JP2010254406A - Feeding device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a feeding device easily setting a roll body. <P>SOLUTION: The paper feeder 12 includes a storage space 24 storing roll paper 13, a first movement member 38 and a second movement member 47 moved by a first horizontal motor 36 and a second horizontal motor 45 in positions corresponding to a center hole 13a of the roll paper 13 in the longitudinal direction, a first spindle 43 and a second spindle 51 moved along a vertical direction by a first perpendicular motor 40 and a second perpendicular motor 49 and supported by the movement members 38 and 47 in the insertable state into the center hole 13a, an optical sensor for detecting the center of the center hole 13a, and a control part for controlling driving of the motors 40, 49, 36 and 45 so that the spindles 43 and 51 are moved to positions confronted to the center hole 13a and the movement members 38 and 47 are moved to positions in which the spindles 43 and 51 are inserted into the center hole 13a. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a feeding device such as a paper feeding device mounted on a printer, for example.

  In general, a printer performs printing by feeding a recording sheet set in a sheet feeding unit to a recording unit. Some printers use roll paper (roll body) for continuous printing (for example, Patent Document 1). The printer disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a printer main body that performs printing and a paper tray on which roll paper fed to the printer main body is set.

  The paper tray includes a paper holder that holds the roll paper, a flange that regulates one side of the roll paper held by the paper holder, and a shaft that is fitted into the center of the paper holder. Roll paper is set through the member. That is, the roll paper is set in the paper tray by dropping the shaft in a state where the paper holder is inserted into the through hole of the roll paper in the notch of the bearing attached to the inside of each side plate of the paper tray. It has become.

JP 2006-232490 A

  By the way, in the printer described in Patent Document 1, when setting the roll paper on the paper tray, not only the holding member needs to be attached to the roll paper, but also the shaft slightly exposed from the paper holder is dropped into the notch of the bearing. Must be included. For this reason, there is a problem that it is difficult to set the roll paper on the paper tray.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such problems existing in the prior art. The object is to provide a feeding device capable of easily setting a roll body.

  In order to achieve the above object, a feeding device according to the present invention includes a storage unit that can store a roll body in a first direction in which the axial direction is horizontal, and the roll body is stored in the storage unit. A movable body movable along the first direction at a position corresponding to the center hole of the roll body in the first direction, and a non-horizontal first perpendicular to the first direction with respect to the movable body. A rotating body supported so as to be able to move along two directions and to be inserted into a central hole of the roll body, and a first driving means for moving the moving body along the first direction. And a second driving means for moving the rotating body along the second direction, and a detecting means for detecting a center position of a center hole of the roll body when the roll body is housed in the housing portion. And based on the detection result by the detection means, The driving of the second driving means is controlled so that the body moves to a position facing the center hole of the roll body, and the moving body moves to a position where the rotating body is inserted into the center hole of the roll body. And a control means for controlling the drive of the first drive means.

According to the present invention, since the rotating body can be inserted into the center hole of the roll body simply by putting the roll body into the accommodating portion, the roll body can be easily set.
In the feeding device according to the present invention, the control means may be configured such that the moving body moves to a position where the moving body is inserted into a center hole of the roll body in a state where the rotating body is housed in the housing portion. After controlling the driving of the means, the second driving means is driven so that the roll body in a state where the rotating body is inserted into the center hole moves to a position floating from the bottom surface of the housing portion in the second direction. To control.

  According to this invention, the roll body in the state accommodated in the accommodating part is moved to the position where it floats from the bottom surface of the accommodating part in a state where the rotating body is inserted into the center hole. Therefore, when the roll body is rotated by the rotating body, the roll body does not rub against the bottom surface of the housing portion. Therefore, it becomes possible to rotate the roll body without damaging it in the accommodating portion.

  In the feeding device according to the aspect of the invention, when the control unit moves the roll body stored in the storage unit in the first direction in the storage unit, the control unit moves the roll body in the second direction. After controlling the driving of the second driving means so as to move to a position floating from the bottom surface of the housing portion, the driving of the first driving means is controlled so that the moving body moves in the first direction.

  According to this invention, the movement of the roll body in the first direction is performed in a state where the roll body is floated from the bottom surface of the housing portion. For this reason, when a roll body is moved, it is not dragged on the bottom face of an accommodating part. Therefore, it is possible to move the roll body in the first direction without damaging the roll body.

  In the feeding device of the present invention, the detection means detects a presence / absence of an end surface of the roll body while moving in a radial direction of the roll body in a state of being accommodated in the accommodating portion, and an output from the sensor A position acquisition unit that acquires a switching position of presence / absence of the end face based on a signal to be performed, and a calculation unit that calculates the center position of the center hole of the roll body based on the position information acquired by the position acquisition unit. ing.

According to the present invention, it is possible to reliably determine the center position of the center hole of the roll body.
In the feeding device according to the aspect of the invention, the storage unit may include a positioning unit that positions the roll body so that the axial direction of the roll body is along the first direction when the roll body is stored in the storage unit. And the center of the center hole of the roll body is positioned on the movement path of the rotation axis of the rotating body when the rotating body moves in the second direction in a state where the roll body is positioned at the positioning portion. To do.

According to this invention, the center of the center hole of the roll body and the center of rotation of the roll body are made to face each other by moving the rotary body in the second direction in a state where the roll body is positioned by the positioning portion in the housing portion. Is possible.

In the feeding device according to the present invention, the moving bodies are respectively arranged at two positions on both sides of the roll body in the axial direction when the roll body is housed in the housing portion.
According to this invention, a roll body is supported by the both sides of the axial direction by each rotary body supported by two moving bodies. Therefore, it becomes possible to stably support the roll body.

