JP2008119958A - Method and device for detecting position of disk-like recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a recorder which can shorten a recording time while enabling the recording in the exact position of CD with a simple configuration and control and low cost when making the recording in CD installed in a tray which is a means for supporting a material to be recorded. <P>SOLUTION: Two reflectors which are installed in the CD printing tray are arranged so as to be located at unsymmetrical positions against the center line of CD each other in order to prevent a media detection error on CD printing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording apparatus such as a printer or an image forming apparatus, and particularly detects the position of the recording medium and the printing start position on the recording apparatus when recording on a disk-shaped recording medium mounted on a tray. The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus.

  Conventionally, various recording materials have been proposed as recording materials recorded by a recording apparatus such as a printing apparatus or an image forming apparatus. Among them are small and thick disc-shaped recording media (CDs) such as CDs and DVDs. When recording on a CD with the current general-purpose recording device, using the cut sheet transport path causes problems such as poor transportability and scratches due to the high rigidity of the CD. To do. Therefore, when transporting a small and thick recording material such as a CD, a dedicated tray is used and transported through a path different from the transport path of the cut sheet.

  In recording on such a CD, the recording device must accurately grasp the position and orientation of the CD. Therefore, a plurality of position detection marks are attached to predetermined positions on the dedicated tray, and the marks are read by a sensor to detect the position / posture of the dedicated tray and estimate the position / posture of the CD. .

  The position detection mark is read by the sensor by scanning the sensor vertically and horizontally from above the position detection mark and detecting the position of the mark in a two-dimensional plane.

As the position detection mark, a member having high reflection performance is used so that the position detection mark can be distinguished from the non-position detection mark portion of the tray when reading the sensor. The position detection mark can be laid at any position, but in order to reduce the size of the tray in the width direction as much as possible, the position detection mark is often placed in the CD recording area in the direction perpendicular to the transport direction. The number of position detection marks to be installed is arbitrary as long as it is two or more, but generally three to four are generally provided.
JP 2004-42372 A

  As the number of position detection marks to be installed, two are sufficient to detect the position / posture on the two-dimensional plane. However, in practice, two or more position detection marks are generally provided.

  The reason is to avoid misalignment of the printing position due to erroneous detection of the CD edge portion. The edge of the CD has a mirror surface due to the characteristics of the product, and the reflectance is similar to that of the position detection mark. Therefore, when the mark is detected by the sensor, it is erroneously detected as the position detection mark. Sometimes.

  To avoid such a problem, adjust the laying position of the position detection mark so that the edge of the CD does not come on the motion trajectory scanned when the sensor detects the length and width of the position detection mark. Good. However, in that case, the tray becomes large, which causes problems such as a decrease in usability and interference with a sheet-sheet feeding mechanism during tray conveyance. Therefore, conventionally, three or more position detection marks are provided. For example, even if the position detection marks are arranged in parallel and the edge of the CD comes on the operation locus of the sensor, the positional relationship between the position detection marks A simple reflector that does not require a space is installed at a position where the CD edge does not come on the sensor's movement trajectory to distinguish it from the CD edge. Measures such as detection marks were taken.

  However, any of the above countermeasure methods requires the installation of three or more position detection marks, leading to cost increase due to the position detection mark installation and an increase in printing time during CD printing.

  The present invention has been made in view of such technical problems, and an object of the present invention is to have a simple configuration and control when recording on a CD mounted on a tray as a recording material support means. Another object of the present invention is to provide a recording apparatus capable of recording at a precise position on a CD at a low cost and reducing the recording time.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a conveying means for conveying a recording material, a recording means for recording on the recording material conveyed by the conveying means, and a tray on which the recording material can be mounted. And a tray position detecting means for detecting the detected means, wherein the two detected means include: a detecting means provided on the tray for detecting the position of the tray; and a tray position detecting means for detecting the detecting means. And arranged in a line substantially downstream of the recording area of the recording material in the tray conveying direction and substantially perpendicular to the tray conveying direction, and the positional relationship between the two is aligned with the center line of the recording material on the tray. On the other hand, it is arranged at an asymmetrical position shifted more than a detection error by the tray position detecting means.

