JP2009131997A - Waiting method of image recorder and continuous medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that the cut surface of a roll sheet cut with a predetermined size by a cutter mechanism (nose edge) suffers the deformation such as a flapping, etc. due to moisture absorption resulting in the occurrence of the faults such as a jam error, etc. at making the re-starting in an image recorder for recording a picture on a long continuous medium. <P>SOLUTION: It is a waiting method of the image recorder 1 and continuous medium which make the image recorder 1 to be stopped after cutting the medium part in the cutter mechanism part 4 wherein the picture was recorded on the continuous medium and delivering it, and also after conveying the nose edge of a picture-unrecorded part with leaving the continuous medium, following the cut continuous medium, remaining uncut into the conveyance route for delivery, and makes the image recorder 1 and continuous medium wait in the state of making the nose edge wait in the conveyance route for delivery or of grasping the nose edge. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus for recording an image on a continuous medium and a standby method for the continuous medium.

  Conventionally, as an image recording apparatus, for example, an inkjet image recording apparatus that records an image on a recording medium by discharging ink, or an electrophotographic image recording apparatus that records an image on a recording medium using a developer or the like. Are known.

  These image recording apparatuses generally use a cut sheet as a recording medium, but some image recording apparatuses use not only a cut sheet but also a long roll paper (continuous medium) as a recording medium. In such an image recording apparatus using roll paper, the roll paper is fed from a storage unit that stores the roll paper to an image recording unit that performs image recording inside the apparatus.

The supplied roll paper is recorded with an image by an image recording unit, and then cut into a predetermined size by a cutter mechanism disposed downstream from the image recording unit, and is discharged to a discharge unit. For example, as proposed in Patent Document 1, when the image recording is completed, the roll paper remaining at the cut position of the roll paper by the cutter mechanism is rewound to the upstream side (accommodating portion side), and the next image recording is performed. The roll paper is kept waiting until it appears.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-22178

  However, the end portion (cut surface) of the roll paper cut to a predetermined size by the cutter mechanism undergoes deformation such as undulation due to moisture absorption by humidity, for example. For this reason, when the roll paper is rewound upstream after the end of image recording as in Patent Document 1 and the roll paper is kept waiting for a long time until the next image recording is performed, the cut portion of the roll paper ( There is a risk that deformation will occur at the leading edge of the medium on the upstream side in the transport direction or the front edge described later, and problems such as jams (paper jams) may occur in the transport path to the discharge section.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an image recording apparatus and a continuous medium standby method capable of preventing a paper jam in a transport path of a continuous medium such as roll paper when image recording is performed again after the end of image recording. And

In order to achieve the above object, an image recording apparatus of the present invention includes a feeding unit that supplies a long continuous medium, a recording unit that records an image on the continuous medium, and a continuous medium recorded by the recording unit. A cutter mechanism section for cutting the cut medium into a cut medium of a predetermined size, a medium transport section for transporting a continuous medium from the feeding section to the cutter mechanism section, and a discharge section for discharging the cut medium cut by the cutter mechanism section When,
In an image recording apparatus having at least a feeding unit, a recording unit, a cutter mechanism unit, a medium conveying unit, and a discharge unit, and a control unit, when the image recording apparatus is stopped, the control unit After cutting the medium, the front edge of the continuous medium is transported to the discharge unit, and waits at the discharge unit.
Further, the continuous recording medium standby method of the image recording apparatus of the present invention performs image recording on a continuous continuous medium, cuts the recorded image portion of the continuous medium with a cutter mechanism unit, and at least one discharge transport. A standby method for a continuous medium of an image recording apparatus that passes through a path and is discharged to a storage tray. When the image recording apparatus is stopped, the continuous medium on which the image is finally recorded is cut into a cut medium having a desired size. Thereafter, the front end edge of the continuous medium is transported into the discharge transport path and waits.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image recording apparatus and a continuous medium standby method capable of preventing a paper jam in a conveyance path of a continuous medium such as roll paper when image recording is performed again after the end of image recording. it can.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
An image recording apparatus and a continuous medium standby method according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing the overall configuration of the image recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a control block configuration of the image recording apparatus of the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing the printer unit of the image recording apparatus. FIG. 4 is a schematic front view of the image recording unit and the maintenance unit of the printer unit. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a part of the conveyance path of the printer unit. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a part of the conveyance path of the printer unit. FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of the cutter mechanism. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the attachment position of the cutter blade attached on the cutter roller of the cutter mechanism. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of how to attach the cutting blade to the cutter roller of the cutter mechanism. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing in detail the periphery of the cutter mechanism and the discharge unit. FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining a standby state of a continuous medium after image recording is completed. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a stop position of the front edge of the continuous medium.

  The image recording apparatus 1 according to this embodiment includes a feeding unit 2 that pulls out and feeds a long continuous medium 5 that has been loaded, a transport unit that transports the continuous medium 5, and an image that records an image on the continuous medium 5. The printer unit includes a maintenance unit that performs maintenance of the recording unit and the image recording unit, the cutter mechanism unit 4 that cuts the continuous medium 5, and the discharge unit 200 that has the cut sheet conveyance path. These components are controlled by a control unit on which an arithmetic processing unit such as a personal computer or a CPU (not shown) is mounted. This control unit includes a memory for storing necessary programs, data, and the like.

  Further, the image recording apparatus 1 of the present embodiment includes a brake 8 that brakes the rotation state of the feeding unit 2 that supplies the continuous medium 5 as a drive control system, and a second drum 40 that is a drive drum on the downstream side of the transport system. , A drive motor 46 that rotates the tension roller 21, a drive motor 90 that rotates the nip roller pair 26, and a timing at which the recording shaft ink is ejected by being provided on the rotation shaft 40a of the second drum 40. And an encoder 42 that generates a pulse signal for detecting the position of the continuous medium 5, a drive motor 104 that rotates the cutter roller pair 100 of the cutter mechanism unit 4, a drive motor 133 that rotates the discharge roller pair 131, and ink. Recording units 50 and 60 (50 is a first image recording unit, 60 is a second image recording unit), Maintenance units 70 and 80 (70 is a first maintenance unit, 80 is a second maintenance unit) for performing maintenance of the recording units 50 and 60, a keyboard and a touch panel for inputting instructions (including control programs and the like) by a user, The input unit 11 includes a switch board, a monitor 12 that displays a menu screen, an input screen, and the like, and a control unit 13 that performs drive control thereof.

First, the feeding unit 2 will be described.
The feeding unit 2 includes, for example, a continuous medium 5 such as a rolled paper roll, a paper tube fixing shaft 7 loaded with the continuous medium 5, a stand 6 that rotatably supports the paper tube fixing shaft 7, and a continuous medium. And a brake 8 for braking the supply speed of the medium 5. With such a configuration, the feeding unit 2 feeds the continuous medium 5 by feeding the continuous medium 5 in accordance with the rotation of the first drum 30 and the second drum 40 as the transport unit.