In the feeding device of the present invention, the rotating body has an insertion portion configured such that the rotational radius becomes smaller toward the tip in the rotational axis direction.
According to this invention, it becomes possible to smoothly insert the insertion portion of the rotating body into the center hole of the roll body.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an ink jet printer according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state when roll paper is loaded into a storage space of a paper feeding device of the printer. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the printer. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state when the end surface of the roll paper is scanned by an optical sensor in the accommodation space of the paper feeder of the printer. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a roll paper setting processing routine. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a roll paper setting processing routine. The flowchart which shows a center detection process routine. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state when an insertion portion of a first spindle and an insertion portion of a second spindle are inserted into a center hole of a roll paper in a storage space of the paper feeding device of the printer. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state when roll paper is floated in a storage space of a paper feeding device of the printer. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state when the roll paper is moved to a setting position in a state where the roll paper is floated in the accommodation space of the paper feeder of the printer.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment embodying the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, the terms “front-rear direction”, “up-down direction”, and “left-right direction” refer to “front-rear direction”, “up-down direction” based on FIGS. 1 and 2 unless otherwise specified. It shall be the same as “direction” and “left-right direction”.

  FIG. 1 shows an ink jet printer 11 as a fluid ejecting apparatus including the feeding device of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, an ink jet printer 11 includes a main body case (not shown), a paper feeding device 12 as a feeding device, and a roll body that is sequentially unwound from the paper feeding device 12 and fed. A printing device 14 for printing on a cylindrical roll paper 13 as a paper, and a winding device 15 for sequentially winding the roll paper 13 after printing by the printing device 14. That is, the paper feeding device 12 is disposed on the left side of the printing device 14 on the upstream side in the transport direction of the roll paper 13 and the winding device 15 is disposed on the right side of the printing device 14 on the downstream side.

  The roll paper 13 is obtained by winding a long strip of paper around the outer peripheral surface of a cylindrical paper tube (not shown) in a roll shape, and the hole of the paper tube (not shown) is the center of the roll paper 13. It is a hole 13a. The winding device 15 is arranged at a position slightly lower than the printing device 14, and roll paper 13 conveyed from the printing device 14 is wound between the printing device 14 and the winding device 15 from above. A relay roller 16 extending in the front-rear direction for leading to the winding device 15 is rotatably provided.

  The printing device 14 is disposed so as to face the upper surface of the platen 17 and a rectangular plate-like platen 17 that supports the unprinted roll paper 13 supplied in the state of being unwound from the paper feeding device 12 on the upper surface. And a recording head 18 as a fluid ejecting head. Then, the ink as a fluid is ejected from the recording head 18 onto the unprinted roll paper 13 conveyed on the platen 17 so that printing is sequentially performed on the roll paper 13.

  The winding device 15 includes a winding shaft 19 extending in the front-rear direction and a winding motor (not shown) for driving the winding shaft 19 to rotate. Then, by rotating the take-up shaft 19 in the take-up direction (clockwise in FIG. 1) by a take-up motor (not shown), the printed roll paper 13 conveyed from the printing device 14 side is taken up. The shaft 19 is wound up sequentially.

Next, the configuration of the sheet feeding device 12 will be described in detail.
As shown in FIG. 1, the sheet feeding device 12 includes a block-shaped base member 20 and a block-shaped cover member 21 that is detachably attached to the base member 20. 21 a is located on the left side of the right side surface 20 a of the base member 20. A base concave portion 22 having both front and rear sides opened is formed in a portion from the center portion in the left-right direction to the left end portion of the upper surface 20b of the base member 20. In the base recess 22, the left side surface 22a is a curved surface having an arc shape of about 90 ° when viewed from the front-rear direction, the bottom surface 22b is a horizontal flat surface, and the right side surface 22c rises toward the right side. It is an inclined surface that is inclined to.

  The cover member 21 is provided with a convex portion 23 that is inserted into the base concave portion 22. That is, the convex portion 23 extends downward along the right side surface 22 c of the base concave portion 22. In the convex portion 23, the left side surface 23a is opposed to the left side surface 22a of the base concave portion 22 and has a curved surface having an arc shape of about 180 ° when viewed from the front-rear direction. The right side surface 23c is an inclined surface that faces the right side surface 22c of the base recess 22 and that corresponds to the right side surface 22c.

  The left side surface 23a of the convex portion 23 and the left side surface 22a of the base concave portion 22 form an arc that forms a part of the circumference of the same circle when viewed from the front-rear direction. The substantially cylindrical space surrounded by the left side surface 23 a of the convex portion 23, the left side surface 22 a of the base concave portion 22, and the bottom surface 22 b of the base concave portion 22 is an accommodation space that constitutes an accommodation portion that can accommodate the roll paper 13. 24. An opening between the upper end edge of the left side surface 22 a of the base concave portion 22 and the upper end edge of the left side surface 23 a of the convex portion 23 is an input port 25 through which the roll paper 13 is input into the accommodation space 24.

  A concave groove 26 that extends horizontally in the front-rear direction and is open on both front and rear sides is formed at a position corresponding to the lower end region of the accommodation space 24 on the bottom surface 22 b of the base concave portion 22. The concave groove 26 communicates with the accommodation space 24 at the opening 26a at the upper end thereof. Further, in the concave groove 26, the width of the opening 26a in the left-right direction is narrower than the width of other portions. When the roll paper 13 is introduced into the accommodation space 24 from the insertion port 25 in a state where the axial direction of the roll paper 13 is substantially aligned with the front-rear direction, the roll paper 13 is in contact with the left side surface 23a of the convex portion 23 and the base. The left side surface 22 a of the concave portion 22 is guided onto the opening portion 26 a of the concave groove 26.