  According to the above configuration, even if the edge of the CD is detected by mistake when detecting the position detection mark, the detected edge is determined by the distance between the two detection marks obtained at the time of detection. Can be discriminated, and a print position shift due to erroneous detection of the CD edge can be avoided. In addition, according to this configuration, it is possible to avoid the printing position shift by using the two position detection marks, so that it is possible to prevent an increase in cost due to the installation of a plurality of position detection marks and an increase in printing time during CD printing.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the internal mechanism of the recording apparatus of FIG. 1 as viewed from the right front, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the recording apparatus of FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the recording apparatus with the CD tray base of the recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied viewed from the left front, and FIG. 5 is a CD tray base of the recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 6 is a front view of the CD printing tray of the recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the CD center position estimation work of the recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 8 is a schematic plan view showing on a CD printing tray. FIG. 8 shows the distance between position detection marks and the distance between CD edges that can be erroneously detected in the CD printing tray of the recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. It is a figure. In FIG. 1, the recording apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a paper feeding unit 2, a paper feeding unit 3, a paper discharging unit 4, a carriage unit 5, and a CD printing tray paper feeding unit 6. The outline of each of these parts will be described in order below.

(A) Paper Feed Unit The paper feed unit 2 has a pressure plate 21 on which the sheet material P is stacked, a paper feed roller 25 that feeds the sheet material P, a separation roller 23 that separates the sheet material P, and the sheet material P at the stacking position. A return claw lever 22 and the like for returning are attached to the base 20. A paper feed tray 24 for holding the stacked sheet materials P is attached to the base or the exterior of the recording apparatus.

  In the series of sheet feeding operations, first, the separation roller 23 comes into contact with the sheet feeding roller 25 by driving the motor. Then, the return lever 22 is released, and the pressure plate 21 comes into contact with the paper feed roller 25. In this state, feeding of the sheet material P is started. The sheet material P is limited by a pre-stage separation unit (not shown) provided on the base 20, and only a predetermined number of the sheet material P is sent to the nip portion formed by the paper feed roller 25 and the separation roller 23. The fed sheet material P is separated at the nip portion, and only the uppermost sheet material is conveyed (feeded).

  When the sheet material P reaches a nip formed by a later-described conveying roller 36 and pinch roller 35, the pressure plate 21 is released by a pressure plate cam (not shown) and the separation roller 23 is released by a control cam (not shown). . The return lever 22 is returned to the loading position by the control cam. At this time, the remaining sheet material that has reached the nip portion between the sheet feeding roller 25 and the separation roller 23 can be returned to the stacking position.

(B) Paper Feed Unit A plurality of pinch rollers 35 that are driven to rotate are provided in contact with the conveyance roller 36 that constitutes the paper feed unit 3. The pinch roller 35 is held by a pinch roller holder 30 and is urged by a pinch roller spring 31 so that the pinch roller 35 is pressed against the conveying roller 36 to generate a conveying force for the sheet material P. Here, the pinch roller holder 30 has a rotation shaft attached to the chassis 11 and rotates around the rotation shaft. Further, a paper guide flapper 33 for guiding the sheet material P is disposed at the entrance of the sheet feeding unit 3 to which the sheet material P is conveyed. The paper guide flapper 33 engages with the transport roller 36 and can rotate around a sliding bearing, and is positioned by contacting the chassis 11. The pinch roller holder 30 is provided with a PE sensor 32 for detecting the leading edge and the trailing edge of the sheet material P. Further, the pinch roller holder 30 is in contact with a pinch roller raising / lowering cam 34. When the pinch roller raising / lowering motor (not shown) is driven, the raising / lowering cam 34 is rotated, and the pinch roller 35 is released from the conveying roller 36. The As a result, a space through which a later-described CD printing tray 69 passes is secured.