  The stand 6 supports the paper tube fixing shaft 7 rotatably. The paper tube fixing shaft 7 is protruded in the radial direction by injecting air from an air injection port (not shown) so that a plurality of claw portions are pushed out. The claw bites into the inner diameter surface of the paper tube of the continuous medium 5 and holds the continuous medium 5. The paper tube fixing shaft 7 is provided with a pulley fixed to the paper tube fixing shaft 7, a belt hung on the pulley, and a brake 8 for braking the belt movement by applying the belt. The brake 8 has a braking function for applying a back tension in a direction opposite to the conveying direction of the continuous medium 5 (the direction indicated by the arrow 9). The brake 8 adjusts the tension force according to the remaining amount of the continuous medium 5 detected by a continuous medium remaining amount detection mechanism (not shown). As will be described later, the first drum 30 and the second drum 40 of the present embodiment do not slip with the continuous medium by controlling the conveyance speed and pressing with a roller during conveyance. There may be provided means for adsorbing the continuous medium by opening a large number of small-diameter holes on the entire surface (contact surface of the continuous medium) and setting the inside to a negative pressure state by a pump or the like.

Next, the printer unit will be described with reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 3, and FIG.
In the printer unit, a conveying unit for the continuous medium 5 including a plurality of conveying rollers, the first drum 30 and the second drum 40 is disposed in the main body frame 25 and is provided above the outer periphery of the first drum 30. A first recording head (recording unit) 50 as a first image recording unit, a second recording head (recording unit) 60 as a second image recording unit provided above the outer periphery of the second drum 40, and a first recording The first maintenance unit 70 that performs maintenance of the head 50 and the second maintenance unit 80 that performs maintenance of the second recording head 60 are configured. The first drum 30 and the second drum 40 are hollow cylinders made of, for example, aluminum.

  The printer unit introduces the continuous medium 5 supplied from the feeding unit 2, is first wound and held by the first drum 30, is conveyed directly below the first recording head 50, and ejects ink to form the first surface. Image recording is performed (for example, on the front side). Next, the continuous medium 5 is wound and held by the second drum 40, conveyed directly below the second recording head 60, recorded on the second surface (for example, the back surface side), and then sent to the cutter mechanism unit 4. It has a function.

The first recording head 50 and the second recording head 60 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the first recording head 50 and the second recording head 60 are ink ejection devices for ejecting ink to the continuous medium 5. FIG. 4 is a schematic front view showing the first recording head 50 disposed to face the first drum 30.

  The first recording head 50 includes, for example, recording heads 51 (51a, 51b, 51c, 51d) that eject ink of a total of four colors, cyan (C), black (K), magenta (M), and yellow (Y). is doing. The recording heads 51a, 51b, 51c, 51d are arranged and fixed on the head holding plate 52 (52a, 52b, 52c, 52d) in a staggered manner so as to be equal to or larger than the width of the continuous medium 5. In the present embodiment, a plurality of short recording heads less than the width of the continuous medium are used and the staggered arrangement is made so as to exceed the width of the continuous medium. However, the present invention is not limited to this. A configuration in which one recording head having a length exceeding the width (nozzle row length) is arranged for each color may be employed.

  The nozzle surface provided at the tip of each of the recording heads 51 is disposed to face the recording surface of the continuous medium 5 held on the outer peripheral surface of the first drum 30. Each recording head 51 is positioned relative to the first drum 30 by a head holding plate 52 and a head holding member 53. Further, one end of the head holding member 53 is engaged with the rotation shaft 30 a of the first drum 30. The second recording head 60 is equivalent to the configuration of the first recording head 50 described above, and a detailed description thereof is omitted.

  Next, the first maintenance unit 70 and the second maintenance unit 80 will be described. The first maintenance unit 70 and the second maintenance unit 80 have a function of performing maintenance processing such as wiping and nozzle suction in order to prevent clogging of each nozzle of the first recording head 50 and the second recording head 60. . FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a first maintenance unit 70 that is disposed on the outer periphery of the first drum 30 and performs maintenance processing on each recording head 51 of the first recording head 50. The second maintenance unit 80 is equivalent to the first maintenance unit 70, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The first maintenance unit 70 includes a plurality of suction nozzles 71 corresponding to the recording heads 51a, 51b, 51c, and 51d of the first recording head 50, and four first nozzles corresponding to the recording heads 51a, 51b, 51c, and 51d. One ink pan 72 is provided.

  Further, the first maintenance unit 70 holds the second ink pan 73 integrated with the first ink pan 72 so as to cover the four first ink pans 72 and the second ink pan 73. And a maintenance unit holding member 74.

  The suction nozzle 71 sucks ink from the recording heads 51a, 51b, 51c, and 51d, and removes ink, paper dust, and the like attached to the nozzle surfaces of the recording heads 51a, 51b, 51c, and 51d.

  The first ink pan 72 collects the ink purged during the maintenance operation. The maintenance unit holding member 74 is engaged with the rotary shaft 30a of the first drum 30 in order to position and hold the above-described components with respect to the first drum 30.

A maintenance operation of the first recording head 50 will be described.
First, the head holding plate 52 rises from the image recording state. A space is formed between each nozzle surface of the corresponding recording head 51 and the outer peripheral surface of the first drum 30, and the first maintenance unit 70 is moved and inserted into this space. At this time, the first ink pan 72 is assigned to each nozzle for each color. An ink purge process for discharging ink from each nozzle is performed. The ink ejected by this ink purge process is collected by the first ink pan 72 and stored in a waste liquid tank (not shown).

  Subsequently, the suction nozzle 71 in contact with the nozzle surfaces of the recording heads 51a, 51b, 51c, and 51d is scanned in the nozzle row direction, and ink, paper dust, and the like attached to the nozzle surfaces by the suction nozzle 71 are not illustrated. While scraping with a blade, the ink remaining on the nozzle surface is sucked. After the maintenance operation is completed, the first maintenance unit 70 is separated from immediately below the first recording head 50 and returns to the standby position shown in FIG.

  In this standby position, the first maintenance unit 70 maintains an inclined state. For this reason, even if the ink remaining in the first ink pan 72 drips, it is collected by the second ink pan 73. The end portion of the second ink pan 73 is formed by a wall having an acute bending angle and is inclined in the depth direction of the apparatus, so that ink accumulates in this portion and flows to the waste liquid tank and is collected. With this configuration, the inside of the apparatus such as the continuous medium 5 and the first drum is not stained with ink. Further, the head holding plates 52a, 52b, 52c, and 52d of the first recording head 50 also return to the image recording position where the image can be recorded.

Next, the conveyance unit for the continuous medium 5 in the printer unit will be described.
The continuous medium 5 sent out from the feeding unit 2 is first transported to the first drum 30 via the free roller 14 and the free roller 15. One end of a head holding member 53 and a maintenance unit holding member 74 is engaged with the rotation shaft 30 a of the first drum 30. (Refer to FIG. 4) In addition, the first drum 30 is rotatably supported by the main body frame 25 on the rotation shaft 30a. The free rollers 14 and 15 are also rotatably held by the main body frame 25. In the first drum 30 of the present embodiment, the continuous medium 5 is wound at a winding angle of 330 degrees. The winding angle 330 degrees of the continuous medium 5 in the first drum 30 of the present embodiment is set as follows.

  When the tension on the winding side of the first drum 30 is T2, the tension on the feeding side is T1, the coefficient of static friction between the first drum 30 and the continuous medium 5 is μ, and the winding angle is θ, T2 / T1 ≦ exp (μθ ) And T2 / T1 ≧ 1 / exp (μθ) so that each numerical value is set. In the present embodiment, when T1 is 35 N and T2 is 50 N, the first drum 30 and the continuous medium 5 do not slip even if the continuous medium 5 has a static friction coefficient μ with the first drum 30 of 0.07. Is set to 330 degrees. Of course, it is not limited to these numerical values.