  The roll paper 13 guided onto the opening 26a of the concave groove 26 is positioned with its lower end lightly fitted into the opening 26a. And the roll paper 13 accommodated in the positioning state in the accommodation space 24 is parallel to the horizontal front-rear direction (first direction). In the present embodiment, the opening 26a constitutes a housing part and a positioning part.

  Further, gaps are formed between the lower surface 23b of the convex portion 23 and the bottom surface 22b of the base concave portion 22, and between the right side surface 23c of the convex portion 23 and the right side surface 22c of the base concave portion 22, respectively. A delivery path 27 is formed for unwinding the roll paper 13 accommodated in the accommodation space 24 and sending it to the printing apparatus 14 side by the gap.

  On the lower surface 23b of the convex portion 23 corresponding to the upstream portion of the delivery passage 27, a first paper sensor 28 for detecting the unrolled roll paper 13 conveyed in the delivery passage 27 is provided, and On the right side surface 23c of the convex portion 23 corresponding to the downstream portion of the delivery passage 27, a second paper sensor 29 for detecting the unrolled roll paper 13 conveyed in the delivery passage 27 is provided. Yes.

  The right side surface 22c of the base concave portion 22 and the right side surface 23c of the convex portion 23 corresponding to the position downstream of the first paper sensor 28 and upstream of the second paper sensor 29 in the delivery passage 27 are rotationally driven. A possible assist roller 30 and a first driven roller 31 that rotates as the assist roller 30 rotates are provided. The assist roller 30 is in contact with the first driven roller 31 in the delivery path 27, and by rotating the assist roller 30, the unrolled roll paper 13 conveyed through the delivery path 27 is assisted roller. 30 and the 1st driven roller 31 are sent out downstream, being pinched.

  The upper surface 20b of the base member 20 and the right side surface 21a of the cover member 21 at a position adjacent to the downstream end of the delivery passage 27 rotate with the rotational drive of the PF roller 32 and the rotation of the PF roller 32. A second driven roller 33 is provided. The PF roller 32 is in contact with the second driven roller 33, and by rotating the PF roller 32, the unrolled roll paper 13 coming out from the downstream end of the delivery passage 27 is connected to the PF roller 32. It is sent out to the printing device 14 side while being pinched by the second driven roller 33.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a ball screw shaft extending in the front-rear direction is provided on both sides of the concave groove 26 across the center in the front-rear direction so as to form a pair. One is the first horizontal screw shaft 34 and the rear one is the second horizontal screw shaft 35.

  The first horizontal screw shaft 34 extends straight from the center in the front-rear direction of the concave groove 26 to the front end, and the front end of the first horizontal screw shaft 34 is connected to the first drive means provided on the front surface of the base member 20. It is connected to the output shaft of the first horizontal motor 36 that constitutes it. A block-shaped first horizontal slider 37 is supported on the first horizontal screw shaft 34 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction along the first horizontal screw shaft 34. That is, the first horizontal slider 37 has a nut portion (not shown), and the first horizontal screw shaft 34 is screwed into the nut portion. Accordingly, by rotating the first horizontal screw shaft 34 in the forward direction or the reverse direction by driving the first horizontal motor 36, the first horizontal slider 37 moves forward or backward along the first horizontal screw shaft 34. It has become.

  On the upper surface of the first horizontal slider 37, a rectangular cylindrical first moving member 38 constituting a moving body is erected. A first vertical screw shaft 39 of a ball screw extending in the vertical direction is provided inside the first moving member 38, and the upper end of the first vertical screw shaft 39 is a first screw provided on the upper surface of the first moving member 38. It is connected with the output shaft of the 1st vertical motor 40 which comprises 2 drive means. A long hole (not shown) is formed on the rear surface of the first moving member 38 so as to penetrate the inside and outside of the moving first moving member 38 and extend in the vertical direction.

  Further, a block-shaped first support member 41 is slidably in contact with the rear surface of the first moving member 38, and the support nut portion 41 a projecting from the front surface of the first support member 41 has a first movement. The member 38 is inserted into a long hole (not shown). A first vertical screw shaft 39 is screwed into the support nut portion 41a, and the first support screw 41 is rotated by rotating the first vertical screw shaft 39 in the forward or reverse direction by driving the first vertical motor 40. Slides upward or downward on the rear surface of the first moving member 38. That is, the first support member 41 is moved along the vertical vertical direction (second direction) by driving the first vertical motor 40.

  A light emitting unit 42a constituting a transmissive optical sensor 42 (see FIG. 3) as a sensor is provided on the lower surface of the first support member 41, and the light emitting unit 42a is straight and straight linearly toward the rear. It emits light. A first spindle 43 as a rotating body is supported on the rear surface of the first support member 41 by a first rotation motor 44 built in the first support member 41 so as to be rotationally driven.

  The first spindle 43 includes a disc-shaped base portion 43a whose front surface is in sliding contact with the rear surface of the first support member 41, a shaft portion 43b extending rearward at the center of the rear surface of the base portion 43a, and the shaft Four plate-like blade portions 43c provided radially at equal intervals along the circumferential direction of the shaft portion 43b are provided on the peripheral surface of the portion 43b.

