JP2009208894A - Printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing device capable of efficient replenishment with printing paper. <P>SOLUTION: If a printing paper detection sensor 16 detects the absence of succeeding printing paper P in a paper tray 4 when an auto sheet feeder 3 feeds printing paper P into a print position PP, a buzzer sounds to notify a user of the absence of relevant paper, so that the user can prepare replenishment with the printing paper P according to the notification and replenish the tray with the printing paper P upon completion of printing to the printing paper P being fed into the print position PP. After the notification by the buzzer, the user can perform efficient replenishment with printing paper P only after waiting until printing to the printing paper P being fed into the print position PP is completed without the need for waiting until printing to a plurality of sheets of printing paper P is completed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus that performs printing on printing paper at a printing position.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, like a printing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, a printing apparatus that holds information about the remaining number of print sheets is known. With this configuration, if there is a print request from the host computer with the remaining number of print sheets, all the print data input from the host computer is printed based on the information about the remaining number of print sheets held by the printing apparatus. It can be determined whether or not it is possible. When it is determined that all the print data cannot be printed with the remaining number of print sheets, the host computer is notified of the shortage of print sheets and the number of print sheets that are insufficient. At the start, the host computer can determine whether or not there is a need to replenish printing paper.

JP-A-8-217289 (paragraphs 0013 to 0021, FIGS. 2, 3 etc.)

  By the way, in the above-described printing apparatus, there is no consideration when the host computer requires printing exceeding the upper limit of the number of printing sheets that can be stored by the printing apparatus, and it is necessary to replenish the sheets in the middle of printing. It wasn't done, and there was a need for technical improvements.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a printing apparatus that can efficiently replenish printing paper.

  In order to achieve the above object, a printing apparatus according to the present invention is a printing apparatus that performs printing on printing paper at a printing position, a paper tray that stores a plurality of printing paper, and the printing paper from the paper tray at the printing position. A paper feeding means for feeding the paper, a printing paper detection means for detecting the presence or absence of the printing paper stored in the paper tray, and at the time of feeding the printing paper to the printing position by the paper feeding means, If the printing paper detection means detects that there is no printing paper following the paper tray, the printing paper detection means comprises notification means for notifying the absence of paper.

  In the invention configured as described above, when the printing paper detection unit detects that there is no printing paper following the paper tray when the printing paper is fed to the printing position by the paper feeding unit, the no-paper state is determined. Since the notification means notifies the user, the user prepares for the supply of the printing paper in response to the notification, so that the printing paper is supplied immediately after the printing on the printing paper that has been sent to the printing position is completed. It can be carried out. Further, after the notification by the notification means, the user does not wait for the printing on the plurality of printing papers to end, but only waits for the printing on the printing paper being sent to the printing position to end. The printing paper can be replenished efficiently.

  Further, the paper tray is configured to be capable of storing a plurality of sizes of the printing paper, and the printing paper detection means is in a state in which the printing paper having the smallest size among the plurality of sizes is stored in the paper tray. It is good also as a structure arrange | positioned at the edge part on the opposite side to the feed direction by the said paper feed means of the said printing paper. With such a configuration, since the printing paper detection unit is disposed at a position where the printing paper of the minimum size can be detected, it is possible to detect the presence or absence of printing paper of all sizes stored in the paper tray. In addition, regardless of the size of printing paper to be printed, the end of the printing paper opposite to the feeding direction by the paper feeding means is sent to the printing position by the printing paper detection means. The time from when the set position is exceeded to when the printing on the printing paper is completed can be set to substantially the same time. Therefore, no matter what size printing paper is printed, after the notification by the notification means based on the detection result of the presence or absence of the printing paper by the printing paper detection means, the printing is completed and the printing paper can be replenished Since the time is substantially the same, the convenience for the user can be improved.

  The printing paper detecting unit may include a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit that directly receives light from the light emitting unit or receives light reflected by the printing paper from the light emitting unit. With such a configuration, the print detecting means can be easily realized by the light emitting means and the light receiving means.