  Further, by setting the winding angle θ to 180 degrees or more, when T1 is 35 N and T2 is 50 N, even if the continuous medium 5 having the static friction coefficient μ with the first drum 30 is 0.12, the first The drum 30 and the continuous medium 5 do not slip. Since the static friction coefficient μ of a general sheet is a value sufficiently larger than 0.12, setting the winding angle θ to 180 degrees or more does not cause slipping even on most sheets. The same is set for the second drum 40.

  As described above, by securing the winding angle of the continuous medium 5 in the first drum 30 as wide as about 330 degrees as in the present embodiment, the continuous medium 5 has the winding start tension and the first drum 30 on the first drum 30. A vertical drag force is applied to the outer peripheral surface of the first drum 30 by the tension at the end of the winding.

  As a result, the frictional force between the first drum 30 and the continuous medium 5 increases, so that there is no slip between the first drum 30 and the continuous medium 5, and the continuous medium 5 is brought into close contact with the first drum 30. Can be held.

  Therefore, accurate paper conveyance and drum rotation speed control are possible. Further, the surface of the continuous medium 5 wound on the first drum 30 is a surface that is stable and has high dimensional accuracy, and has a wide area of 330 degrees. Therefore, a large number of recording heads can be arranged in the circumferential direction of the first drum 30 in order to increase the resolution of images recorded on the continuous medium 5, and stable detection by a quality detection device that detects the recorded image quality. Can be done. Further, there is a merit that a UV curing lamp necessary in the case of UV ink or the like is arranged and UV irradiation can be performed under stable curing conditions. In such a configuration, the first drum 30 is a driven drum that is rotated by the second drum 40 via the continuous medium 5.

  After the end of winding of the first drum 30, the continuous medium 5 is conveyed to the second drum 40 via free rollers 16, 17, 18 that are rotatably supported by the main body frame. Similar to the first drum 30, the second drum 40 is also a hollow aluminum cylinder. In addition, as with the first drum 30, one end of the head holding member and the maintenance unit holding member is engaged with the rotation shaft 40 a of the second drum 40.

The rotation shaft 40 a of the second drum 40 is rotatably supported by the main body frame 25.
Similarly to the first drum 30 described above, the continuous drum 5 is wound around the second drum 40 of this embodiment at a winding angle of 330 degrees. In the continuous medium 5, a vertical drag is applied to the outer peripheral surface of the second drum 40 by the tension at the start of winding and the tension at the end of winding of the second drum 40. As a result, the frictional force between the second drum 40 and the continuous medium 5 increases, so that there is no slip between the second drum 40 and the continuous medium 5, and the continuous medium 5 is held in close contact with the second drum 40. Is done.

  The continuous medium 5 held by the second drum 40 is transported by the driving force of a driving motor 41 connected via a belt and a pulley connected to the rotating shaft 40a of the second drum 40. With this configuration, the second drum 40 on the most downstream side becomes a drive drum.

  Further, the rotation shaft 40 a of the second drum 40 is connected to the encoder 42 in the position detection unit using a coupling 43. The housing of the encoder 42 is fixed to one end of an encoder fixing member 44 whose section is L-shaped, and the other end of the encoder fixing member 44 is fixed to the main body frame 25. (See FIG. 3) With this configuration, the rotation shaft of the encoder 42 rotates with the rotation of the second drum 40, and generates and outputs a pulse signal corresponding to the rotation position of the second drum 40. The pulse signal output from the encoder 42 is input to a drive substrate (not shown) that drives the recording heads of the first recording head 50 and the second recording head 60, and the recording head is synchronized with the pulse signal. Is discharged. That is, since the continuous medium 5 is conveyed at the same speed without slipping on the first drum 30 and the second drum 40, the first recording head is based on the pulse signal output with the rotation of the second drum 40. 50 and the ejection drive of the second recording head 60 can be controlled.

  The encoder 42 uses, for example, a rotary encoder that outputs a signal of 18000 pulses per rotation. Here, assuming that the resolution in the transport direction in which image formation is performed is 300 dpi, and one dot is recorded per output pulse of the encoder 42, the diameter of the second drum 40 is 485 mm. In the present embodiment, the diameter of the first drum 30 is the same as the diameter of the second drum 40.

  With this configuration, each recording head of the first recording head 50 and the second recording head 60 can eject ink and perform double-sided recording with a resolution of 300 dpi in the transport direction in synchronization with the pulse signal of the encoder 42. In the present embodiment, the first drum 30 and the second drum 40 are arranged vertically so that at least a part thereof overlaps in the direction of gravity. Thereby, the installation area of an apparatus can be made small.

  After the end of winding of the second drum 40, the continuous medium 5 is conveyed to the cutter mechanism 4 via the free rollers 19 and 20, the tension roller 21, the free rollers 22, 23, 24, 71 and the nip roller pair 26. The At least a part of the conveyance path from the free roller 19 to the nip roller pair 26 has a height position equal to or higher than the first drum 30 toward the upper side in the gravity direction. Is formed. In the present embodiment, specifically, since the free roller 71 is disposed at a height position exceeding the first drum 30, the continuous medium 5 is located above the gravitational direction in the conveyance path from the tension roller 21 to the free roller 71. It is conveyed toward. By doing so, the conveyance path length can be lengthened, so that the curl of the continuous medium 5 can be eliminated, and the conveyance path is formed upward in the direction of gravity, so the installation area of the apparatus is also reduced. You can also. Then, when the continuous medium 5 is cut by the cutter mechanism unit 4, the curl of the continuous medium 5 is eliminated, so that the occurrence of jam or the like can be suppressed and cutting can be performed accurately. The free rollers 19 and 20 and the tension roller 21 are rotatably supported by the main body frame 25 as shown in FIGS.

  A pulley 49 is connected to the rotation shaft of the tension roller 21. A drive motor 46 is attached to the main body frame 25 via an attachment base 47. By driving the drive motor 46, the belt 48 stretched between the drive motor 46 and the pulley 49 moves, and the tension roller 21 rotates.

  In this way, the tension roller 21 can apply necessary tension to the continuous medium 5 to prevent the continuous medium 5 from slipping after the end of winding of the second drum 40. The continuous medium 5 that has passed through the tension roller 21 is conveyed to the nip roller pair 26 via the free rollers 22, 23, 24, 71 toward the top of the apparatus. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, one roller 26b of the nip roller pair 26 is rotatably held by the main body frame 25 (or the main body subframe 25a).

  The roller 26b is rotated by a drive motor 90 through a coupling 92 connected to a roller rotation shaft. The drive motor 90 is fixed to the main body frame 25 (or the main body subframe 25a) by the mounting base 91. The other roller 26a of the nip roller pair 26 is rotatably held by a roller frame 93 including arms 93a, 93b, and 93c. The roller frame 93 is held so as to be rotatable with respect to the main body frame 25 (or the main body subframe 25a in FIG. 6 of the present embodiment).

  That is, the roller frame 93 is fixed to the main body frame 25 (or the main body subframe 25a) so that the roller 26a contacts the roller 26b with a certain amount of force. It rotates about the attachment position 95 with the subframe 25a). Thereby, the slip which arises between the continuous medium 5 and the nip roller pair 26 can be prevented, and the continuous medium 5 can be accurately sent to the cutter mechanism unit 4 arranged immediately after.