  The shaft portion 43b is configured such that the diameter decreases toward the front end (rear end) in the front-rear direction, which is the rotational axis direction of the first spindle 43, and the roll paper 13 is formed by the shaft portion 43b and each blade portion 43c. An insertion portion 43d that can be inserted into the center hole 13a is configured. In this case, the rotation radius of the insertion portion 43d when the first spindle 43 is rotationally driven is configured to decrease toward the front end (rear end) in the front-rear direction that is the rotation axis direction of the first spindle 43. . The maximum width of the distal end portion of the insertion portion 43d is smaller than the diameter of the central hole 13a of the roll paper 13, and the maximum width of the proximal end portion of the insertion portion 43d is substantially the same as the diameter of the central hole 13a of the roll paper 13. Yes.

  In the state where the roll paper 13 is positioned in the accommodation space 24 by the opening 26a of the concave groove 26, and on the movement path of the rotation axis of the first spindle 43 when the first moving member 38 is moved in the vertical direction and The center C (see FIG. 4) of the center hole 13a of the roll paper 13 is positioned on the movement path of the linear light emitted from the light emitting portion 42a.

  On the other hand, the second horizontal screw shaft 35 extends straight and horizontally from the center in the front-rear direction of the groove 26 to the rear end, and the rear end of the second horizontal screw shaft 35 is provided on the rear surface of the base member 20 and is The first horizontal motor 36 is connected to the output shaft of the second horizontal motor 45 constituting the first driving means having the same configuration. A second horizontal slider 46 having the same configuration as the first horizontal slider 37 is supported on the second horizontal screw shaft 35 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction along the second horizontal screw shaft 35.

  That is, the second horizontal slider 46 has a nut portion (not shown), and the second horizontal screw shaft 35 is screwed into the nut portion. Accordingly, the second horizontal screw shaft 35 is rotated forward or backward by driving the second horizontal motor 45 so that the second horizontal slider 46 moves forward or backward along the second horizontal screw shaft 35. It has become.

  On the upper surface of the second horizontal slider 46, a second moving member 47 having the same configuration as the first moving member 38 and constituting a moving body is provided upright. A second vertical screw shaft 48 having the same configuration as the first vertical screw shaft 39 extends in the vertical direction inside the second moving member 47, and the upper end of the second vertical screw shaft 48 is at the second moving member 47. And is connected to the output shaft of a second vertical motor 49 that constitutes the second drive means having the same configuration as the first vertical motor 40.

  A long hole (not shown) is formed in the front surface of the second moving member 47 so as to penetrate the inside and outside of the moving second moving member 47 and extend in the vertical direction. Further, a second support member 50 having the same configuration as that of the first support member 41 is slidably in contact with the front surface of the second moving member 47, and a support nut is provided on the rear surface of the second support member 50. The part 50 a is inserted into a long hole (not shown) of the second moving member 47.

  A second vertical screw shaft 48 is screwed onto the support nut portion 50 a, and the second support screw 50 is rotated by rotating the second vertical screw shaft 48 in the forward direction or the reverse direction by driving the second vertical motor 49. Slides upward or downward on the front surface of the second moving member 47. That is, the second support member 50 moves along the vertical vertical direction (second direction) by driving the second vertical motor 49. On the lower surface of the first support member 41, a light receiving part 42b constituting a transmissive optical sensor 42 (see FIG. 3) is provided, and the light receiving part 42b receives light emitted from the light emitting part 42a. It has become.

  Further, on the front surface of the second support member 50, a second spindle 51 as a rotating body having the same configuration as that of the first spindle 43 is incorporated in the second support member 50 and has the same configuration as that of the first rotation motor 44. The second rotary motor 52 is supported so as to be rotationally driven. Similar to the first spindle 43, the second spindle 51 includes a base portion 51a, a shaft portion 51b, and four blade portions 51c. In the second spindle 51 as well, like the first spindle 43, the shaft portion 51b and the blade portions 51c constitute an insertion portion 51d that can be inserted into the center hole 13a of the roll paper 13.

Next, the control device 60 of the ink jet printer 11 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the ink jet printer 11 includes a control device 60 (a portion surrounded by a broken line in FIG. 3) that performs overall control of the entire apparatus. The input interface (not shown) of the control device 60 is provided on the output shaft of the first vertical motor 40 to drive the rotary encoder 61 and the first horizontal motor 36 for detecting the rotation of the first vertical motor 40. An ammeter 62 for measuring a current value, an optical sensor 42, a first paper sensor 28, a second paper sensor 29, an operation unit 63, and the like are electrically connected.

  Further, an output side interface (not shown) of the control device 60 includes a PF motor 64 that rotationally drives the PF roller 32, an assist motor 65 that rotationally drives the assist roller 30, a first horizontal motor 36, a second horizontal motor 45, The first vertical motor 40, the second vertical motor 49, the first rotary motor 44, the second rotary motor 52, a display unit 66 for displaying an error message and the like are electrically connected. The control device 60 includes a PF motor 64, an assist motor 65, a first horizontal motor 36, a second horizontal motor 45, a first vertical motor 40, a second vertical motor 49, a first rotation motor 44, and a second rotation motor. The driving of 52 is individually controlled.

  The control device 60 includes a PF driver 67 for controlling driving of the PF motor 64, an assist driver 68 for controlling driving of the assist motor 65, and a first horizontal driver 69 for controlling driving of the first horizontal motor 36. And a second horizontal driver 70 for controlling the drive of the second horizontal motor 45.

  Further, the control device 60 drives the first vertical driver 71 for controlling the drive of the first vertical motor 40, the second vertical driver 72 for controlling the drive of the second vertical motor 49, and the drive of the first rotary motor 44. And a second rotary driver 74 for controlling the driving of the second rotary motor 52.