  In the above configuration, the sheet material P sent to the paper feeding unit 3 is guided by the pinch roller holder 30 and the paper guide flapper 33 and fed into the nip portion between the transport roller 36 and the pinch roller 35. At this time, the leading edge of the conveyed sheet material P is detected by the PE sensor 32, thereby obtaining the recording position (printing position, image forming position) of the sheet material P. The sheet material P is transported on a platen 45 (described later) by the roller pair 36 and 35 being rotated by a transport motor (not shown), and reaches the paper discharge unit.

(C) Paper Discharge Unit The paper discharge unit 4 includes two paper discharge rollers 40 and 41 on a platen 45, and a spur 42 that can be driven and rotated by contacting the paper discharge roller with a predetermined pressure. 43 is configured. The spur holder 43 is urged against the platen by a holder urging spring 44 and is moved up and down by a release arm 61 described later. Further, a gear train for transmitting the driving of the conveying roller 36 to the paper discharge rollers 40 and 41 is formed on the chassis 11. On the platen 45, ribs serving as a conveyance reference surface are formed. The rib is intended to manage a gap with a recording head (not shown) and to control the sheet material P to be struck.

  In the above configuration, the sheet material P sent to the paper discharge unit 4 is transported by the paper discharge rollers 40 and 41 driven to follow the transport roller 36, and is discharged after the recording operation.

(D) Carriage unit The carriage unit 5 includes a carriage 50 to which a recording head (not shown) is attached. The carriage 50 is guided and supported by a guide shaft 52 and a guide rail 111 installed in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the sheet material P so as to be reciprocable in the main scanning direction. The carriage 50 is driven via a timing belt 531 by a carriage motor 53 attached to the chassis 11. The timing belt 531 is stretched and supported by an idler pulley 532. Eccentric cams 521 are provided at both ends of the guide shaft 52, and the guide shaft 52 can be moved up and down by motor drive. As the guide shaft is raised and lowered, the carriage 50 is similarly raised and lowered, and an appropriate gap can be secured for the sheet materials P having different thicknesses.

  Further, a tray position detection sensor 51 composed of a reflection type optical sensor for detecting a position detection mark 694 provided on the CD printing tray 69 is attached to the carriage 50. The tray position detection sensor 51 can detect the position of the tray 69 by emitting light from the light emitting element and receiving the reflected light.

  In the above configuration, when an image is formed on the sheet material P, the sheet material P is conveyed to the position of the row to be recorded (the conveyance direction position of the sheet material P) by the roller pair (conveyance roller 36 and pinch roller 35). Then, the carriage 50 is moved to the image forming position (position perpendicular to the conveying direction of the sheet material P) by the carriage motor 53, and the recording head is opposed to the image forming position. Thereafter, the recording head ejects ink toward the sheet material P in response to a signal from the electrical unit, whereby image formation is performed.

(E) CD printing tray feeder
The CD printing tray paper feed unit 6 includes a CD tray base 60 rotatably attached to the exterior, a release arm 61 having a cam that is driven by the CD tray base 60 and moves the spur holder up and down, and a spur holder 43. It consists of a spur holder sensor 62 that detects the ascending / descending state. The CD tray base 60 includes a pinch roller 63, a roller spring (not shown), a tray pulling rib 66, and a guide roller 65. The CD printing tray 69 is discharged from the discharge rollers 40 and 41 by the spring pressure of the roller spring. Therefore, a sufficient conveying force can be obtained even when only the paper discharge rollers 40 and 41 are conveyed. The tray pulling rib 66 acts on the back surface of the CD printing tray 69, and when the CD printing tray 69 starts printing, the CD printing tray 69 will be described later with a tray pulling rib escape portion (not shown). ) Is configured to work effectively until it is reached. In the subsequent printing area, the guide roller 65 is configured to contact the CD printing tray 69. The guide roller 65 is provided in order to prevent the CD printing tray 69 from being bent by the pinch roller 63 during CD printing and image degradation caused by the bending. The CD tray base 60 is further provided with a rib preventing rib 64 for preventing the CD printing tray 69 from being inserted obliquely with respect to the CD tray base 60, and CD printing when the CD printing tray 69 is inserted. A discharge roller collision preventing rib (not shown) for preventing the front end of the tray 69 from colliding with the discharge roller 41 and a tray set mark 67 when the CD printing tray is mounted are provided.