Next, the cutter mechanism unit 4 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, the continuous medium 5 on which image recording is sent from the nip roller pair 26 (printing unit) described above is conveyed between the cutter roller pair 100 of the cutter mechanism unit 4. . The cutter roller pair 100 includes a cutter roller 100a to which at least one cutting blade 101 for cutting the continuous medium 5 is attached, and a cutter roller 100b provided to face the cutter roller 100a at a predetermined interval. , Is configured.

  The cutter roller 100a and the cutter roller 100b have an interval of 0.3 mm to 0.5 mm so that the cutting blade 101 of the cutter roller 100a and the cutter roller 100b are substantially in contact with each other at a position (cut position) at which the continuous medium 5 is cut. is doing.

  That is, when the cutting blade 101 is in the cutting position, the cutting blade 101 is pushed into the continuous medium 5 sent from the nip roller pair 26, and the continuous medium 5 can be cut. Hereinafter, the cut continuous medium 5 is referred to as a cut medium. When the cutting blade 101 is located at a position other than the cutting position, the cutter roller 100a and the cutter roller 100b are separated from each other by a predetermined interval, so that the continuous medium 5 can be conveyed without being nipped (clamped). Therefore, even if the cutter roller 100a and the cutter roller 100b do not rotate, the continuous medium 5 passes through these gaps and is conveyed to the downstream (discharge unit) side by the nip roller pair 26.

  The cutter roller 100 a and the cutter roller 100 b are rotatably held by the cutter frame 103. A cutter driving motor 104 having a gear 109 is fixed to the cutter frame 103 via a fixing base 105. A gear 106 is connected to the rotation shaft of the cutter roller 100a, and a gear 107 is connected to the rotation shaft of the cutter roller 100b. These gears 106 and 107 mesh with each other. Further, the gear 107 is connected to a gear 108, and the gear 108 meshes with the gear 109.

  That is, when the cutter drive motor 104 is driven, a driving force is transmitted from the gear 109 to the gear 108, and the driving force is transmitted to the gear 107 coupled to the gear 108 and the gear 106 meshed with the gear 107. Thus, the cutter roller 100a and the cutter roller 100b rotate simultaneously.

  Further, a cutter origin position detector (not shown) for detecting the origin position of the cutter blade 101 is provided on the rotation shaft of the cutter roller 100a. Examples of the cutter origin position detection unit include a combination of an optical sensor and a light shielding plate provided on a rotation shaft.

  In the present embodiment, the origin position of the cutter blade 101 is set to be a position where the cutter blade 101 contacts the continuous medium 5, that is, a cut position. In the present embodiment, the drive motor 104 has the same speed as the transport speed of the continuous medium 5 on the first drum 30 and the second drum 40 and the transport speed of the continuous medium 5 by the nip roller pair 26. The cutter roller 100a and the cutter roller 100b are rotated.

  Thereby, the continuous medium 5 can be cut into a cut medium of a predetermined size according to the attachment position of the cutter blade 101 attached on the cutter roller 100a. Details will be described later with reference to FIGS.

  The cutter mechanism unit 4 is a so-called roller cutter, and includes a cutter roller 100a, a cutter roller 100b, gears 106, 107, 108, 109, a cutter drive motor 104, a fixing base 105, and a cutter frame 103. It is comprised and is being fixed to the main body frame 25 via the main body sub-frame 25b.

  As shown in FIG. 8 (a), the cutter rollers 100a and 100b rotate so as to be synchronized, and the cutting blade 101 continues at a position (cutting position) where the cutting blade 101 of the cutter roller 100a substantially contacts the cutter roller 100b. It will be in the state pushed into the medium 5, and the continuous medium 5 can be pushed and cut.

  As shown in FIG. 8B, one cutter blade 101 is attached to the outer surface of the cutter roller 100a. The roll-shaped continuous medium 5 is cut every time the cutter rollers 100a and 100b rotate once in synchronization. For example, if the diameter of the cutter roller 100a is about 66.9 mm, the continuous medium 5 can be cut into A4 size. The number of cutter blades is not limited, and the number of cutter blades 101 can be increased by increasing the diameter of the roller. For example, as shown in FIG. 8C, two cutter blades 101 are used. When cutting the continuous medium 5 into A4 size, the diameter of the cut roller 100a should be about 133.8 mm, and the positions of the two blades should be symmetrical. Further, as shown in FIG. 8D, when three cutter blades are used and the continuous medium 5 is cut to A4 size, the diameter of the cut roller 100a may be about 200.6 mm. Thus, a plurality of configurations are possible by appropriately combining the cut dimensions, the number of blades, and the cut roller diameter.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 9A, when the cutting blade 101 is fixed horizontally to the cutter roller 100a and the cutter roller 100a is also arranged horizontally to the apparatus, the continuous medium 5 is cut. The entire width of the cutting blade 101 hits at the same time, and the continuous medium 5 is cut.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9B, the cutting blade 101 is fixed to the cutter roller 100a by being tilted several degrees, and the cutter roller 100a is set to the same number as the inclination of the cutting blade 101 with respect to the apparatus. It is tilted. Thereby, the cutting blade 101 becomes horizontal with respect to the continuous medium 5, and the paper can be cut vertically. Compared with the case where the cutting blade 101 is fixed horizontally with respect to the cutter roller 100a as shown in FIG. 9A, when the cutting blade 101 is tilted and fixed several times as in this embodiment, the cutting blade 101 is fixed. The entire horizontal width does not hit at the same time, and it is gradually cut from one end to the other end.

  Therefore, when the cutting blade 101 shown in FIG. 9A is arranged horizontally, a large impact is generated at the time of cutting when the horizontal width of the cutting blade 101 simultaneously contacts the continuous medium. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9B, when the cutting blade 101 is inclined several degrees, the horizontal width of the cutting blade 101 does not contact at the same time, and the cutting blade 101 gradually contacts from the end. Since the cutting is performed, the impact can be reduced. As a result, the wear of the cutting blade 101 can be reduced and the life can be extended, and the generation of sound at the time of cutting is reduced, so that there is an advantage that noise can be suppressed. The cutter mechanism unit 4 of the present embodiment is an example employing a rotary cutter. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a cutter mechanism that performs cutting by traversing so as to perform known scanning may be used.

  A discharge unit 200 that is a sheet conveyance path after cutting the continuous medium 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 10. FIG. 10 is a view showing in detail the periphery of the cutter mechanism unit 4 and the discharge unit 200.

  As described above, the cut medium cut by the cutter mechanism unit 4 passes between the sheet conveyance guides 110a and 110b immediately after the cutter unit and is discharged to the discharge tray 160 via the discharge roller pair 131. The paper transport guides 110a and 110b are fixed to the subframe 25c.

  In the present embodiment, the discharge roller pair 131 is disposed at a position away from the cut position of the continuous medium 5 in the cutter mechanism unit 4 according to the size of the cut medium. Specifically, when the continuous medium 5 is cut at intervals of 210 mm on the short side of A4 paper, if the distance (conveyance distance) between the discharge roller pair 131 and the cutting position is not set to 210 mm or more, before the continuous medium 5 is cut. Since the sheet reaches the discharge roller pair 131 and is sent out in a pulled state, it is not cut straight and a cut defect occurs. Accordingly, by setting the interval between the discharge roller pair 131 and the cutting position to be 210 mm or more, when the continuous medium 5 is cut by the cutter mechanism unit 4, it is pulled by an extra conveyance force due to the rotation of the discharge roller pair 131. Since it does not add, it can cut accurately. However, when a tension (tension) is applied to a value greater than a certain value before the operation of the cutter mechanism unit 4, measures are taken to ease the nip state (clamping state) and the continuous medium 5 is applied to the discharge roller pair 131. Of course, it is not necessary to limit the position of the discharge roller pair 131 as long as it can be cut accurately even in the nipped state. Note that the cutter mechanism unit 4 is not necessarily fixed, and a moving mechanism may be further provided so that the user can cut to a desired cut size, and the cutter mechanism unit 4 can be set to move according to the size. It is.