  In addition, the control device 60 includes a control circuit 75 (a portion surrounded by a one-dot chain line in FIG. 3) including a microcomputer or the like. The control circuit 75 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a nonvolatile memory (for example, an EEPROM), and the like. The control circuit 75 includes a control unit 76, a position detection unit 77, a position acquisition unit 78, a calculation unit 79, a motor control unit 80, and a timer 81 as functional parts realized by at least one of hardware and software. It has.

  The control unit 76 includes a PF motor 64, an assist motor 65, a first horizontal motor 36, a second horizontal motor 45, a first vertical motor 40, a second vertical motor 49, a first rotation motor 44, and a second rotation motor 52. A control command for driving is output to the motor control unit 80. Therefore, in this embodiment, the control part 76 functions as a control means.

  The position detection unit 77 detects the position of the first support member 41 based on the pulse signal from the rotary encoder 61. The position acquisition unit 78 acquires the position information of the first support member 41 detected by the position detection unit 77 based on the signal input from the optical sensor 42. The calculation unit 79 calculates the position of the center C (see FIG. 4) of the center hole 13a of the roll paper 13 and the remaining amount of the roll paper 13 based on the position information of the first support member 41 acquired by the position acquisition unit 78.

  The motor control unit 80, based on the control command from the control unit 76, the rotation direction, rotation amount, rotation speed, etc. of the motors 64, 65, 36, 45, 40, 49, 44, 52 via the drivers 67 to 74, etc. Are controlled individually. Further, the motor control unit 80 has the first support member 41 and the second support member 50 in a state where the first spindle 43 and the second spindle 51 always face each other and the light emitting part 42a and the light receiving part 42b always face each other. The first vertical motor 40 and the second vertical motor 49 are synchronously driven and controlled so as to move in the vertical direction synchronously. The timer 81 measures an elapsed time after the first rotary motor 44 and the second rotary motor 52 are driven.

In the present embodiment, the optical sensor 42, the position detection unit 77, the position acquisition unit 78, and the calculation unit 79 constitute detection means.
Next, a roll paper setting process routine executed by the control circuit 75 (control unit 76) of the present embodiment will be described based on the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

  The control unit 76 performs roll paper setting processing when the roll paper 13 is input from the insertion port 25 of the paper feeding device 12 into the accommodation space 24 and a paper setting button (not shown) of the operation unit 63 is pressed by the user. Run the routine. At this time, as shown in FIG. 2, in the accommodation space 24, the first moving member 38 is located on the front side of the roll paper 13 that has been introduced into the accommodation space 24 from the insertion port 25 and the second moving member 47 is It is located behind the roll paper 13.

  In this roll paper setting process routine, the control unit 76 first executes a center detection process routine described later (step S10). In this center detection processing routine, the detection flag is turned on when the front and rear end faces of the roll paper 13 are scanned by the optical sensor 42 to determine the position of the center C of the central hole 13a of the roll paper 13, and the optical sensor 42 is turned on. When the front and rear end faces of the roll paper 13 are scanned by the above and the upper and lower end positions of the center hole 13a of the roll paper 13 are not detected, the detection flag is turned OFF.

  Subsequently, the control unit 76 determines whether or not the detection flag is ON (step S11). If the determination result of step S11 is negative, the control unit 76 displays an error message on the display unit 66 (step S12), and then ends the roll paper setting process routine. On the other hand, when the determination result in step S11 is affirmative, the control unit 76 synchronizes the respective rotation centers of the first spindle 43 and the second spindle 51 with the positions facing the center C of the center hole 13a of the roll paper 13. Then, a control command is issued to the motor control unit 80 so as to move, and the driving of the first vertical motor 40 and the second vertical motor 49 is controlled (step S13).

  Subsequently, the control unit 76 issues a control command to the motor control unit 80 so that the first moving member 38 and the second moving member 47 move toward the roll paper 13, and the first horizontal motor 36 and the second horizontal motor. The drive of 45 is controlled (step S14). Accordingly, the insertion portion 43d of the first spindle 43 and the insertion portion 51d of the second spindle 51 are inserted into the center hole 13a of the roll paper 13 from both the front and rear sides.

  And the drive state of the 1st horizontal motor 36 and the 2nd horizontal motor 45 continues in the state (state shown in FIG. 8) where both the insertion parts 43d and 51d were inserted (inserted) into the center hole 13a of the roll paper 13. Then, since the roll paper 13 is pinched by both the insertion portions 43d and 51d, the drive current values of the first horizontal motor 36 and the second horizontal motor 45 are rapidly increased. At this time, the drive current value of the first horizontal motor 36 and the drive current value of the second horizontal motor 45 are substantially the same.

  And the control part 76 determines whether the drive current value of the 1st horizontal motor 36 reached the preset threshold value N based on the detection value input from the ammeter 62 (step S15). This threshold value N is set to the drive current value of the first horizontal motor 36 when the roll paper 13 is pinched by both the insertion portions 43d and 51d. When the determination result of step S15 is negative determination, the control part 76 performs the process of step S15 again. On the other hand, when the determination result of step S15 is affirmative, the control unit 76 issues a control command to the motor control unit 80 to stop driving the first horizontal motor 36 and the second horizontal motor 45 (step S16). Thereby, the movement of the 1st moving member 38 and the 2nd moving member 47 stops.

