JP2005103814A - Printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing device from which a paper can be easily pulled out even when the paper gets jammed. <P>SOLUTION: In the printer having an automatic gap adjusting mechanism to automatically adjust a platen gap in accordance with the kind of a paper selected, a CPU judges whether a jam has occurred during printing (Step S100). When the jam has occurred, the CPU judges whether the paper is a cut sheet or not (Step S101). When the paper is a cut sheet, the CPU judges whether the cut sheet is detected or not by a second sensor (Step S102). At that time, when the paper is detected by the second sensor, the CPU opens a platen gap between the printing head and the platen (Step S103). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, and more particularly, to a printing apparatus suitable for being applied to a printer having a mechanism for automatically adjusting a clearance (so-called platen gap) between a print head and a platen.

  Conventionally, for example, an inkjet printer is known as one of printing apparatuses. In such a printer, when a jam (paper jam) occurs, generally pull out the paper gently, or operate the release lever provided on the printer body, and between the print head and the platen (more precisely, the printing surface) By adjusting the platen gap, the paper is pulled out so that the print surface does not wrinkle.

On the other hand, in recent years, a printer having a mechanism for automatically adjusting the platen gap (hereinafter referred to as “automatic gap adjusting mechanism”) has also been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1). This type of printer can automatically adjust the platen gap in accordance with the type of paper (specifically, paper thickness) such as plain paper or photo paper selected by the user. As a result, the ink droplet formation position is optimized for each type of paper with different paper thickness, and the print quality is ensured.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-32019

  By the way, in the printer having the automatic gap adjusting mechanism as described above, the value of the platen gap is managed to be an extremely small value in order to improve the printing quality. For this reason, when a jam occurs, the paper bites between the print head and the platen, and there is a problem that the paper cannot be easily pulled out from the printer. In this case, if the paper is pulled out from the printer with excessive force, the print surface may be wrinkled or the paper may be torn while a part of the paper remains in the printer.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus capable of easily pulling out paper even when a jam occurs.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a gap between a print head and a guide member that is provided opposite to the print head and guides a fed print medium along a transport direction is provided. In a printing apparatus including an automatic gap adjustment mechanism that automatically adjusts according to the type of print medium, when a jam occurs during printing of the print medium, the automatic gap adjustment mechanism determines whether or not the print medium has a jam. The automatic gap adjustment mechanism moves the print head relative to the guide member based on a determination result by the determination unit. The determination unit includes a determination unit that determines whether to open the adjusted gap. The gist is to open the gap.

  According to this, in a printing apparatus having an automatic gap adjustment mechanism, when a jam occurs during printing of a print medium, the automatic gap adjustment mechanism is controlled according to the type of the print medium, and the print head is used as a guide member. The gap between the print head and the guide member is opened by the relative movement. Therefore, in a printing apparatus having an automatic gap adjustment mechanism, even when a jam occurs during printing, the print medium can be easily pulled out without causing wrinkles on the print surface of the jammed print medium. Is possible.

  In addition, according to the present invention, the gap between the print head and the guide member that is provided facing the print head and guides the fed print medium along the transport direction can be set as the type of the print medium. In a printing apparatus provided with an automatic gap adjustment mechanism that automatically adjusts according to the above, a plurality of detection means provided along the transport direction of the print medium for detecting the print medium, and a jam during printing of the print medium Determining means for determining whether or not to open the gap adjusted by the automatic gap adjustment mechanism according to a conveyance position at which the print medium is detected in the conveyance direction when generated, The automatic gap adjusting mechanism is characterized in that the gap is opened by moving the print head relative to the guide member based on the determination result by the determining means. .

  According to this, in a printing apparatus having an automatic gap adjustment mechanism, when a jam occurs during printing of the print medium, the automatic gap adjustment mechanism is controlled according to the transport position where the print medium is detected, and the print head Is moved relative to the guide member to open a gap between the print head and the guide member. Therefore, in a printing apparatus having an automatic gap adjustment mechanism, even when a jam occurs during printing, the print medium can be easily pulled out without causing wrinkles on the print surface of the jammed print medium. Is possible.