  One feed roller 131 a of the discharge roller pair 131 is driven by a drive motor 133 via gears 134 and 135 and a belt 136. The other pair of rollers 131b of the discharge roller pair 131 is provided so as to contact the feed roller 131a. The discharge roller pair 131, the drive motor 133, the gears 134 and 135, the belt 136, and the conveyance guides 110a and 110b of the continuous medium 5 are attached to a base (not shown) as one unit and fixed to the subframe 25c.

Next, the conveyance operation of the continuous medium 5 through the above-described conveyance path will be described.
In the present embodiment, an operation of applying tension to the continuous medium 5 is performed before the operation of conveying the continuous medium 5 is started. In this operation, the respective drive motors of the tension roller 21 and the nip roller pair 26 are driven, and a predetermined tension is applied to the continuous medium 5 by controlling the brake 8 provided in the feeding unit 2. It is adjusted. Thereby, the continuous medium 5 can be conveyed without slack.

  First, when the start of the conveying operation of the continuous medium 5 is instructed, the drive motor 41 connected to the second drum 40, the brake 8 of the feeding unit 2, the drive motor 46 of the tension roller 21, and the drive motor of the nip roller pair 26 When 90 is driven, the first drum 30 is driven and rotated, and the continuous medium 5 is sent out toward the cutter mechanism section 4.

  At this time, the continuous medium 5 is conveyed without slippage between the outer peripheral surfaces of the first drum 30 and the second drum 40 and the continuous medium 5. That is, the speed difference between the first drum 30 and the second drum 40 is obtained by using the second drum 40 provided on the downstream side as a driving drum and the first drum 30 provided on the upstream side as a driven drum. The continuous medium 5 is conveyed in the state where the same tension is applied. Thereby, the image recorded on the continuous medium 5 is not rubbed on the first drum 30 and the second drum 40, and generation of paper dust or the like can be prevented. In other words, since the continuous medium 5 is conveyed while being kept in close contact with the drum surface without slipping, it is possible to prevent a decrease in image recording quality.

  Further, since the generation of paper dust from the continuous medium 5 can be suppressed, the occurrence of ink non-ejection can be reduced, and further the deterioration of image recording quality can be prevented. Note that the operation of applying tension to the continuous medium 5 may be performed simultaneously with the start of the conveying operation.

Next, an image recording operation on the continuous medium 5 will be described.
As described above, the encoder 42 is connected to the rotating shaft 40 a of the second drum 40. The encoder 42 outputs a pulse signal corresponding to the rotational position of the second drum 40. Based on this pulse signal, first, the first recording head 50 is driven, and ink is ejected onto the first surface of the continuous medium 5 to perform image recording.

  Next, in the second recording head 60, image recording is performed on the second recording surface opposite to the first recording surface on which the image is recorded, and double-sided recording is completed. Here, there is no slip of the continuous medium 5 in the first drum 30 and the second drum 40, and the continuous medium 5 is conveyed by rotating at the same speed. For this reason, for example, the cyan (C) recording head of the first recording head 50 is recorded on the continuous medium 5 from the recording position of the cyan (C) recording head on the continuous medium 5 of the cyan (C) recording head of the second recording head 60. The transport path length to the recording position is converted into the number of pulses of the encoder 42 in advance, and after recording by the first recording head 50, when the number of pulses of the encoder 42 reaches a predetermined number of pulses, the second recording head 60 The image recording by is started. By such double-sided image recording controlled in timing, the recording positions of the first surface and the second surface of the continuous medium 5 can be made coincident to avoid the occurrence of misalignment between the front and back surfaces. In this embodiment, the encoder 42 is provided only on the second drum 40. However, since the continuous medium 5 is conveyed without slipping, the same effect can be obtained even if the encoder 42 is provided only on the first drum 30. Can do. Thus, by providing an encoder on any one of the drums, the space in the apparatus can be simplified, and the cost can be reduced.

Next, the cutting operation of the continuous medium 5 by the cutter mechanism unit 4 of the present embodiment will be described.
In this embodiment, before the continuous medium 5 is cut, an initial setting operation is performed in which the cutter blade 101 provided in the cutter roller 100a is returned to the cutter origin position by the cutter origin position detection unit.

  When the conveying operation of the continuous medium 5 is started, the drive motor 104 is driven to rotate the cutter rollers 100 a and 100 b, and the continuous medium 5 carried into the cutter mechanism unit 4 by the nip roller pair 26 is moved by the cutter blade 101. Cut to a predetermined cut length. In this embodiment, the continuous medium 5 is cut so that the size of the cut medium is A4 size. In this way, the cutter mechanism unit 4 performs cutting so that the continuous medium becomes a cut medium. Note that the front end of the continuous medium 5 remaining after cutting is referred to as a front end edge (or front end edge).

  The cutting timing of the image recording surface by the cutter mechanism unit 4 in this embodiment will be described. For example, the transport path length from the recording position on the continuous medium 5 of the cyan (C) recording head of the first recording head 50 to the cutting position by the cutter blade 101 of the cutter mechanism unit 4 is converted into the number of pulses of the encoder 42 in advance. In addition, when the number of pulses of the pulse signal output from the encoder 42 reaches a predetermined number, the first recording head 50 causes the cutter blade 101 of the cutter mechanism unit 4 to be at a position where the continuous medium 5 is cut. Starts image recording.

  Thereby, the image recording surface of the continuous medium 5 on which the image is recorded by the first recording head 50 and the timing of cutting by the cutter mechanism unit 4 can be matched. Note that the cut mark recorded on the continuous medium 5 is detected by a cut mark detection sensor, and the drive of the cutter roller pair 100 of the cutter mechanism unit 4 is controlled by acceleration / deceleration, thereby controlling the image recording surface of the continuous medium 5. The timing of cutting by the cutter mechanism unit 4 may be matched. The cut cut medium passes between the conveyance guides 110 a and 110 b and is accommodated in the discharge tray 160 via the discharge roller pair 131.

  Next, the standby state of the continuous medium 5 after the end of image recording in the image recording apparatus of the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining the standby state of the continuous medium 5 after the end of image recording, and FIGS. 12A and 12B are diagrams for explaining the stop position of the continuous medium 5.

