JP2011104828A - Rolled recording medium and method for detecting final end of rolled recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for detecting the final end of a rolled recording medium, whereby the final end of recording paper in the rolled recording medium can be detected by a simple device without touching the roll and without leaving any depression mark thereon, and to provide a rolled recording medium used in the method for detecting the final end. <P>SOLUTION: The rolled recording medium includes a core around which the recording medium is wound and a recording medium portion 2 connected to the surface of the core. The rolled recording medium has a through-hole 3 formed in the recording medium portion 2 apart from the initial end of the recording medium portion 2, from which the recording medium portion 2 starts to be wound. The method for detecting the final end of a rolled recording medium that includes a core around which the recording medium is wound and a recording medium portion connected to the surface of the core, the recording medium portion 2 having a through-hole 3 away from the initial end of the recording medium portion 2, from which the recording medium portion 2 starts to be wound, is provided. The method detects the final end by providing a light source 4 on one side of the recording medium portion 2 and a light receiving portion 5 on the opposite side thereof and using a change in an amount of light passed through the through-hole. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a roll-shaped recording medium and a method for detecting the end of a roll-shaped recording medium.

  Along with the expansion of the use of the ink jet recording system, printing of E size and L size such as silver salt photography and printing of large size such as A0 size and B0 size have been performed. In such printing, long paper is used instead of cut paper such as A4 size used in a normal printer. The long paper has a roll configuration in which a recording medium is wound around a winding core. In a roll-shaped recording medium, a recording medium wound around a winding core is used by being drawn out to the apparatus. The recording medium that has entered the apparatus is cut into a required size after a predetermined image is formed by the print head. Since a roll-shaped recording medium is wound with a plurality of recording media, it is required to detect the remaining amount of the recording medium and to detect the end of the recording medium.

  As a prior art, there is a method of detecting a change in color of a core portion (winding core) around which a roll-shaped recording paper is wound with a sensor (see Patent Document 1). A pinch roller having a configuration in which the outer surface of the core portion is optically darker than a recording medium wound in a roll shape, and includes a sensor that detects the intensity of reflected light, and a pinch roller that contacts the surface of the roll-shaped recording medium Is pressed against the surface of the roll-shaped recording medium with a spring.

  In addition, a roll-shaped recording medium has been proposed in which one end of the recording medium is fixed to a winding core and a perforation is provided in the width direction of the recording medium near the beginning of winding (see Patent Document 2). The perforation has a perforated line width of 0.2 mm or less and two or more holes per 1 mm on the line.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-127167 JP 2003-231345 A

  However, the method of Patent Document 1 is a method of detecting the remaining amount and the end portion of the roll-shaped recording medium by the color change of the core portion. For this reason, in order to cope with a change in the outer diameter due to consumption of the roll-shaped recording medium, it is required to install a sensor used for detection close to the surface of the recording medium portion. That is, since the pinch roller is used while being pressed against the surface of the roll-shaped recording medium, the trace of the pinch roller may remain on the recording medium. In the method of Patent Document 2, since the size of the hole is small, it may be difficult to detect the perforation by a normal optical method, and may not be used for detecting the remaining amount or the end.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a roll-shaped recording medium that can detect the end of a recording paper (recording medium portion) in the roll-shaped recording medium in a non-contact and simple device without leaving a pressing trace on the recording paper. It is to provide a method for detecting the end of the line. Another object of the present invention is to provide a roll-shaped recording medium used in the end detection method.

  The above object is achieved by the present invention described below. That is, the present invention is a roll-shaped recording medium including a winding core and a recording medium portion connected to the surface of the winding core, and a through hole is formed in the recording medium portion at a position away from the winding start portion of the recording medium portion. It is a roll-shaped recording medium characterized by having.

  The present invention also includes an end of a roll-shaped recording medium including a winding core and a recording medium portion connected to the surface of the winding core, and having a through hole in a recording medium portion at a position away from a winding start portion of the recording medium portion. A detection method for detecting the end of a roll-shaped recording medium, wherein a light source is provided on one side of the recording medium part and a light receiving part is provided on the opposite side, and the through hole is detected by a change in transmitted light quantity. Is the method.

  According to the present invention, there is provided a roll-shaped recording medium that can be detected by a simple device in a non-contact manner without leaving a trace of pressing the recording sheet (recording medium portion) of the roll-shaped recording medium. A termination detection method is provided. In addition, according to the present invention, there is provided a roll-shaped recording medium used for the end detection method.

(A) is a schematic diagram which shows one Embodiment of the roll-shaped recording medium of this invention, (b) is a schematic diagram which shows the state by which the termination | terminus of the roll-shaped recording medium is detected. 1 is a schematic view showing an embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus using a roll recording medium of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments.

(Roll recording medium)
The roll-shaped recording medium of the present invention includes a winding core and a recording medium portion connected to the surface of the winding core. Fig.1 (a) is a schematic diagram which shows one Embodiment of the roll-shaped recording medium of this invention. A recording medium portion 2 connected by a tape 6 as a fixing means is wound around the surface of the paper tube 1 as a winding core. The roll-shaped recording medium has a through-hole 3 in the recording medium portion at a position away from the winding start portion of the recording medium portion. The winding start portion of the recording medium portion means an end portion close to the core of the recording medium portion, and when the roll recording medium is used in a printer, the end of the roll recording medium, that is, the recording medium portion. It is the end. The through hole is a hole through which measurement light (the wavelength of the light source used for measurement) can pass without being blocked.