  In the above configuration, when the CD tray base 60 is tilted forward, the release arm 61 follows the movement to lift the spur holder 43 upward, and passes the CD printing tray 69 between the platen 45 and the spur holder 43. A space is formed for this purpose. When the spur holder 43 is lifted upward, a part of the spur holder pushes the spur holder sensor 62 so that the opening of the CD tray base 60 can be detected.

  The CD printing tray 69 is made of a resin plate having a thickness of 3 mm. As shown in FIG. 6, the CD printing tray 69 includes a CD mounting portion 692, an operation portion 693 that an operator holds to insert and remove the tray, and two pieces. Position detection marks 694 (694a and 694b), a CD removal hole 695, an insertion position alignment mark 696, and a tray retracting rib escape portion (not shown) are provided. The front end of the CD printing tray 69 has a convex shape. This is to ensure that the transport roller 36 and the pinch roller 35 are engaged, and to prevent the front end portion from colliding with the paper guide flapper 33 when the CD printing tray 69 is pulled into the innermost position. It is. Further, at the front end of the CD printing tray 69, when the CD printing tray 69 is inserted up to the pinch roller holder 30, a tray rib for preventing the pinch roller from climbing up (not shown) so as not to easily run on the pinch roller holder 30. Is provided.

  The position detection mark 694 is provided with a member having high reflection performance in a 6 mm square. The position of the position detection mark 694 is configured to be downstream from the CD printing area with respect to the conveyance direction and within the CD printing area with respect to the carriage scanning direction. Further, the position detection mark 694 has a reading error of 3 mm, a margin of 3.75 mm, and a position detection mark width of 6 mm that can occur when the position detection mark and the edge of the CD are read by the sensor with respect to the center line of the CD. Are arranged at a position shifted by 15.75 mm in the carriage scanning direction (FIG. 8).

  The position detection marks 694a and 694b used to calculate the position / posture (rotation amount) of the tray are affixed with a double-sided tape from the back side of the CD printing tray 69 using a reflective plate having high reflection performance. .

  The CD printing tray 69 is provided with a cylindrical CD positioning portion 6921 for CD positioning, and a plurality of mold claws 6922 for fixing the CD, thereby positioning and backlashing when the CD is mounted. It is carried out. The operator attaches the CD by aligning the hole in the center of the CD with the CD attaching portion 692. When removing the CD, the operator can take out the CD by holding the outer edge of the CD using the CD removal hole 695. Further, the CD positioning portion 6921 is one step lower than the other surface of the tray 69. A media presence / absence detection mark 697 is provided on the lower surface. This media presence / absence detection mark 697 is configured by a hot stamp having a predetermined width, and is configured to determine that there is no media when this width is detected by a predetermined amount.

  Next, the recording operation will be described.

  First, the operator lowers the CD tray base 60 forward. At this time, the spur holder 43 is lifted upward by the release arm 61 driven by the CD tray base 60, and a space for the CD printing tray 69 to pass between the platen 34 and the spur holder 43 is secured. Further, at this time, the spur holder sensor 62 detects that the CD tray base 60 is opened.

  The operator mounts the CD on the CD mounting portion 692 of the CD printing tray 69 and holds the operating portion 693 until the insertion alignment mark 696 coincides with the tray set mark 67 of the CD tray base 60. 69 is inserted.

  In this state, when a recording signal (printing signal, image signal) is sent from the host, the recording operation is started. First, by driving a pinch roller lifting / lowering motor (not shown), the pinch roller lifting / lowering cam 34 is rotated, and the pinch roller 35 is released from the conveying roller 36 to secure a CD printing tray passage space in the paper feeding section.