  In the printing apparatus according to the present invention, when a jam occurs during the printing, the determination unit determines whether to open the gap according to the type of the print medium that has caused the jam. The gist.

According to this, the gap between the print head and the guide member is opened according to the type of the print medium that is jammed during printing.
Further, in the printing apparatus according to the present invention, when the determination unit determines that the print medium that is jammed during the printing is a cut sheet, the determination unit determines whether the cut sheet is detected according to a transport position where the cut sheet is detected. The gist is to determine whether or not to open the gap.

  According to this, when the print medium jammed during printing is a cut sheet, the transfer position can be pulled out relatively easily according to the transfer position where the cut sheet is detected. The gap is not opened if the position can be removed, and conversely, if the position is difficult to pull out, the gap is opened.

  In the printing apparatus according to the present invention, when the determination unit determines that the jammed print medium is a long sheet, the determination unit does not depend on a transport position where the long sheet is detected. The gist is to open the gap.

  According to this, when the print medium jammed during printing is a long sheet, the gap is opened regardless of the transport position where the long sheet is detected. As a result, even when the long paper is jammed, the long paper can be easily pulled out without causing wrinkles or the like on the printing surface.

  In the printing apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the plurality of detection units may include a first detection unit provided in a carriage that moves the print head in the main scanning direction, and an upstream of the first detection unit in the transport direction. Second detection means provided on the side, wherein the determination means determines whether or not the print medium is printing based on the detection result of the print medium by the first detection means, When a jam occurs during the printing, the gist is to determine whether or not to open the gap according to a detection result of the printing medium by the second detection unit.

  According to this, the print medium that has jammed during the printing is detected by the first detection unit and the second detection unit, and as a result, at which conveyance position the jam occurred in the conveyance direction. To be judged. The determining means determines that printing is being executed when the first detecting means detects the print medium. If a jam occurs during printing, the determining means determines that the print medium is being printed by the second detecting means. Whether or not to open the gap is determined according to the detection result. As a result, based on the detection result of the second detection means, the gap is opened according to the transport position of the jammed print medium, so that the print medium can be easily pulled out.

  Further, the gist of the printing apparatus according to the present invention is that the judging means opens the gap when a jammed print medium is detected by the second detecting means.

  According to this, when a jam occurs at the initial or middle stage of printing, it is determined that it is difficult to pull out the print medium, and the gap is opened, so that the print medium can be easily pulled out. Can be performed.

  In the printing apparatus according to the present invention, the determination means does not open the gap when a print medium jammed during the printing is not detected by the second detection means.

  According to this, when a jam occurs at the final stage of printing, it is determined that the printing medium can be pulled out relatively easily and the gap is not opened. The gap is maintained.

Hereinafter, an embodiment embodying the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a printing apparatus according to the present embodiment. This printing apparatus is an inkjet printer 1 capable of outputting a color image, and performs printing based on print data transmitted from a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as “PC”) 2 as a host computer. Note that the printer 1 and the PC 2 are connected by, for example, a USB cable 3 in the present embodiment.

  A paper supply device 5 is provided on the back side of the main body 4 of the printer 1, and a print medium printable by the printer 1 is fed from the paper supply device 5 into the main body 4. In the present embodiment, a cut sheet as a cut sheet set in the sheet feeder 5a or a roll sheet as a long sheet set in the roll paper support 5b is fed into the main body 4. (In the following, a print medium such as cut paper or roll paper is simply referred to as “paper”). Below the cover 6 provided at the center of the main body 4 is provided a printer section (not shown in FIG. 1) which will be described later, and paper (here cut paper CP) printed by the operation of the printer section is the main body. 4 is discharged from a sheet discharge port 7 provided at the lower front side.