  The printing position may include a print head that performs printing on the printing paper by reciprocating in a main scanning direction substantially orthogonal to the feeding direction of the printing paper by the paper feeding means. A so-called serial printer, in which a print head moves back and forth in the main scanning direction and prints on printing paper, requires more time to print one printing paper than a page printer such as a laser printer. However, by preparing for replenishment of the printing paper after the notification of the paper out condition, the user replenishes the printing paper only by waiting for the printing on the printing paper being sent to the printing position to end. And printing paper can be replenished very efficiently.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an inkjet printer 1 that performs color printing, which is an embodiment of the printing apparatus of the present invention. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part of the inkjet printer 1. FIG. 2A is a diagram showing the automatic paper feeder 3 and the paper tray 4. FIG. 2B is a diagram showing the configuration of the paper sensor 16. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an outline of the internal configuration of the ink jet printer 1. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a printing paper feeding operation, and FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating a state where feeding of the printing paper P from the paper tray 4 to the printing position PP by the automatic paper feeding device 3 is started. FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a state where the leading edge of the printing paper P is sent to the printing position PP, and FIG. 5C is a diagram illustrating a state where the trailing edge of the printing paper P exceeds the position of the paper sensor 16. In the ink jet printer 1, a printing mechanism 50 (see FIG. 3) is built in the printer main body 2, and in response to an operation command from a controller 20 (see FIG. 3) that controls the entire ink jet printer 1. Printing on the printing paper P is executed. Then, the printing paper printed in this way is discharged to the front surface of the printer main body 2.

  Further, an automatic paper feeding device (corresponding to “paper feeding means” of the present invention) 3 as an automatic paper feeding means is disposed on the back side of the printer main body 2. A paper tray 4 that stores a plurality of printing papers P, and a paper guide 7 having a placement plate 5 and an edge guide 6 are attached to an automatic sheet feeder (Auto Sheet Feeder) 3. Further, the automatic paper feeder 3 includes a paper feeding mechanism for feeding the printing paper P stored in the paper tray 4 one by one along the paper guide 7 to the printing position PP in the printer main body 2 (see FIG. 4). Further, as will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. 3, the printer main body 2 reciprocates in the width direction (main scanning direction) substantially perpendicular to the feeding direction (sub scanning direction) of the printing paper P by the paper feeding mechanism. A moving carriage 53 is provided, and ink is ejected at a predetermined timing from a print head (corresponding to a “print head” of the present invention) 55 provided at the lower portion of the carriage 53 and reciprocally moving integrally with the carriage 53. Thus, printing is performed on the printing paper P at the printing position PP. Then, the printed paper that has been printed is discharged from a discharge port 2a that opens at the lower front side of the printer body 2.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2A, by adjusting the position of the edge guide 6 included in the paper guide 7 to adjust the width, the paper tray 4 can be printed in a plurality of sizes from L size to A4 size. It is comprised so that P can be stored. In addition, among the sizes of a plurality of printing papers that can be stored in the paper tray 4, the side opposite to the paper feeding direction of the printing paper P when the L-size printing paper P that is the minimum size is stored in the paper tray 4. A printing paper detection sensor 16 (corresponding to “printing paper detection means” of the present invention) 16 for detecting the presence or absence of the printing paper P stored in the paper tray 4 is disposed on the rear end side. As shown in FIG. 2B, the printing paper detection sensor 16 includes a light emitting means 16a configured by a light emitting diode and a light receiving sensor such as a phototransistor, and a printing paper P for light L1 from the light emitting means 16a. And a light receiving means 16b for receiving the reflected light L2. That is, the light L1 emitted from the light emitting means 16a is reflected by the printing paper P, and the reflected light L2 is received by the light receiving means 16b and converted into an electric signal. Then, the magnitude of the electric signal is measured as the output value of the light receiving sensor corresponding to the intensity of the received reflected light L2.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2B, the light emitting means 16a and the light receiving means 16b integrally constitute the reflective printing paper detection sensor 16, but the light emitting means and the light receiving means. May be configured by individual devices. Further, the printing paper detection sensor may be configured as a so-called photo interrupter by arranging the light emitting means and the light receiving means so as to face each other and the light receiving means directly receive the light from the light emitting means. With such a configuration, the printing paper P is positioned between the light emitting means and the light receiving means, and the light from the light emitting means to the light receiving means is blocked, thereby determining the presence or absence of the printing paper P on the paper tray 4. It can be detected.