  Subsequently, the control unit 76 issues a control command to the motor control unit 80 so that the first spindle 43 and the second spindle 51 are raised by a predetermined distance D (for example, about 10 mm) in synchronization with each other, and the first vertical motor 40. And the drive of the 2nd vertical motor 49 is controlled (step S17). As a result, the roll paper 13 is lifted from the bottom surface 22b of the base recess 22 in the accommodation space 24 (the state shown in FIG. 9).

  Subsequently, the controller 76 causes the first moving member 38 and the second moving member 47 to move forward in synchronization with each other so that the roll paper 13 moves to the set position (position of the roll paper 13 shown in FIG. 10). Then, a control command is issued to the motor control unit 80 to control the driving of the first horizontal motor 36 and the second horizontal motor 45 (step S18). In this case, the set position is a position where the roll paper 13 should be set in order to accurately print the roll paper 13, and the first position is shown when the roll paper 13 is moved to the set position (the state shown in FIG. 10). The moving member 38 (first horizontal slider 37) is located at the foremost end position in the movable range.

  Subsequently, the control unit 76 instructs the motor control unit 80 to rotate the first spindle 43 and the second spindle 51 in synchronization with each other so as to rotate in the direction in which the roll paper 13 is unwound (counterclockwise as viewed from the front side). To drive the first rotary motor 44 and the second rotary motor 52 (step S19). As a result, the roll paper 13 is rotated together with the first spindle 43 and the second spindle 51, and the roll paper 13 is unwound toward the upstream end of the delivery passage 27.

  Subsequently, the control unit 76 determines whether or not the leading end of the roll paper 13 from which the first paper sensor 28 has been unwound has been detected (step S20). The process of step S20 is based on the measured value of the timer 81, and the elapsed time since the first rotary motor 44 and the second rotary motor 52 are driven is the leading edge of the roll paper 13 from which the first paper sensor 28 has been unwound. This is executed by the control unit 76 after reaching a predetermined time (for example, about 2 seconds) sufficient to detect.

  If the determination result in step S20 is negative, the control unit 76 issues a control command to the motor control unit 80 and stops driving the first rotary motor 44 and the second rotary motor 52 (step S21). ), An error message is displayed on the display unit 66 (step S12), and then the roll paper set processing routine is terminated. On the other hand, if the determination result in step S20 is affirmative, the control unit 76 issues a control command to the motor control unit 80 to assist the assist roller 30 to rotate in the paper feed direction (clockwise as viewed from the front side). The drive of the motor 65 is controlled (step S22).

  Subsequently, the control unit 76 determines whether or not the leading end of the roll paper 13 from which the second paper sensor 29 has been unwound has been detected (step S23). The process of step S23 is based on the measured value of the timer 81, and the elapsed time since the first rotary motor 44 and the second rotary motor 52 are driven is the leading edge of the roll paper 13 from which the second paper sensor 29 has been unwound. This is executed by the control unit 76 after reaching a predetermined time sufficient for detecting (for example, about 5 seconds).

  If the determination result in step S23 is negative, the control unit 76 issues a control command to the motor control unit 80 so that the rotation of the first spindle 43, the second spindle 51, and the assist roller 30 is stopped. After stopping the driving of the first rotation motor 44, the second rotation motor 52, and the assist motor 65 (step S24), an error message is displayed on the display unit 66 (step S12), and then the roll paper setting processing routine is ended. .

  On the other hand, if the determination result in step S23 is affirmative, the controller 76 performs cueing of the roll paper 13 that has been unwound by rotating the PF roller 32 in the paper feed direction (clockwise as viewed from the front side). As shown, the control command is issued to the motor control unit 80 to control the driving of the PF motor 64 (step S25), and then the roll paper setting process routine is terminated.

Next, a center detection processing routine executed by the control circuit 75 (control unit 76) of the present embodiment will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG.
In this center detection processing routine, the control unit 76 first detects the roll paper 13 from the lower limit position below the center hole 13a of the roll paper 13 through the first support member 41 and the second support member 50. A control command is issued to the motor control unit 80 so as to move to the upper limit position above the upper end of the first and fourth motors 49 and 49 are controlled (step S30).

  Accordingly, the entire front and rear end faces of the roll paper 13 are scanned along the vertical direction (the radial direction of the roll paper 13) by the optical sensor 42, and the presence or absence of the front and rear end faces of the roll paper 13 is detected. In this case, the front and rear end surfaces of the roll paper 13 are not detected by the optical sensor 42 at the central hole 13a portion of the roll paper 13, and the front and rear ends of the roll paper 13 are detected by the optical sensor 42 at portions other than the central hole 13a in the roll paper 13. A surface is detected. That is, light is not blocked between the light emitting portion 42a and the light receiving portion 42b in the central hole 13a portion of the roll paper 13, and between the light emitting portion 42a and the light receiving portion 42b in the portion other than the central hole 13a in the roll paper 13. The light is blocked.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 76, based on the input signal from the optical sensor 42, the lower end position LP of the center hole 13a of the roll paper 13, the upper end position UP of the center hole 13a of the roll paper 13, and the roll It is determined whether or not the upper end position PP of the paper 13 has been detected (step S31). That is, the control unit 76 determines whether or not the time when the presence or absence of the front and rear end faces of the roll paper 13 is switched based on the input signal from the optical sensor 42 is three times (lower end position LP, upper end position UP, upper end position PP). judge. Note that the arrows in FIG. 4 indicate light movement paths when the front and rear end faces of the roll paper 13 are scanned by the optical sensor 42.