Next, a schematic configuration of the printer 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 2, the printer 1 includes a printer unit 11 that performs printing on a sheet (here, cut sheet CP), and a control circuit 12 that controls the printer unit 11. The control circuit 12 includes a CPU 13, a ROM 14, a RAM 15, an EEPROM 16, and an interface unit (hereinafter referred to as “I / F unit”) 17, which are connected to each other via an internal bus 18. The PC 2 is connected to the I / F unit 17 via the USB cable 3. The CPU 13 controls the printer unit 11 according to programs and data stored in the ROM 14 and the EEPROM 16 while using the RAM 15. Specifically, printing is performed by driving the printer unit 11 based on print data input from the PC 2 via the I / F unit 17.

  The printer unit 11 includes a carriage 21 on which a black ink cartridge and a color ink cartridge (not shown) are mounted, and a print head 22 is attached to the carriage 21. The print head 22 is disposed opposite to the platen 23 as a guide member for guiding the paper supplied from the paper supply device 5 along the conveyance direction, and is a distance between the platen 23 and the print head 22. The platen gap is managed at a predetermined value based on a control command from the PC 2 so that the print head 22 and the paper have an appropriate distance.

  The carriage 21 is fixed to an endless driving belt 26 that is stretched around a pulley 24 and driven by a carriage motor 25, and is slidably supported on a sliding shaft 27. When the carriage motor 25 is driven, the carriage 21 is reciprocated along the sliding shaft 27 in the main scanning direction via the driving belt 26. The print head 22 has a plurality of nozzle holes (not shown) for ejecting ink droplets. In the present embodiment, the ink droplets ejected from the nozzle holes are of three types with large, medium, and small dot diameters. is there. When the carriage 21 is reciprocated, ink droplets are ejected from the nozzle holes at a predetermined timing, whereby bidirectional printing is performed on the paper (cut paper CP).

  The sliding shaft 27 can be moved in the vertical direction by a sliding shaft motor 28. That is, the vertical movement of the sliding shaft 27 causes the carriage 21 to move relative to the platen 23 so that the platen gap between the lower surface of the print head 22 and the platen 23 is adjusted. It has become.

  As shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C, the printer unit 11 is disposed on the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the sheet (here, the cut sheet CP) with respect to the platen 23, and the supplied sheet is placed on the platen 23. A conveying roller 31 for conveying and a driven roller 32 disposed on the upper side of the sheet so as to face the conveying roller 31 are provided. The conveyance roller 31 is rotationally controlled by the rotational driving force of the paper feed motor 33 (see FIG. 2), and the paper is conveyed in the conveyance direction by the rotation of the conveyance roller 31. The driven roller 32 is driven to rotate when the sheet is conveyed by the rotation of the conveying roller 31. In addition, the printer unit 11 is disposed downstream of the platen 23 in the sheet conveyance direction, and discharges a sheet 34 that conveys and discharges the sheet that is removed from the conveyance roller 31, and the discharge roller 34. And a driven roller 35 disposed on the upper side of the sheet. The paper discharge roller 34 is rotationally controlled by the rotational driving force of the paper feed motor 33 (see FIG. 2), and the paper is transported in the transport direction by the rotation of the paper discharge roller 34. The driven roller 35 is driven to rotate when the paper is discharged by the rotation of the paper discharge roller 34.

  Further, the printer unit 11 includes a reflection type optical sensor (hereinafter referred to as “first sensor”) 36 provided on the carriage 21 and functioning as a first detection unit, and a sheet with respect to the first sensor 36. And a reflection type optical sensor (hereinafter referred to as “second sensor”) 37 that functions as a second detection means. More specifically, each of the first sensor 36 and the second sensor 37 has a light emitting element made of a light emitting diode and a light receiving element made of, for example, a phototransistor, and light emitted from the light emitting element (incident light). ) Based on the reflected light received by the light receiving element, the presence or absence of the conveyed paper is detected.

  In the present embodiment, when a sheet is detected by the first sensor 36, it is determined that printing based on the movement of the print head 22 is being performed on the sheet (during execution). When the second sensor 37 detects the sheet, it is determined that the sheet supplied from the sheet supply device 5 (FIG. 1) has been correctly fed (that is, the second sensor 37 detects a feeding error). Is supposed to be).