  Next, the transport roller 36, the paper discharge roller 40, and the paper discharge roller 41 are reversed. Here, the conveying force of the tray 69 is generated by pressing the CD printing tray 69 against the discharge roller 40 and the discharge roller 41 with a predetermined pressure by the pinch roller 63 and the roller spring, so the discharge roller 40 and the discharge roller In response to the reverse rotation of 41, the tray 69 is conveyed into the recording apparatus.

  After the tray 69 is transported to a position where the front end of the tray 69 sufficiently passes through the nip portion of the paper feeding section (a nip composed of the transport roller 36 and the pinch roller 35), a pinch roller lift motor (not shown) And the pinch roller 35 is brought into contact with the tray. As a result, the tray 69 is sandwiched between the transport roller 36 and the pinch roller 35, and the transport force in the printing area is ensured. In the tray pulling operation, the tray pulling rib escape portion of the CD printing tray 69 becomes the tray pulling rib 66 of the CD tray base 60 at a position where the tip of the CD printing tray 69 exceeds the nip portion of the paper feeding portion. The rear surface of the tray comes into contact with the guide roller 65. In the subsequent printing area, the tray pulling rib does not act, and the CD printing tray is conveyed in contact with the guide roller 65.

  Next, the carriage 50 on which the recording head is mounted moves from the home position to the recording area (printing area) in order to detect the CD printing tray 69. At this time, the carriage lifting / lowering motor 54 operates to raise the guide shaft 52, and an optimum gap (inter-paper distance) can be formed between the recording head and the tray 69.

  Next, the position detection marks 694a and 694b of the tray 69 are detected by the tray position detection sensor 51 provided on the carriage to estimate the center position of the CD.

  The position detection mark is detected in the order shown in FIG. 7 in the order of 694a and 694b.

  First, in order to detect the position of 694a, the carriage 50 stops by aligning the tray position detection sensor 51 on the carriage with the position of the position detection mark 694a of the CD printing tray 69. Then, the tray 69 is conveyed to detect the upper edge position of the position detection mark 694a. The conveyance is continued as it is, and the lower edge of the mark 694a is detected (FIG. 7 (a)). Next, the tray 69 is returned so that the tray position detection sensor 51 as the tray position detection means on the carriage 50 comes to substantially the center of the position detection mark 694a of the tray 69 (FIG. 7B). Then, the carriage 50 is moved to the left and right to detect the right edge position and the left edge position of the position detection mark 694a as the detected means (FIG. 7C), and the center is a detection position 694a of the position detection mark 694a. 'And.

  Next, in order to detect the position detection mark 694b, the carriage 50 is moved to the left and right, the positions of the left end edge and the right end edge of the position detection mark 694b are detected (FIG. 7D), and the tray position sensor on the carriage 50 is detected. The carriage 50 is moved so that 51 comes to the center of the position detection mark 694b (FIG. 7 (e)). Next, the conveyance roller 36 is driven, the tray 69 is conveyed back and forth, the positions of the upper edge and lower edge of the position detection mark 694b are detected (FIG. 7 (f)), and the center of the position detection mark 694b is detected. The position is 694b ′.

  The center position 694a ', 695b' of the position detection marks 694a, 694b is obtained by performing the above position detection work, and if the length X connecting 694a ', 694b' shown in FIG. Assuming that detection marks 694a 'and 694b' have been detected, the center position of the CD is estimated from the relative positional relationship between the two position detection marks and the center position of the CD.

  If the length X connecting 694a 'and 694b' is equal to the CD edge length B, the position detection sensor determines that the edge of the CD has been read and is located downstream in the transport direction from the sense position. In order to search for a possible position detection mark, the position detection mark detection operation described in FIGS. 7A to 7F is performed again using the current sense position as a starting point.

  After the position detection mark is detected by the above-described position detection mark detection operation, as shown in FIG. 7G, the tray position detection as the tray position detection means of the carriage 50 is performed in the conveyance direction of the CD printing tray 69. The tray 69 is conveyed so that the position of the sensor 51 and the position of the medium presence / absence detection mark 698 (FIG. 6) as the detected means of the tray 69 coincide.