  Further, a buzzer 34 is provided so that the user can be notified of the information by a beep sound at any timing when the printing paper P runs out or an error such as a paper jam occurs (see the present invention). Corresponding to “notification means”, see FIG. With such a configuration, it is possible to reliably notify the user that printing has been interrupted due to some error in the inkjet printer 1.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 3, the printing mechanism 50 that performs printing on the printing paper P sent from the paper tray 4 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the print mechanism 50 is driven by a timing belt 51 that is looped in the left-right direction and reciprocates left and right (in the main scanning direction) along the guide 52. The carriage 53 is provided with a paper edge detection sensor 57 for detecting the left and right edges and the upper and lower edges of the paper P. In other words, the paper edge detection sensor 57 detects the left and right edges of the printing paper P when the carriage 53 scans the printing paper P sent from the paper tray 4 in the horizontal direction before printing, and recognizes the paper width. Or the trailing edge of the printing paper P is detected in the middle of printing so that the paper length can be recognized.

  The carriage 53 is mounted with an ink cartridge 54 that individually accommodates ink of each color such as cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. Each of these ink cartridges 54 is connected to a print head 55. The print head 55 applies pressure to the ink from the ink cartridge 54 and ejects the ink from the nozzle (not shown) toward the printing paper P. In this embodiment, the print head 55 employs a method in which a voltage is applied to the piezoelectric element to deform the piezoelectric element and pressurize the ink. However, a voltage is applied to the heating resistor (for example, a heater) to apply the ink. You may employ | adopt the system which pressurizes ink with the bubble generated by heating. The printing paper P printed in this way is sent out to the discharge port 2 a by the transport roller 56.

  Next, the configuration of the controller 20 of the inkjet printer 1 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the inkjet printer 1 of the present embodiment is configured to be communicably connected to the host computer PC via an interface 24 configured by a USB interface, a parallel interface, or the like. In the host computer PC, processing for converting image data and document data into print data is executed by a printer driver configured by a program and a CPU. These print data and print commands are sent from the host computer PC to the inkjet printer 1. Sent.

  Further, a CPU 25, a ROM 26, a RAM 27, an ASIC 28, a non-volatile memory (not shown) and the like are connected to the system bus 21 of the controller 20 connected to the interface 24. The CPU 25 performs arithmetic processing for executing operation control of the print mechanism 50. In addition, the CPU 25 is configured to output a command necessary for print control, a command for sending the printing paper P, and a command for discharging the printing paper P to the ASIC 28 by executing a program stored in the ROM 26. The ROM 26 stores a program (firmware) necessary for the control of the CPU 25. The RAM 27 temporarily stores data such as print data input from the outside, and the nonvolatile memory stores various data and tables necessary for the control of the CPU 25.

  In addition, a head drive circuit 31, a belt drive circuit 32, and a roller drive circuit 33 are connected to the ASIC 28. The ASIC 28 controls the print head 55 via the head drive circuit 31 to eject ink onto the printing paper P, and controls the carriage motor (not shown) via the belt drive circuit 32 to thereby move the carriage 53. , And a paper feed motor (not shown) is controlled via the roller drive circuit 33 to rotate the transport roller 56, the paper feed roller 13 and the loading roller 10 (see FIG. 4) at arbitrary timings. Let

  The ASIC 28 is configured to interpret a print data command input from the host computer PC, perform data expansion, and control the print head 55 via the head drive circuit 31 based on this data. As described above, the ASIC 28 drives the printing mechanism 50 to perform printing control, and performs printing paper P feeding processing and discharging processing based on commands from the CPU 25.

