device for aligning the medium by abutting the tip of the medium against an aligning member in a medium conveying path, wherein the tip of the medium is caused to abut on the aligning member in the conveying path. In order to achieve this, a forward-feeding conveyance step of performing the forward-feeding conveyance of the medium, and a backward-feeding conveyance step of performing the backward-feeding conveyance of the medium after the medium is in the state of being regarded as aligned during the forward-feeding conveyance of the medium A reverse feed alignment determination step of determining whether or not the medium is in a state of being imitated as being aligned in the reverse feed transport step, and the medium is aligned in the reverse feed alignment determination step. A control method of a medium aligning device, comprising: a control determining step of determining that the medium is aligned when it is determined that the medium is in a state of being imitated. 16. The method for controlling a medium aligning apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the control determining step reverses the medium when the medium is in the state of being aligned during forward feeding of the medium. When the medium is fed and conveyed, and when the medium is not in a state of being imitated again, the forward feeding process, the backward feeding process, the backward feeding alignment determining process, and the control determining process are performed. A method for controlling a medium aligning device, characterized in that a series of processes is repeated a predetermined number of times. 17. The method of controlling a medium aligning apparatus according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the control determining step is in a state in which it is imitated that the medium is aligned during forward feeding of the medium. In this case, the control method of the medium aligning device, characterized in that the second forward feeding process is continued for a predetermined time sufficient for the tip of the medium to hit the aligning member. 18. The method for controlling a medium aligning apparatus according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the control determining step is a state in which the medium is regarded as being aligned again when the medium is reversely conveyed. A method of controlling a medium aligning device, characterized in that the reverse feeding conveyance of the medium is continued for a predetermined time when the above condition occurs. 19. The method of controlling a medium aligning device according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the state in which the medium is imitated to be aligned is in the transport path and in the transport direction of the medium. The presence or absence of the medium is detected at positions separated from each other by a predetermined distance in the direction perpendicular to the above, and the presence of the medium is detected at a plurality of points within a predetermined time, or the medium is exhausted at the plurality of points. The method for controlling a medium aligning device is characterized in that any one of the states is detected within a predetermined time. 20. A control program that causes a computer to function as a control device for controlling a medium aligning device for aligning the medium by abutting the tip of the medium against an aligning member in a medium transport path. In the path, the aligning member is caused to perform forward feeding of the medium so as to abut the tip of the medium, and when the medium is in the state of being considered to be aligned during the forward feeding of the medium, Reverse transport is performed, and it is determined whether or not the medium is regarded as being aligned during the reverse transport, and it is determined that the media are aligned during the reverse transport. A control program for a medium aligning device, which determines that the medium is aligned when it is determined to be in a copied state. 21. A computer-readable recording medium on which the control program according to claim 20 is recorded.