  Image information sent from a higher-level device (not shown) connected to the image recording device is image-recorded on the continuous medium 5 by the first recording head 50 and the second recording head 60 (step S1). Next, it is determined whether the image recording is completed and all the continuous media 5 on which the image has been recorded have been cut by the cutter mechanism unit 4 (step S2). If the cutting is not completed by this determination (No), the cutting process for the continuous medium 5 is performed until the cutting is completed (step S3). On the other hand, if it is determined that the cutting has been completed (Yes), the driving of the transport unit, the cutter roller pair 100, and the discharge roller pair 131 is stopped (step S4). That is, the drive motors of the second drum 40, the tension roller 21, the nip roller pair 26, the cutter roller pair 100, and the discharge roller pair 131 are stopped. The state at this time is shown in FIG. In the state shown in FIG. 12A, when the front end edge of the continuous medium 5 remaining after being cut by the cutter roller pair 100 is left as it is, the vicinity of the front end edge is indicated by dotted lines 201 and 202 due to humidity or the like. It is conceivable that a state of curling in a radial direction or a state of undulation is obtained. When the conveyance of the continuous medium 5 is started in order to perform image recording again with the front edge deformed in this manner, for example, the front edge of the continuous medium 5 contacts the front edges 203 and 204 of the conveyance guides 110a and 110b. However, a jam error or the like occurs, resulting in a conveyance failure.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the current position of the cutter blade 101 in the cutter roller 100a is confirmed, and when the cutter blade 101 is in contact with the cutter roller 100b, the cutter blade 101 is adjusted to a place other than the cutting position by rotation. (Step S5). That is, the cutter roller pair 100 is rotated to a position where the cutter blade 101 does not contact the cutter roller 100b. Thereby, a predetermined gap is formed between the cutter roller 100a and the cutter roller 100b. Actually, detection and adjustment of the current position in step S5 are omitted by stopping the cutter roller pair 100 at a place other than the above-described cutting position.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 12B, the transport unit (second drum 40, tension roller 21, and nip roller pair 26) is driven again, and the continuous medium 5 is sent downstream (step S6). At this time, the continuous medium 5 passes through the gap between the cutter rollers 100a and 100b and is sent downstream.

  Then, it is determined whether or not the front edge of the continuous medium 5 has reached the discharge roller pair 131 (step S7). For this determination, for example, the distance from the cutting position of the cutter mechanism unit 4 to the nip position where the continuous medium of the discharge roller pair 131 nips may be converted into the number of pulses of the encoder in advance. Therefore, it can be seen that the leading edge of the continuous medium has reached the discharge roller pair 131 when the number of pulses of the encoder has reached a predetermined number of pulses. As another method, a front end detection unit for detecting the front edge of the continuous medium 5 is provided in the vicinity of the discharge roller 131, and the front end position of the continuous medium 5 is determined based on the detection signal of the front end detection unit. May be.

  If it is determined in step S6 that the front edge of the continuous medium 5 has reached the discharge roller pair 131 (Yes), the discharge roller pair 131 is driven and, as shown in FIG. Are nipped (step S8). Immediately after the nip state is reached, the drive of the transport unit (second drum 40, tension roller 21, and nip roller pair 26) and discharge roller pair 131 is stopped (step S9).

  This embodiment stands by in a state where the leading end of the continuous medium 5 is nipped by the discharge roller pair 131 until the next image recording process is executed. When the start of the next image recording process is instructed, the cutter mechanism unit 4 is driven before image recording to cut the continuous medium 5 and discard the continuous medium 5 between the nip roller pair 26 and the discharge roller pair 131. To do.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, after image recording is completed, the continuous medium is held up to the transport path immediately before discharge, and is nipped at least downstream from the cutter. Even if the front edge portion 5 is distorted, it can be eliminated before the next image recording, and jamming or the like due to the continuous medium 5 can be prevented.

  In the first modification of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 13, in FIG. 11, when cutting of the continuous medium 5 on which the image is recorded is completed, the conveyance unit, the cutter roller pair 100, and the discharge roller pair 131 are driven. In this example, only the cutter roller pair is stopped. Except for this operation, almost the same operation is performed.

  First, image information is image-recorded on the continuous medium 5 by the first recording head 50 and the second recording head 60 (step S11), the image recording is completed, and all the continuous medium 5 on which the image has been recorded is the cutter mechanism unit 4. It is determined whether or not it has been disconnected (step S12). If it has not been cut (No), it is cut (step S13). On the other hand, if it is determined that the cutting has been completed (Yes), the current position of the cutter blade 101 on the cutter roller 100a is confirmed, and the position of the cutter blade 101 is adjusted to a place other than the cutting position (step) S14) The drive motor of the cutter roller pair 100 is stopped (step S15).

  At this time, the continuous medium 5 is sent to the downstream side by the driving conveyance unit (the second drum 40, the tension roller 21, and the nip roller pair 26), passes through the gap between the cutter rollers 100a and 100b, and sent to the downstream side. It is. Then, it is determined whether or not the leading edge of the continuous medium 5 has reached the discharge roller pair 131 (step S16). If the leading edge of the continuous medium 5 has reached the discharge roller pair 131 (Yes), the discharge roller pair 131 is contacted. When the continuous medium 5 is nipped, the driving of the transport unit (second drum 40, tension roller 21, and nip roller pair 26) and nip roller pair 26 is stopped (step S17), and the nip state is maintained.

  Also in this modification, the same effect as the first embodiment described above can be obtained. In addition, since the conveyance unit and the discharge roller pair 131 are driven, the nip state is achieved more rapidly than when the conveyance unit and the discharge roller pair 131 are temporarily stopped.

A second modification of the first embodiment will be described.
In the first embodiment and the first modification described above, the continuous medium 5 waits in a state where the continuous medium 5 is nipped by the discharge roller pair 131. However, in the second modification, the paper is discharged past the cutter roller pair 100. This is an example of waiting in a state where the front end edge of the continuous medium 5 is on the transport path to the front of the roller pair 131.

  As shown in FIG. 14, a transport guide 151 having a height that does not round the front end edge in the transport path even when the continuous medium 5 is deformed by moisture or the like is provided. In this example, an example of a curved guide member is shown. However, as long as the front edge is not rounded, a shape having a plurality of corners may be used as shown in FIG.

  An image recording apparatus and a continuous medium standby method according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 15 is a schematic front view illustrating the overall configuration of the image recording apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 16 is a side view illustrating a configuration of a discharge portion of the image recording apparatus 1 having a conveyance path switching mechanism. FIG. 17 is a flowchart for explaining the standby state of the continuous medium 5 after completion of image recording. FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating the position of the front edge of the continuous medium 5 in the discharge conveyance path. Note that in the present embodiment, the configuration from the feeding unit 2 to the cutter mechanism unit 4 has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment described above, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  The discharge unit 200 of the present embodiment is provided with a switching gate 120 for switching and discharging the trash box (second storage tray) and the storage tray on the discharge conveyance path. The continuous medium is nipped and held by the provided roller. The continuous medium 5 cut by the cutter mechanism unit 4 passes between the conveyance guides 110a and 110b and is discharged. The conveyance guides 110a and 110b are fixed to the subframe 25c.

  Among them, the necessary cut medium on which the image has been recorded is switched to a transport path on the storage tray 160 side (hereinafter referred to as the storage tray side) by the switching gate 120 and passes between the transport guides 130a and 130b for storage. It is accommodated in the tray 160. On the other hand, an unnecessary medium portion ahead of the portion of the continuous medium 5 on which the first image is recorded and an unnecessary medium portion after the image recording are transferred to the transport path (hereinafter referred to as the trash can side) on the trash can 161 side by the switching gate 120. After being switched, the paper passes between the conveyance guides 140a and 140b and is stored in the trash can 161.

  The switching gate 120 is rotatably attached to the sub-frame 25c, and is normally set at a position where it is discharged to the storage tray side by a spring 123 as shown in FIG. The switching gate 120 is connected to the solenoid 121 via the lever 122. The solenoid 121 is fixed to the subframe 25c via a fixing bracket.