  Next, the configuration and operation of the automatic paper feeder 3 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, a loading roller 10 is disposed in the vicinity of the lower end of the mounting plate 5 on the back surface of the printer body 2 so as to face the mounting plate 5. A guide 12 is disposed on the downstream side of the loading roller 10 in the sheet feeding direction. Then, as shown in FIG. 4A, the loading roller 10 abuts on the uppermost sheet of the printing paper P on the paper tray 4 and the loading plate 5 with its arc surface. The printing paper P is fed to the paper feed roller 13 by one rotation in the direction of the arrow in the middle. In the example shown in FIG. 4, a case where only one print paper P is stored in the paper tray 4 will be described in order to simplify the description of the print paper feeding operation. Needless to say, the printing paper P may be stored.

  Further, as described above, the loading roller 10, the paper feed roller 13, and the transport roller 56 are configured to be rotated by the paper feed motor driven by the roller driving means 33. Further, the loading roller 10 and the paper feed motor are connected via a clutch that switches between disconnection and connection of power transmission. Therefore, when the printing paper P is fed from the paper tray 4 to the paper feed roller 13, the clutch is switched to the connected state, and thereby the loading roller 10 is driven.

  In the present embodiment, the paper feed motor is a stepping motor, and the ASIC 28 includes a counter (not shown) as a measurement unit that counts the number of steps of the paper feed motor. Therefore, the ASIC 28 can detect the position of the printing paper P from the count value of the counter. Note that a configuration in which the rotation of the paper feed motor is detected by an encoder and the pulse edge from the encoder is counted by a counter to detect the position of the printing paper P may be employed.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the printing paper P is fed by a predetermined amount by the rotation of the paper feed roller 13, the leading edge of the printing paper P is moved to the reference position of the print head 55 (in FIG. 4B). It is positioned at a position that matches the position of the arrow. That is, the printing paper P fed from the paper tray 4 passes between the paper feeding rollers 13 and is fed to the printing position PP between the carriage 53 and the platen 14 and is cued.

  Note that printing on the printing paper P sent to the printing mechanism 50 is completed, and the printing paper P is discharged from the discharge port 2a by the transport roller 56, whereby the trailing edge of the printing paper P reaches the printing position PP. After the paper edge detection sensor 57 detects this, feeding of the next printing paper P from the paper tray 4 to the printing position PP is started at a timing when the printing paper P is further discharged from the discharge port 2a by a predetermined amount. The In the present embodiment, when the previous print paper P is being discharged from the discharge port 2a and the leading edge of the subsequent print paper P is fed to the reference position for cueing, the previous print paper P is transferred to the transport roller. At the timing when it falls from 56, feeding of the subsequent printing paper P to the printing position PP is started.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4C, when the printing paper P is sent toward the printing position PP in accordance with the printing process on the printing paper P, there is no printing paper P following the paper tray 4. If the trailing edge of the printing paper P being printed exceeds the position of the printing paper detection sensor 16, the printing paper detection sensor 16 detects that there is no printing paper P following the paper tray 4. It is configured as follows.

  By the way, when printing is continuously performed on a plurality of printing papers P and the printing paper P is continuously fed from the paper tray 4 to the printing position PP, the printing paper is placed on the paper tray 4. If P is replenished, there is a risk of causing a paper jam or the like. Therefore, when the printing paper P is replenished to the paper tray 4, when all the printing data received from the host computer PC has been printed, or for all the printing paper P stored in the paper tray 4. When printing is performed, it is necessary to replenish printing paper P to the paper tray 4 when printing is temporarily stopped due to running out of paper. Therefore, during printing, the user has to check frequently whether or not the printing paper P stored in the paper tray 4 is exhausted, which is very troublesome. In addition, when waiting for the printing paper P to run out of the paper tray 4 in a state where several printing papers P remain in the paper tray 4, the user waits until several printing papers P run out. Was useless. In particular, serial printers such as inkjet printers are slow in printing speed, so even when printing on several printing papers P, the user is required to wait for a long time until printing is completed, and time is wasted. There was inconvenience that there were many.