  If the determination result in step S31 is negative, the control unit 76 turns off the detection flag (step S32) and ends the center detection processing routine. In this case, the reason why the lower end position LP and the upper end position UP are not detected is, for example, that foreign matter is clogged in the center hole 13a of the roll paper 13, and the reason why the upper end position PP is not detected is, for example, the roll paper 13 For example, there is no remaining amount.

  On the other hand, if the determination result in step S31 is affirmative, the control unit 76 causes the position acquisition unit 78 to switch the position detection unit 77 when the presence or absence of both front and rear end surfaces of the roll paper 13 is switched based on the input signal from the optical sensor 42. A control command is issued to the calculation unit 79 so as to calculate the position of the center C of the center hole 13a of the roll paper 13 based on the height position information of the first support member 41 (the optical sensor 42) acquired from the above. Thereby, the position of the center C of the center hole 13a of the roll paper 13 is obtained.

Thereafter, the control unit 76 turns on the detection flag (step S34) and ends the center detection processing routine.
As described above, according to the embodiment described in detail, the following effects can be obtained.

  (1) Since the first spindle 43 and the second spindle 51 are automatically inserted into the center hole 13a of the roll paper 13 simply by inserting the roll paper 13 into the accommodation space 24 from the insertion opening 25, the paper feeding device 12 In contrast, the roll paper 13 can be easily set.

  (2) The input port 25 is open on the left side of the paper feeder 12, and the input direction (left-right direction) when the roll paper 13 is input from the input port 25 into the accommodation space 24 is the roll paper 13 to be input. It is orthogonal to the axial direction (front-back direction). For this reason, even if the paper feeding device 12 is arranged so that at least one of the front and rear sides thereof is adjacent to the wall, the roll paper 13 can be easily fed into the accommodation space 24 from the loading port 25.

  (3) Since the roll paper 13 accommodated in the accommodating space 24 is rotatably supported by the first spindle 43 and the second spindle 51 in a state of floating from the bottom surface 22b of the base recess 22, the first spindle 43 and the second spindle The roll paper 13 can be rotated by the spindle 51 without rubbing against the bottom surface 22 b of the base recess 22. That is, the roll paper 13 can be rotated in the accommodation space 24 without being damaged.

  (4) The roll paper 13 accommodated in the accommodation space 24 is moved to the set position in the front-rear direction while the roll paper 13 is lifted from the bottom surface 22 b of the base recess 22. For this reason, when the roll paper 13 is moved to the set position, the roll paper 13 is not dragged on the bottom surface 22b of the base concave portion 22, so that the roll paper 13 is moved to the set position without damaging the accommodation space 24. be able to.

  (5) When the presence / absence of both front and rear end faces of the roll paper 13 accommodated in the accommodation space 24 is detected by the optical sensor 42, the position acquisition unit 78 switches the presence / absence of the front and rear end faces of the roll paper 13 (lower end position). LP and upper end position UP) are acquired from the position detection unit 77, and the calculation unit 79 calculates the position of the center C of the center hole 13a of the roll paper 13 based on the position information acquired by the position acquisition unit 78. The height position of the center C of the center hole 13a of the paper 13 can be obtained accurately and reliably.

  (6) In the state where the roll paper 13 is positioned by the opening 26a of the groove 26 in the accommodation space 24, the first spindle 43 and the second spindle when the first spindle 43 and the second spindle 51 move in the vertical direction. The center C of the center hole 13 a of the roll paper 13 is located on the movement path of the rotation axis 51. Therefore, the center hole 13a of the roll paper 13 is moved by moving the first spindle 43 and the second spindle 51 in the vertical direction in a state where the roll paper 13 is positioned by the opening 26a of the concave groove 26 in the accommodation space 24. And the center of rotation of the first spindle 43 and the second spindle 51 can be opposed to each other.

  (7) Since the first moving member 38 and the second moving member 47 are disposed at two positions on the front and rear sides of the roll paper 13 accommodated in the accommodating space 24, the first moving member 38 and the second moving member 47 are disposed. The roll paper 13 can be supported on both sides in the axial direction (front-rear direction) by the first spindle 43 and the second spindle 51 supported by the first support member 41 and the second support member 50. Therefore, the roll paper 13 accommodated in the accommodation space 24 can be stably supported.

(8) The insertion portion 43d of the first spindle 43 and the insertion portion 51d of the second spindle 51 are configured such that the radius of rotation decreases toward the tip in the rotational axis direction. 51 d can be smoothly inserted into the center hole 13 a of the roll paper 13.
(Example of change)
In addition, you may change the said embodiment as follows.

-Both insertion parts 43d and 51d do not necessarily need to be configured such that the radius of rotation decreases toward the tip.
The second moving member 47 may be omitted and the roll paper 13 may be cantilevered by the first spindle 43. In this case, it is necessary to use a reflection type optical sensor 42.

  The first support member 41 and the second support member 50 that rotatably support the first spindle 43 and the second spindle 51, respectively, are perpendicular to the front-rear direction with respect to the first moving member 38 and the second moving member 47, and You may comprise so that a movement in the non-horizontal direction which cross | intersects a horizontal surface is possible.

  When the roll paper 13 stored in the storage space 24 is moved to the set position in the front-rear direction, the roll paper 13 does not necessarily have to be lifted from the bottom surface 22 b of the base recess 22. That is, the roll paper 13 may be moved so as to drag on the bottom surface 22 b of the base recess 22.