  When the solenoid 121 is turned on, the lever 122 is pulled downward in the figure, and the switching gate 120 rotates to a position in the direction of the arrow 124 in FIG. By this operation, the conveyance path of the continuous medium 5 is switched.

  When the solenoid 121 is in a non-energized (OFF) state, the switching gate 120 is on the container tray side, and when the solenoid 121 is in an energized (ON) state, the conveying path is on the trash box side. Unnecessary continuous medium 5 before image recording is cut and discharged, and stored in trash can 161. Since the solenoid 121 generates heat when energized (operated), this switching setting is used. However, there is no particular limitation as long as there is no influence of heat generation or the like.

  Accordingly, the necessary continuous medium 5 on which the image has been recorded is cut by the cutter mechanism 4 and immediately before being discharged, the solenoid 121 is turned off and returned to the accommodation tray side position shown in FIG. It passes and is accommodated in the accommodation tray 160. The ON / OFF timing of the solenoid 121 is controlled by the number of pulses of the encoder provided in the cutter mechanism 4 described above. In addition, it is possible to provide a sensor on the downstream side of the cutter roller pair 100 to control the switching timing.

  A discharge roller pair 131 (feed roller 131a and pair roller 131b) is attached in the vicinity of the end of the conveyance guide 130 on the storage tray side, and the cut medium cut and conveyed by the cutter mechanism unit 4 is discharged to the storage tray 160. To do.

  The discharge roller pair 131 is disposed at a position away from the cutting position of the cutter mechanism 4 by a certain distance or more. Specifically, when the continuous medium 5 is cut at intervals of 210 mm on the A4 size short side, the interval (conveyance distance) between the discharge roller pair 131 and the cutting position is set to 210 mm or more. In the case of this setting or less, since the continuous medium 5 is nipped by the discharge roller pair 131 and sent out before the continuous medium 5 is cut, a cutting failure occurs. In addition, the structure which makes the cutter mechanism part 4 movable and changes a continuous medium cut position suitably according to cutting size may be sufficient.

  The feed roller 131a is driven by a drive motor 133, gears 134 and 135, and a belt 136. The feed roller 131a, the pair of rollers 131b, the drive motor 133, the gears 134 and 135, the belt 136, and the conveyance guides 130a and 130b are attached to a base (not shown) as one unit and are fixed to the subframe 25c.

  Further, a discharge roller pair 141 (feed roller 141a and pair roller 141b) for feeding the continuous medium 5 is attached to an intermediate portion of the transport guide 140 in the transport path on the trash box 161 side, and is transported by being cut by the cutter mechanism section 4. The unnecessary cut medium is discharged to the trash can 161.

  The discharge roller pair 141 is also arranged at a certain position or more from the cutting position of the cutter mechanism 4 as described above. The feed roller 141 a is driven by a drive motor 143, gears 144, 145 and a belt 146. The discharge roller pair 141, the drive motor 143, the gears 144 and 145, the belt 146, and the conveyance guides 140a and 140b are combined as one unit, mounted on a base (not shown), and fixed to the subframe 25c.

With reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 17, the holding state of the continuous medium 5 after completion of image recording will be described.
First, image information is image-recorded on the continuous medium 5 by the first recording head 50 and the second recording head 60 (step S21). It is determined whether the image recording is completed and all the continuous media 5 on which the image has been recorded have been cut by the cutter mechanism unit 4 (step S22). If it has not been cut (No), it is cut (step S23). On the other hand, if it is determined that the cutting has been completed (Yes), the current position of the cutter blade 101 on the cutter roller 100a is confirmed, and the position of the cutter blade 101 is adjusted to a place other than the cutting position (step) S24) The drive motor of the cutter roller pair 100 is stopped (step S25).

  Next, the switching gate 20 is switched to the discharge conveyance path on the trash box side (step S26). By this switching, the continuous medium 5 is conveyed to the trash can 161 side. In other words, the continuous medium 5 is sent out by the driving conveyance unit (second drum 40, tension roller 21, and nip roller pair 26), passes through the gap between the cutter rollers 100a and 100b, passes through the switching gate 20, and is disposed on the trash box side. It is sent out into the discharge conveyance path. Then, it is determined whether or not the front edge of the continuous medium 5 has reached the discharge roller pair 141 (step S27). If the front edge of the continuous medium 5 has reached the discharge roller pair 141 (Yes), the discharge roller pair When the continuous medium 5 is nipped at 141, the driving of the transport unit (second drum 40, tension roller 21, and nip roller pair 26) and discharge roller pair 141 is stopped (step S28), and the nip state is maintained. The

Next, with reference to FIGS. 18A to 18C, the stop position of the front edge of the continuous medium in the present embodiment will be described.
When the image recording is finished and the transport is completely stopped immediately after the continuous medium 5 on which the final image is recorded is cut by the cutter mechanism unit 4, the front edge of the continuous medium 5 is positioned at the position shown in FIG. It is in.

  If the apparatus is stopped and left as it is in this state, as described in the problem, the front edge of the continuous medium 5 curls in the radial direction of the cutter roller as indicated by the dotted lines 201 and 202 due to the temperature and humidity near the apparatus. It is conceivable that a wrinkled state or a wavy state occurs. In this way, when the apparatus is operated with the front end edge deformed and the conveyance of the continuous medium 5 is started to perform image recording, for example, the front end edge contacts the front end edges 203 and 204 of the conveyance guide, and the continuous medium 5 This causes a jam error, resulting in a conveyance failure.

  Even if the jamming error is to be prevented on the apparatus side, the front end edges 203 and 204 of the conveyance guide are caused by the cutter roller pair 100 of the cutter mechanism section 4 rotating and the protruding cutter blade 101 being in the vicinity. A certain clearance or more with respect to the roller pair 100 is required. For this reason, it cannot prevent that the deformed front edge contacts.

  In order to avoid this problem, as a first method, the cutter roller pair 100 is stopped immediately after the final cutting of the continuous medium 5 and the conveyance drive of the continuous medium 5 is continued. Then, as shown in FIG. 18B, the continuous medium 5 is stopped so that the front edge of the continuous medium 5 is in the middle position of the conveyance guide 110. More preferably, the front edge of the continuous medium 5 is stopped at a position between the switching gate 120 and the discharge roller pair 141. If there is a front edge of the continuous medium 5 at this position, the continuous medium 5 is sandwiched between the conveyance guides 140, so that excessive deformation such as curling and undulation is suppressed, and even if the front edge contacts, Therefore, even when the conveyance for the next image recording is resumed, the conveyance failure due to the jam error can be prevented.

  Further, as a second method, after the final cutting, the cutter roller pair 100 is stopped and the conveyance drive of the continuous medium 5 is continued. Then, the conveyance drive is completely stopped immediately after passing the discharge roller pair 141 as shown in FIG. At this time, the front end edge of the continuous medium 5 is sandwiched between the discharge roller pair 141. Therefore, even if the front end edge is deformed, there is no portion where the front end edge is entangled when the conveyance is resumed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a conveyance failure.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, when the transfer gate 120 has a transport path toward the trash box side, the front edge of the continuous medium 5 is positioned at the middle position of the transport guide 110 or immediately before the trash box. By holding the nip with the feed roller 141 provided, even if the front edge of the continuous medium 5 is curled or undulated, the conveyance can be resumed without causing a conveyance failure. .