Next, a detailed functional configuration of the printer 1 will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the same components as those in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and a detailed description thereof is partially omitted.
The control circuit 12 of the printer 1 includes a CPU 13 that comprehensively controls the operation of the printer 1, a ROM 14, an EEPROM 16, an I / F unit 17, and a buffer memory 41 that receives control signals and data output from the PC 2. And an image buffer 42 for storing print data. The buffer memory 41 and the image buffer 42 are configured using the storage area of the RAM 15 (FIG. 2) described above. The control circuit 12 further includes a carriage motor drive circuit 43 that drives the carriage motor 25, a paper feed motor drive circuit 44 that drives the paper feed motor 33, and a slide shaft drive circuit 45 that drives the slide shaft motor 28. A sensor control circuit 46 that controls the first and second sensors 36 and 37 and a print head drive circuit 47 that drives the print head 22 are connected to the CPU 13. The sensor control circuit 46 also includes a measurement unit 46a for measuring the output values of the first and second sensors 36 and 37 (values obtained by converting the received reflected light into electric signals). In the present embodiment, automatic gap adjustment for automatically adjusting the platen gap between the print head 22 and the platen 23 by the sliding shaft drive circuit 45, the sliding shaft motor 28, and the sliding shaft 27 (FIG. 2). The mechanism is configured.

  The printer 1 includes a print head 22 according to print control data necessary for execution of printing, print data of a plurality of color components, and the type of paper (specifically, the thickness of the paper) selected by the user. A control signal (hereinafter referred to as “gap control signal”) for instructing the value of the platen gap between the platen 23 and the platen 23 is supplied from the PC 2. At this time, the value of the platen gap to be instructed by the PC 2 to the printer 1 is determined by a printer driver having a function as the platen gap determining unit 50.

  Print data, print control data, and gap control signals of a plurality of color components transferred from the PC 2 are temporarily stored in the buffer memory 41, and the print data received by the buffer memory 41 is stored in the image buffer 42. Is done.

  The CPU 13 reads necessary print control data from the buffer memory 41, and outputs control signals to the carriage motor drive circuit 43, the paper feed motor drive circuit 44, and the print head drive circuit 47 based on the read print control data. Accordingly, the carriage motor drive circuit 43 and the paper feed motor drive circuit 44 drive the carriage motor 25 and the paper feed motor 33 in accordance with the control signal from the CPU 13. The print head drive circuit 47 reads out the print data of each color from the image buffer 42 in accordance with a control signal from the CPU 13 and drives the print head 22 in accordance with them. At this time, the print head drive circuit 47 is guided to the platen 23 based on the value measured by the measurement unit 46 a of the sensor control circuit 46 based on the detection result of the paper detected by the first sensor 36. Ink droplets are ejected onto the paper.

  Further, the CPU 13 reads a gap control signal for setting the platen gap from the buffer memory 41 and outputs a control signal to the sliding shaft drive circuit 45 based on the read signal. More specifically, the EEPROM 16 stores in advance a platen gap value to be set according to the selected paper type. The CPU 13 reads the necessary platen gap value from the EEPROM 16 based on the gap control signal, and controls the sliding shaft drive circuit 45 to adjust the distance between the print head 22 and the platen 23 to be the value. Is output. Thereby, the sliding shaft drive circuit 45 drives the sliding shaft motor 28 in accordance with the control signal from the CPU 13, and the sliding shaft 27 (FIG. 2) moves up and down by the rotational driving force of the sliding shaft motor 28. As the carriage 21 moves relative to the platen 23, the platen gap is adjusted. Accordingly, the printer 1 can automatically adjust the platen gap based on the gap control signal output from the PC 2 in accordance with the selected paper type.

Next, a paper conveyance mode when a jam (paper jam) occurs in the printer 1 will be described again with reference to FIG.
FIG. 4A shows a state in which the sheet (here, the cut sheet CP) is detected only by the second sensor 37. In this state, that is, when a jam occurs during paper feeding, since the paper has not entered the platen gap between the print head 22 and the platen 23, the paper is gently pulled out from the back of the printer 1 (paper feeding port). Thus, the paper can be pulled out relatively easily without causing wrinkles or the like on the printing surface.