-Instead of the roll paper 13, you may use the flexible plastic film of the state wound in roll shape, the cloth wound in the shape of roll, etc. as a roll body.
In the above embodiment, the ink jet printer 11 is employed, but a fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects or ejects fluid other than ink may be employed. Further, the present invention can be used for various liquid ejecting apparatuses including a liquid ejecting head that ejects a minute amount of liquid droplets. In this case, the droplet refers to the state of the liquid ejected from the liquid ejecting apparatus, and includes liquid droplets having a granular shape, a tear shape, and a thread shape. The liquid here may be any material that can be ejected by the liquid ejecting apparatus. For example, it may be in a state in which the substance is in a liquid phase, such as a liquid with high or low viscosity, sol, gel water, other inorganic solvents, organic solvents, solutions, liquid resins, liquid metals (metal melts ) And liquids as one state of the substance, as well as those obtained by dissolving, dispersing or mixing particles of a functional material made of solid materials such as pigments and metal particles in a solvent. Further, representative examples of the liquid include ink and liquid crystal as described in the above embodiment. Here, the ink includes general water-based inks and oil-based inks, and various liquid compositions such as gel inks and hot-melt inks. As a specific example of the liquid ejecting apparatus, for example, a liquid containing a material such as an electrode material or a color material used for manufacturing a liquid crystal display, an EL (electroluminescence) display, a surface light emitting display, a color filter, or the like in a dispersed or dissolved state. It may be a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting, a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting a bio-organic matter used for biochip manufacturing, a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting a liquid as a sample used as a precision pipette, a textile printing apparatus, a micro dispenser, or the like. In addition, transparent resin liquids such as UV curable resin to form liquid injection devices that pinpoint lubricant oil onto precision machines such as watches and cameras, and micro hemispherical lenses (optical lenses) used in optical communication elements. A liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a liquid onto the substrate or a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects an etching solution such as an acid or an alkali to etch the substrate may be employed. The present invention can be applied to any one of these liquid ejecting apparatuses.

Furthermore, the technical idea which can be grasped from the above embodiment will be described below.
(A) A feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 and a fluid ejecting head that ejects a fluid onto a roll body fed by the feeding device. A fluid ejecting apparatus.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Inkjet printer as fluid ejecting device, 12 ... Paper feeding device as feeding device, 13 ... Roll paper as roll body, 13a ... Center hole, 18 ... Recording head as fluid ejecting head, 22b ... Housing The bottom surface of the base recess 22 as the bottom surface of the base plate, 24... The housing space constituting the housing portion, 26 a... The opening portion constituting the housing portion and the positioning portion, 36 ... the first horizontal motor constituting the first driving means, 38. First moving member constituting body, 40... First vertical motor constituting second driving means, 42... Optical sensor as sensor constituting detecting means, 43... First spindle as rotating body, 43 d, 51 d. Insertion part 45 ... 2nd horizontal motor which comprises 1st drive means, 47 ... 2nd moving member which comprises a moving body, 49 ... 2nd vertical motor which comprises 2nd drive means , 51 ... a second spindle as a rotating body, 76 ... a control part as a control means, 77 ... a position detection part constituting the detection means, 78 ... a position acquisition part constituting the detection means, 79 ... a calculation constituting the detection means Part, C ... Center.

Claims (7)

An accommodating portion capable of accommodating the roll body so that its axial direction is along a horizontal first direction;
A movable body movable along the first direction at a position corresponding to the center hole of the roll body in the first direction when the roll body is housed in the housing portion;
A rotating body supported so as to be movable in a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction and non-horizontal with respect to the moving body and to be inserted into a central hole of the roll body;
First driving means for moving the movable body along the first direction;
Second driving means for moving the rotating body along the second direction;
Detecting means for detecting the center position of the center hole of the roll body when the roll body is housed in the housing portion;
Based on the detection result by the detection means, the drive of the second drive means is controlled so that the rotary body moves to a position facing the center hole of the roll body, and the movable body moves the rotary body to the roll body. A feeding device comprising: control means for controlling driving of the first driving means so as to move to a position to be inserted into the center hole. The control means controls the driving of the first driving means so that the moving body moves to a position where the moving body is inserted into a center hole of the roll body in a state of being accommodated in the accommodating portion. The driving of the second driving means is controlled so that the roll body in a state where the rotating body is inserted into the center hole moves to a position where the roll body floats from the bottom surface of the housing portion in the second direction. The feeding device according to claim 1. The control means floats the roll body from the bottom surface of the housing portion in the second direction when moving the roll body housed in the housing portion in the first direction in the housing portion. 3. The drive of the first drive means is controlled so that the movable body moves in the first direction after controlling the drive of the second drive means to move to a position. The feeding device described. The detection means detects a presence / absence of an end face of the roll body while moving in a radial direction of the roll body in a state of being accommodated in the accommodating portion;
A position acquisition unit that acquires a switching position of the presence or absence of the end face based on a signal output from the sensor;
The calculation part which calculates the center position of the center hole of the said roll body based on the positional information which this position acquisition part acquired is provided. The feeding device described. The accommodating portion includes a positioning portion that positions the roll body so that an axial direction of the roll body is along the first direction when the roll body is accommodated in the accommodating portion,
In the state where the roll body is positioned at the positioning portion, the center of the center hole of the roll body is positioned on the movement path of the rotation axis of the rotary body when the rotary body moves in the second direction. The feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein The said moving body is each arrange | positioned at the two positions used as the both sides of the axial direction of this roll body, when the said roll body is accommodated in the said accommodating part. The feeding device according to any one of the above. The said rotary body has an insertion part comprised so that a rotation radius may become so small that it goes to the front-end | tip of the rotating shaft direction, The Claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned. The feeding device described.

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