  Further, in the conventional ink jet printer, after the printing on the last printing paper P is completed, the feeding operation of the next printing paper P to the printing position PP is started at the above-described timing, and the loading roller 10 and the paper for a predetermined time. If the leading edge of the next printing paper P is not detected by the paper edge detection sensor 57 even though the feed roller 13 is driven, it is detected that there is no printing paper P following the paper tray 4. Was configured to be. Therefore, when the user is notified that there is no printing paper P in the paper tray 4, the next printing paper P is placed in the paper tray 4 after printing on the last printing paper P is completed. Since a predetermined time was required until it was detected that there was no state, improvement of the technology was required for the following points. That is, after printing for the last printing paper P is completed, it is detected that there is no printing paper P in the paper tray 4 after a considerable time has elapsed, and the user is notified that there is no paper. The Since the user starts preparation for replenishment of the printing paper P in response to this notification, the efficiency is poor. In particular, in a printer of a type that cannot store a large amount of printing paper P in the paper tray 4, such as a home printer, the frequency of replenishment of the printing paper P to the paper tray 4 increases. As a result, the above-mentioned problem becomes remarkable.

  However, in the inkjet printer 1 of the present embodiment, the printing paper detection sensor 16 is provided to detect that there is no printing paper P following the paper tray 4 before printing on the printing paper P is completed. be able to. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4C, when the automatic paper feeder 3 feeds the printing paper P to the printing position PP, there is no printing paper P following the paper tray 4. Is detected by the printing paper detection sensor 16, the user is notified of the absence of the paper by sounding the buzzer 34. The processing at the time of detecting the absence of paper will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing processing at the time of detecting a paper out state. As shown in FIG. 4C, if the printing paper detection sensor 16 detects that there is no printing paper P following the paper tray 4, the controller 20 executes the processing for detecting the absence of paper shown in FIG. Is done. If the print paper detection sensor 16 detects a paper out condition, first, in step S100, it is determined whether or not there is an unprinted page in the print data input from the host computer PC. If it is determined as NO in step S100, the processing is terminated as it is. On the other hand, if “YES” is determined in step S100, the buzzer 34 is sounded to notify the user that there is no print paper P in the paper tray 4 (step S101). Then, after the buzzer 34 notifies the user of the absence of paper, a warning that the paper tray 4 is out of paper is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor of the inkjet printer 1 (not shown), and the process is terminated (step S102). ).

  In the present embodiment, the user is notified by the buzzer 34 and the liquid crystal monitor, but the user may be notified by a light emitting element such as an LED instead. The buzzer 34, the liquid crystal monitor, and the light emitting element described above can be used alone or in combination to constitute the “notification unit” of the present invention. In the present embodiment, in step S100, the print paper detection sensor 16 is configured to notify the user of the absence of paper according to the determination result of whether there is an unprinted page in the print data. However, it may be configured to always notify the user of a paper out condition if the paper tray 4 detects a paper out condition.

  As described above, in this embodiment, when the automatic paper feeder 3 feeds the printing paper P to the printing position PP, the printing paper detection sensor 16 indicates that there is no printing paper P following the paper tray 4. If it is detected, the buzzer 34 informs the absence of the paper, so that the user prepares for the replenishment of the printing paper P in response to the notice, and the printing paper P that has been sent to the printing position PP is thus prepared. The printing paper P can be replenished immediately after the printing is completed. Further, after the notification by the buzzer 34, the user does not wait for the printing on the plurality of printing papers P to end, but waits for the printing on the printing paper P being sent to the printing position PP to end. The printing paper P can be replenished efficiently only by doing this.

  Further, in a configuration in which the printing apparatus holds information regarding the remaining number of printing sheets P stored in the sheet tray 4 as in the conventional printing apparatus described above, a plurality of printing sheets P are overlapped and sent to the printing mechanism 50. (Multiple feeding) causes an error between the information regarding the remaining number of printing sheets P held by the printing apparatus and the number of printing sheets P actually remaining in the tray 4, which may cause malfunction. It was. However, in this embodiment, even if a double feed occurs when the print paper P is fed from the paper tray 4 to the print mechanism 50, the print paper detection sensor 16 as to whether or not there is a print paper P following the paper tray 4. The user is notified of information related to the absence of paper in the paper tray 4 using only the detection result obtained by the above. Therefore, it is possible to notify the user of accurate information that there is no printing paper P that follows the paper tray 4.