  FIG. 4B shows a state in which the sheet (cut sheet CP) is detected by the first sensor 36 and the second sensor 37. When a jam occurs during printing in this state, that is, in a state where paper is detected by the first and second sensors 36 and 37, the progress of printing is in the initial or middle stage, and the print head 22 and Since the paper has entered the platen gap between the platens 23, it becomes extremely difficult to pull out the paper from the printer 1. That is, at this time, the platen gap is automatically adjusted to a value corresponding to the thickness of the sheet (cut sheet CP) by the automatic gap adjusting mechanism, and the value is managed to be an extremely small value. Therefore, in this case, it is extremely difficult to pull out the paper because most of the paper has to be pulled out with the paper biting into the platen gap.

  FIG. 4C shows a state where the sheet (cut sheet CP) is detected only by the first sensor. When a jam occurs during printing in this state, that is, in a state where the sheet is detected only by the first sensor 36, the progress of printing is in the final stage. At this time, as in the case of FIG. 4B described above, the paper has entered the platen gap, but since the amount of paper drawing is small, the paper is gently pulled out from the front of the printer 1 (the paper discharge port 7). Thus, the paper can be pulled out relatively easily without causing wrinkles or the like on the printing surface.

Next, the opening control of the platen gap in the automatic gap adjustment mechanism of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
Here, the opening of the platen gap means that the platen gap that is automatically adjusted to a predetermined value according to the type of paper is set to a value that can easily be pulled out of the platen 23. This is an operation for moving the carriage 21 upward. In this embodiment, the platen gap opening control is performed in a state in which the sheet is detected by at least the first sensor 36, that is, during printing (shown in FIG. 4B or FIG. 4C described above). The determination of whether or not to open the platen gap by performing this control is realized by the CPU 13 functioning as a determination unit. A processing routine for the CPU 13 to perform this control is stored in the ROM 14 or the like.

FIG. 5 is a processing flowchart showing platen gap opening control.
In step S100, the CPU 13 determines whether or not a jam has occurred in the printer 1 (printer unit 11). If it is determined that a jam has occurred, the jammed sheet is a cut sheet. It is determined whether or not it is a cut sheet CP in the present embodiment (step S101). If the CPU 13 determines in step S100 that a jam has not occurred, the CPU 13 ends this routine without opening the platen gap.

  If the CPU 13 determines in step S101 that the jammed sheet is a cut sheet, the process proceeds to step S102. In step S <b> 102, the CPU 13 determines whether or not the cut sheet in which the jam has occurred is detected by the second sensor 37.

  At this time, when the CPU 13 determines that the cut sheet is detected by the second sensor 37, the CPU 13 proceeds to step S103 and opens the platen gap. That is, a jam occurs during printing of a cut sheet (at least in a state where the cut sheet is detected by the first sensor 36), and the cut sheet is detected by the second sensor 37 at that time ( That is, in the state shown in FIG. 4B, it is extremely difficult to pull out the cut sheet from the printer 1. Therefore, the CPU 13 controls the automatic gap adjustment mechanism so as to open the platen gap to a value at which paper can be easily pulled out.

  On the other hand, in step S102, when the CPU 13 determines that the cut sheet is not detected by the second sensor 37 (that is, the state shown in FIG. 4C), the CPU 13 pulls out the cut sheet from the printer 1. Therefore, the platen gap is not opened.