  At this time, the carriage 50 is moved to the left and right to detect the left end and the right end edge of the medium presence / absence detection mark 698, and when the distance between the edges matches the predetermined width, it is determined that the CD is not mounted, and the recording operation (printing operation) ), The tray 69 is discharged to a predetermined position, and an error is displayed. Here, if the medium presence / absence detection mark 698 cannot be detected, it is determined that a CD is mounted, and the recording operation is continued.

  When the above series of initial operations is completed, the tray 69 is transported to a predetermined position where the entire CD behind the recording device (printer or the like) can be recorded (printed). Thereafter, recording (printing and printing) is started in accordance with recording data sent from the host. With respect to the recorded image, so-called multi-pass printing in which an image is formed by a plurality of scans can be used to reduce band unevenness of a recorded image due to CD conveyance accuracy and recording head 7 landing accuracy.

  After the recording (printing) is completed, the CD printing tray 69 is conveyed to a position where the operator has set the tray 69 on the CD tray base 60 before the above-described printing. In this state, the operator can take out the tray 69 on which the printed CD is mounted. Further, the CD tray base 60 can be stored by tilting the CD tray base 60 forward.

1 is a perspective view showing a recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. It is the perspective view which looked at the internal mechanism of the recording device of FIG. 1 from the right front. It is sectional drawing of the recording device of FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the recording apparatus with the CD tray base opened in the recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied, as viewed from the left front. FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view showing a state in which a CD tray base is opened and closed in a recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. It is a front view of a tray for CD printing in a recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view showing a CD center position estimation operation on a CD printing tray in a recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a distance A between position detection marks and a distance B between CD edges in a CD printing tray in a recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Recording device 2 Paper feed part 3 Paper feed part 4 Paper discharge part 5 Carriage part 6 CD printing tray paper feed part 11 Chassis 111 Guide rail 20 Base 21 Pressure plate 22 Return lever 23 Separation roller 24 Paper feed tray 25 Paper feed roller 30 Pinch roller holder 31 Pinch roller spring 32 PE sensor 33 Paper guide flapper 34 Pinch roller lifting cam 35 Pinch roller 36 Transport roller 40 Paper discharge roller 41 Paper discharge roller 42 Spur 43 Spur holder 44 Holder biasing spring 45 Platen 50 Carriage 51 Tray position Detection sensor 52 Guide shaft 521 Eccentric cam 53 Carriage motor 531 Timing belt 532 Idler pulley 54 Carriage elevating motor 60 CD tray base 61 Release arm 62 Spur holder sensor 63 Pinch roller 6 Backlash prevention rib 65 Guide roller 66 Tray pull-in rib 67 Tray set mark 69 CD printing tray 692 CD mounting portion 6921 CD positioning portion 6922 Mold claw 693 Operation portion 694 Position detection mark 694a Position detection mark 694b Position detection mark 695 CD removal Hole 696 Insertion alignment mark 697 Media presence / absence detection mark 698 Media edge 699 Sensor scanning locus

Claims (3)

Conveying means for conveying the recording material, recording means for recording on the recording material conveyed by the conveying means, a tray configured to mount the recording material, and detecting the position of the tray In order to achieve the above object, in a recording apparatus having a detected means provided on the tray and a tray position detecting means for detecting the detected means,
The two detected means are arranged downstream in the tray transport direction with respect to the recording area of the recording material and arranged in a line substantially perpendicular to the tray transport direction. A recording apparatus, wherein the recording apparatus is disposed at an asymmetrical position shifted from the center line of the recording material by at least a detection error by the tray position detecting means.   The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the two detection units are arranged so as to be inward in a direction substantially perpendicular to the tray conveyance direction with respect to a recording area of the recording material. .   If the tray position detecting means detects that the detected means is symmetrical with respect to the center position of the recording material, it is determined that the end of the recording material is erroneously detected, and the tray is detected from the detection position. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit that transports the tray in the transport direction and performs re-detection.

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