Next, a modification of the second embodiment will be described.
The second method of the second embodiment described above is a configuration example in which the discharge roller pair 141 is provided in the transport path on the trash box side downstream of the switching gate 120 and the front edge of the continuous medium 5 is nipped. In the present modification, the unnecessary continuous medium 5 that has been cut is accommodated in the trash can 161 by free fall without providing the discharge roller pair 141.

  In this modification, after the front edge of the continuous medium 5 passes through the switching gate 120, the conveyance of the continuous medium 5 is stopped. Thereafter, the switching gate 120 is switched to switch the transport path to the storage tray 160 side. By this switching, the continuous medium 5 is pressed by the switching gate 120 and the conveyance guide.

  According to the above modification, the continuous medium 5 can be pressed down by devising the stop position using the switching gate even if the roller is not provided on the transport path on the trash box side. Thus, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a conveyance failure when resuming the conveyance.

  In the image recording apparatus of the present invention, the front end portion (front end edge) of the non-image recording portion is immediately before the image recording operation is stopped after the medium portion formed with the continuous medium is cut and discharged by the cutter mechanism portion. After being transferred to the discharge conveyance path without being cut, the drive of the image recording apparatus is stopped.

  As a result, even if the front end edge of the continuous medium is arranged at a position in the transport path closest to the discharge, or the state where the front end edge is nipped by the roller provided near the discharge is kept, and the front end edge is deformed by moisture absorption due to temperature and humidity There is no deformation beyond the conveyance path interval, and it is possible to start the re-conveying operation without causing any trouble in re-operation of the apparatus at the next image recording.

1 is a schematic front view illustrating an overall configuration of an image recording apparatus according to a first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the control block structure of the image recording device of 1st Embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view illustrating a printer unit of the image recording apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a recording head and a maintenance unit of a printer unit according to the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows a part of conveyance path | route of the printer part in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows a part of conveyance path | route of the printer part in 1st Embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the cutter mechanism part in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the attachment position of the cutter blade attached on the cutter roller in 1st Embodiment. FIG. 9A shows an example in which the cutting blade is horizontally fixed with respect to the cutter roller in the first embodiment, and FIG. 9B is an inclination with respect to the cutter roller and the cutting blade is fixed. It is a figure which shows an example. It is the figure which showed the cutter mechanism part and discharge part periphery in detail in 1st Embodiment. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a standby state of a continuous medium after the end of image recording in the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the stop position of the front-end edge of the continuous medium in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the 1st modification of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the 2nd modification of 1st Embodiment. It is a schematic front view which shows the whole structure of the image recording device in 2nd Embodiment. FIG. 10 is a side view illustrating a configuration of a discharge portion of an image recording apparatus having a conveyance path switching mechanism according to a second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart for explaining a standby state of a continuous medium after the end of image recording in the second embodiment. It is a figure which shows the position of the front-end edge of the continuous medium in the conveyance path | route of discharge | emission in 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image recording device, 2 ... Feeding part, 3 ... Printer part, 4 ... Cutter mechanism part, 5 ... Continuous medium, 6 ... Stand, 7 ... Paper tube fixing shaft, 8 ... Brake, 11 ... Input part, 12 ... Monitor, 13 ... Control unit, 21 ... Tension roller, 26 ... Nip roller pair, 30 ... First drum, 40 ... Second drum, 41, 46, 90, 104, 133 ... Drive motor, 42 ... Encoder, 50 ... First Recording head, 51a, 51b, 51c, 51d ... Recording head, 52a, 52b, 52c, 52d ... Head holding plate, 53 ... Head holding member, 60 ... Second recording head, 70 ... First maintenance unit, 71 ... Suction nozzle 72 ... 1st ink pan, 73 ... 2nd ink pan, 74 ... Maintenance unit holding member, 80 ... 2nd maintenance unit, 100 ... Cutter roller pair, 1 1 ... discharge roller pair, 200 ... discharge unit.

Claims (10)

A feeding unit for supplying a long continuous medium;
A recording unit for performing image recording on the continuous medium;
A cutter mechanism for cutting the continuous medium recorded by the recording unit into a cut medium of a predetermined size;
A medium conveying unit for conveying the continuous medium from the feeding unit to the cutter mechanism unit;
A discharge section for discharging the cut medium cut by the cutter mechanism section;
A control unit that controls at least the feeding unit, the recording unit, the cutter mechanism unit, the medium transport unit, and the discharge unit;
In an image recording apparatus having
When stopping the image recording apparatus, the control unit cuts the continuous medium on which the image has been finally recorded, and then transports the front edge of the continuous medium to the discharge unit and waits at the discharge unit. A characteristic image recording apparatus. The discharge part is
A storage tray for storing the cut medium cut by the cutter mechanism;
A conveyance path for guiding the cut medium from the cutter mechanism to the storage tray,
The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the front end edge of the continuous medium is made to wait in the conveyance path. The discharge part is
A storage tray for storing the cut medium cut by the cutter mechanism;
A conveyance path for guiding the cut medium from the cutter mechanism to the storage tray;
A discharge roller pair for discharging the cut medium from the transport path to the storage tray;
2. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image recording apparatus waits in a state in which a front end edge of the continuous medium is nipped by the discharge roller pair. The discharge part is
At least two storage trays for storing the cut medium cut by the cutter mechanism;
A plurality of conveyance paths for branching the cut medium downstream of the cutter mechanism unit and guiding the cut medium to the storage trays;
A switching unit that is provided at the branching portion of the transport path and switches the transport path in order to store the cut medium in a desired storage tray;
Have
The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image recording apparatus is in a standby state in which a front end edge of the continuous medium is held between the switching unit and an inner wall of the conveyance path. The storage tray has at least one unnecessary medium tray for storing unnecessary medium that is unnecessary among cut media cut by the cutter mechanism,
When starting the image recording apparatus, the front edge of the continuous medium is sandwiched between the switching unit and the inner wall of the transport path so that the continuous medium is guided to the transport path on the unnecessary medium tray side. The image recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein: The discharge part is
At least two storage trays for storing the cut medium cut by the cutter mechanism;
A plurality of conveyance paths for branching the cut medium downstream of the cutter mechanism unit and guiding the cut medium to the storage trays;
A switching unit that is provided at the branching portion of the transport path and switches the transport path in order to store the cut medium in a desired storage tray;
A discharge roller pair for discharging the cut medium from the transport path to the storage tray;
Have
The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image recording apparatus waits in a state where the front edge of the continuous medium is nipped by the discharge roller pair. The storage tray has at least one unnecessary medium tray for storing unnecessary medium that is unnecessary among cut media cut by the cutter mechanism,
The image recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the front end edge of the continuous medium stands by in a state of being nipped by a pair of discharge rollers for discharging to the unnecessary medium tray.   8. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a nip roller is disposed upstream of and in the vicinity of the cutter mechanism unit. A continuous medium of an image recording apparatus which records an image on a continuous continuous medium, cuts an image portion recorded on the continuous medium with a cutter mechanism unit, passes the image through at least one discharge conveyance path, and discharges it to a storage tray. Waiting method,
When stopping the image recording apparatus, the continuous medium on which the image has been finally recorded is cut into a cut medium of a desired size, and then the front edge of the continuous medium is transported to the discharge transport path and waited. A standby method for a continuous medium of an image recording apparatus.   The standby method for a continuous medium of an image recording apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the standby is performed by sandwiching a front edge of the continuous medium in the discharge conveyance path.

Images