  In step S101 in this routine, if the CPU 13 determines that the jammed paper is not a cut sheet, that is, a long sheet (roll paper in the present embodiment), the step 13 The process proceeds to S103 and the platen gap is opened. That is, the CPU 13 automatically prints out the platen gap at all times regardless of the detection result of the long paper detected by the second sensor 37 when the jammed paper is long paper during printing. Control the gap adjustment mechanism. This is because long paper is not divided like paper sheets, and the long paper cannot be completely discharged when a jam occurs.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) In the printer 1 having an automatic gap adjustment mechanism that automatically adjusts the platen gap according to the type of the selected paper, the first sensor 36 provided in the carriage 21 and the first sensor 36 include On the other hand, a second sensor 37 provided on the upstream side in the sheet conveyance direction is provided. In this printer 1, when a jam occurs during printing and the sheet is detected by the second sensor 37, the carriage 21 is moved upward with respect to the platen 23 to open the platen gap. I made it. According to this, when a jam occurs in the initial and middle stages of printing when the paper is detected by the second sensor 37, the platen gap is opened, so that the paper can be easily removed without applying excessive force. Can be pulled out. Further, when the paper is pulled out, it is possible to prevent the paper from biting into the platen gap to cause wrinkles on the printing surface or to tear the paper. Further, it is possible to prevent the print head 22 from being damaged at this time.

  (2) In this embodiment, when a jam occurs during printing, if the sheet is not detected by the second sensor 37, the platen gap is not opened. According to this, when a jam occurs at the final stage of printing in which no paper is detected by the second sensor 37, it is determined that the paper can be pulled out relatively easily, and the platen gap is not opened. Can maintain platen gap, which is automatically adjusted.

  (3) In this embodiment, when the jammed sheet is a cut sheet, the platen gap is opened according to the detection result of the second sensor 37 (that is, the jam occurrence position), and the long sheet In the case of paper, the platen gap is always opened regardless of the detection result of the second sensor 37. According to this, even when the jammed paper is a long paper, it can be easily pulled out.

  (4) In the present embodiment, when a sheet is not detected by the first sensor 36, that is, when a jam occurs during sheet feeding, the sheet can be pulled out from the sheet feeding port of the printer 1. Therefore, the platen gap opening control is not performed (that is, the platen gap is not opened). Therefore, in this case, the automatically adjusted platen gap is maintained.

  (5) In the present embodiment, when a jam occurs during printing, the platen gap that is automatically adjusted is opened according to the type of paper and the detection result of the second sensor 37. This configuration can be made unnecessary. Accordingly, the configuration of the printer 1 can be simplified and inexpensive.

In the above-described embodiment, a modified example changed to the following aspect may be adopted.
(Modification 1) In the above-described embodiment, the printer 1 that automatically adjusts the platen gap based on the gap control signal from the PC 2 is embodied. However, a user interface capable of setting the paper type on the printer 1 side is provided. The printer may be embodied in a configuration in which the platen gap can be automatically adjusted by the printer alone even if the PC 2 is not connected. The configuration of the printer 1 is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and may be a so-called SPC multifunction device having a scanner function, a printer function, and a copy function.

  (Modification 2) In the above embodiment, the first and second sensors 36 and 37 are provided as the sensors for detecting the paper. However, the number of sensors is not limited to two, and is three or more. May be. In this case, it is preferable to provide a plurality of sensors upstream of the first sensor 36 provided on the carriage 21 in the paper transport direction. In this way, it becomes possible to finely control the opening of the platen gap according to the progress of printing.

  (Modification 3) In the above embodiment, when a jam occurs during printing, if it is long paper, it does not depend on the detection result of the second sensor 37 (that is, the jam occurrence position). The platen gap was always opened. In the case of long paper, the opening control may be performed using the detection result of the second sensor 37 as in the case of cut paper. That is, when the jammed paper is long paper, and the printable part remains on the long paper set in the printer 1, the detection result of the second sensor 37 is The paper is always detected. On the other hand, when a jam occurs, when there is almost no printable portion on the long paper set in the printer 1 (that is, when a jam occurs near the end of the long paper), the second sensor 37 is used. Due to this, the paper is not detected. Therefore, in this case, it is possible to expect the same effect as that of the cut sheet.