  Further, since the print sheet detection sensor 16 is disposed at a position where the minimum size L-size print sheet P can be detected, it is possible to detect the presence or absence of all size print sheets P stored in the sheet tray 4. . In addition, regardless of the size of the printing paper P on which printing is to be performed, the end (rear edge) of the printing paper P opposite to the feeding direction of the automatic paper feeder 3 is the printing position PP. The time from when the printing paper detection sensor 16 is moved to the end of printing on the printing paper P can be made substantially the same. Therefore, no matter what size printing paper P is printed, after the notification by the buzzer 34 based on the detection result of the presence or absence of the printing paper P by the printing paper detection sensor 16, the printing is finished and the printing paper P can be replenished. Therefore, the convenience for the user can be improved.

  Further, the print detection sensor 16 can be easily realized by the light emitting means 16a and the light receiving means 16b.

  In addition, the ink jet printer 1 as a so-called serial printer, in which the print head 55 (carriage 53) reciprocates in the main scanning direction and prints on the printing paper P, has a printing paper P as compared with a page printer such as a laser printer. It takes more time to print one sheet. However, by preparing for replenishment of the printing paper P after the buzzer 34 is notified of the absence of paper, the user only has to wait for the printing on the printing paper P being fed to the printing position PP to end. The printing paper P can be replenished very efficiently.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications other than those described above can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the inkjet printer 1 that performs color printing is described as an example of the printing apparatus according to the present invention. However, the inkjet printer that performs monochrome printing, the printing apparatus such as the other ink cartridge type photo printer, and the like The present invention may also be applied to a printing apparatus as a network printer provided with a LAN, or a printing apparatus as a multifunction machine provided with a FAX or a scanner. That is, the present invention can be widely applied to printing paper provided with the paper tray 4 and the automatic paper feeder 3 (paper feeding means).

1 is a perspective view showing an ink jet printer of an embodiment of a printing apparatus of the present invention. The principal part enlarged view of an inkjet printer. 1 is a diagram illustrating an outline of an internal configuration of an inkjet printer. The figure which shows printing paper feeding operation | movement. The figure which shows a process at the time of a paper out state detection.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Inkjet printer (printing apparatus), 16 ... Printing paper detection sensor (printing paper detection means), 16a ... Light emission means, 16b ... Light receiving means, 3 ... Automatic paper feeder (paper feeding means), 4 ... Paper tray, 55 ... Print head (print head), P ... printing paper, PP ... printing position

Claims (4)

In a printing device that prints on printing paper at a printing position,
A paper tray for storing multiple printing papers;
Paper feeding means for feeding the printing paper from the paper tray to the printing position;
A printing paper detecting means provided on the paper tray for detecting the presence or absence of the printing paper stored in the paper tray;
When the printing paper detecting means detects that the printing paper following the paper tray is not present when the printing paper is fed to the printing position by the paper feeding means, a notification for notifying the absence of paper is issued. And a printing apparatus. The paper tray is configured to store a plurality of sizes of the printing paper,
The printing paper detection means is disposed at an end of the plurality of sizes opposite to the feeding direction of the printing paper by the paper feeding means in a state where the printing paper having the smallest size is stored in the paper tray. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The printing paper detection means includes
Light emitting means;
The printing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: a light receiving unit that directly receives light from the light emitting unit, or a light receiving unit that receives light reflected from the printing paper of the light from the light emitting unit.   2. The printing head according to claim 1, further comprising a print head that performs printing on the printing paper by reciprocating in a main scanning direction substantially orthogonal to a feeding direction of the printing paper by the paper feeding means at the printing position. 4. The printing apparatus according to any one of 3.

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