  (Modification 4) In the above embodiment, when a jam occurs during printing, if the sheet is not detected by the second sensor 37 (that is, the state shown in FIG. 4C), the platen gap is opened. I decided not to. Alternatively, the platen gap may be opened even in this state. That is, in this state, similarly to the case where a jam occurs in the state shown in FIG. 4B, there is a possibility that the sheet may be caught in the platen gap when the sheet is pulled out and the sheet cannot be easily pulled out. . Accordingly, even in this state, the platen gap may be opened so that the paper can be easily pulled out.

Next, the technical idea that can be grasped from the above embodiment will be added below.
(A) In the printing apparatus according to claim 6,
The second detection means is provided at a position where a paper feed error of the print medium can be detected,
The determination unit determines that a jam has occurred when a jam occurs when the print medium is detected only by the second detection unit, and does not open the gap. .

1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating an appearance of a printing apparatus (printer) according to an embodiment. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a printer. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed functional configuration of a printer. 4A and 4B are explanatory diagrams illustrating a sheet conveyance state, where FIG. 5A illustrates a state in which the sheet is detected only by the second sensor (during paper feeding), and FIG. 5B illustrates the sheet being the first sensor and the second sensor. (C) shows a state where the paper is detected only by the first sensor (printing). It is a process flowchart which shows opening control of a platen gap.

Explanation of symbols

  CP: sheet paper (cut sheet) as a printing medium, 1 ... printer as a printing apparatus, 27 ... sliding shaft constituting an automatic gap adjusting mechanism, 28 ... sliding shaft motor constituting an automatic gap adjusting mechanism, 45 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS ... Slide axis drive circuit which comprises automatic gap adjustment mechanism, 13 ... CPU as judgment means, 21 ... Carriage, 22 ... Print head, 23 ... Platen as guide device, 36 ... Reflective type as 1st detection means Optical sensor (first sensor), 37... Reflective optical sensor (second sensor) as second detection means.

Claims (8)

Automatic that automatically adjusts the gap between the print head and the guide member that is provided facing the print head and guides the fed print medium along the transport direction according to the type of the print medium. In a printing apparatus including a gap adjustment mechanism,
When a jam occurs during printing of the print medium, the apparatus includes a determination unit that determines whether to open the gap adjusted by the automatic gap adjustment mechanism according to the type of the print medium.
The automatic gap adjustment mechanism opens the gap by moving the print head relative to the guide member based on a determination result by the determination unit.
A printing apparatus characterized by that. Automatic that automatically adjusts the gap between the print head and the guide member that is provided facing the print head and guides the fed print medium along the transport direction according to the type of the print medium. In a printing apparatus including a gap adjustment mechanism,
A plurality of detection means provided along the transport direction of the print medium for detecting the print medium;
When a jam occurs during printing of the print medium, it is determined whether or not to open the gap adjusted by the automatic gap adjustment mechanism according to the conveyance position where the print medium is detected in the conveyance direction. And a judgment means for
The automatic gap adjustment mechanism opens the gap by moving the print head relative to the guide member based on a determination result by the determination unit.
A printing apparatus characterized by that. 3. The printing according to claim 2, wherein when the jam occurs during the printing, the determination unit determines whether or not to open the gap according to a type of the print medium that has caused the jam. apparatus. The determination means determines whether to open the gap according to a transport position where the cut sheet is detected when determining that the print medium jammed during the printing is a cut sheet. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing apparatus is a printing apparatus. The determination means opens the gap regardless of a transport position where the long paper is detected when it is determined that the print medium jammed during the printing is a long paper. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The plurality of detection means include
First detection means provided on a carriage for moving the print head in the main scanning direction;
Second detection means provided on the upstream side in the transport direction with respect to the first detection means;
Including at least
The determination means includes
Based on the detection result of the print medium by the first detection means, it is determined whether or not the print medium is being printed, and when a jam occurs during the printing, the print medium by the second detection means Determining whether to open the gap according to the detection result of
The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the printing apparatus is a printer. The printing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the determination unit opens the gap when a print medium that is jammed during the printing is detected by the second detection unit. The printing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the determination unit does not open the gap when a print medium that has jammed during the printing is not detected by the second detection unit.

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