(Termination detection method)
The end detection method of the present invention is a method in which a light source is provided on one side of a recording medium portion and a light receiving portion is provided on the opposite side, and a through hole in the recording medium portion is detected optically, that is, by a change in the amount of transmitted light. .
Further, the end detection method of the present invention can detect the end of the recording medium based on the difference in the amount of transmitted light between the through hole and the recording medium portion other than the through hole, and presses the sensor against the detected portion with a pinch roller or the like. It can be installed without. For this reason, it becomes possible to incorporate a sensor into a paper transporting device such as a printer, whereby the positions of the sensor and the detected portion (recording medium portion) are uniquely determined, and a simple device can be used for the roll-shaped recording medium. It becomes possible to detect the end.

  FIG. 1B shows an apparatus for optically detecting the end of the roll-shaped recording medium of the present invention. This apparatus includes a light source 4 that irradiates light onto the surface of a recording medium portion of a roll-shaped recording medium, and a light receiving unit 5 that detects transmitted light. A light source 4 is provided on one side of the recording medium and a light receiving unit 5 is provided on the opposite side. Here, the light source 4 and the light receiving unit 5 can be provided at a position where the difference in transmitted light amount between the through hole and the recording medium portion other than the through hole can be measured. As shown in FIG. It can install so that it may be located above and below the through-hole 3 of a part. In the present invention, a plurality of through holes can be provided, and a plurality of light sources and light receiving portions can be provided. The light emitted from the light source is detected by the light receiving unit. Except for the through hole at the end portion, the light from the light source is blocked by the recording medium portion (portion other than the through hole) and the amount of light reaching the light receiving portion is reduced. In the vicinity of the terminal portion, the light from the light source passes through the through hole and reaches the light receiving portion, so that the amount of light reaching the light receiving portion increases. In the present invention, the end of the roll-shaped recording medium is detected by changing the amount of transmitted light. In the case of using transmitted light, there is an advantage that the change in the amount of light can be made larger than in the case of using reflected light, and even a small hole can be detected. As the light source 4 used in the present invention, a lamp, a light emitting diode (LED), a semiconductor laser, other light emitting elements, or the like can be used. As the light receiving unit 5, a light receiving element such as a photodiode can be used. It is also possible to use a transmissive photosensor in which a light source and a light receiving element are integrated. As a specific example of the transmission type photosensor, a transmission type optical sensor (trade name: KI661) manufactured by Shinko Electronics Co., Ltd. can be given.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing an apparatus in which a detection mechanism 7 including a light source 4 and a light receiving unit 5 is incorporated in a printer such as an ink jet. A portion of the recording medium wound around the winding core of the roll-shaped recording medium 11 is sent out in the direction of the paper holding unit 12 and the recording head 9 by the transport mechanism, and is cut into a necessary size by the cutting mechanism 10 after an image is formed. Is done. The transport mechanism refers to a mechanism that appropriately guides the passage path of the recording medium portion using the roller 8 or the like, leads to image formation, and discharges the image to the outside of the apparatus. The cutting mechanism 10 cuts by moving a single-edged or double-edged cutter in a direction perpendicular to the recording medium portion. The cutter can be provided independently, or can be mounted on the carriage portion of the recording head after printing. The detection mechanism 7 is installed between a roll paper filling mechanism (not shown) for the roll-shaped recording medium and the recording head 9. In the present invention, the end of the recording medium is detected while the recording medium is being fed in the direction of the recording head 9 by the transport mechanism. Since the sensor used for detection and the recording head are installed at different positions, the remaining length of the recording portion is calculated and obtained when the through hole of the recording medium portion is detected by the sensor, and image formation is performed based on the result. be able to. If the detected portion is not a through hole in the recording medium portion, the recording medium portion is sent to the bottom of the recording head 9 to form an image. When a through-hole in a roll-shaped recording medium is detected, the user can be notified that the end of the recording medium is near by a desired means such as a display light, a buzzer sound, or a liquid crystal display, and image formation is not performed. can do.

(Recording medium part)
The recording medium part used in the present invention can be used without particular limitation as long as it can be used for a printer or the like. For this reason, the recording medium portion may be one having a support and an ink receiving layer, and further one having a surface layer and a protective layer such as an intermediate layer, a lower layer and a glossy expression layer. For example, non-coated paper, matte-coated paper, glossy paper, semi-glossy paper, various films, cloth and the like can be mentioned. Further, the recording medium portion is provided with a through hole. The thickness of the recording medium part is not particularly limited, but a recording medium part having a thickness of 200 μm or more is preferable because the image quality is particularly high. The number of windings and the winding length when winding the recording medium portion can be appropriately determined so as to be adapted to the printing apparatus. A commercially available slitter or the like can be used as an apparatus for winding the recording medium portion, and there is no particular limitation. There is no particular limitation on the tension, which is the hardness when the recording medium portion is wound up, but a preferred range is 150 ± 50 N / m. Within this range, it is particularly possible to prevent the recording medium from being loosened or scratched even if the recording medium portion is loaded into or unwound from the printer.

The through hole used in the present invention is formed in the recording medium portion at a position away from the winding start portion of the recording medium portion. The position where the through hole is formed can be appropriately determined as long as it is a position where light from the light source passes and a position away from the winding start portion from a position where the through hole can be detected. The position where the through hole is formed is between the position where the recording medium is separated from the winding core (the winding start portion of the recording medium portion) and the detection mechanism (the position where the light from the light source to the light receiving portion irradiates or crosses the recording medium portion). If it is more than length (L in FIG.1 (b)), there will be no restriction | limiting in particular.
The roll-shaped recording medium of the present invention can also accurately measure the remaining amount of the recording medium portion wound around the roll-shaped recording medium. For example, the roll-shaped recording medium of the present invention can be used for detecting the remaining amount by providing through holes in the recording medium portions at positions corresponding to the number of images from the winding start portion. The installation position of the through hole in the width direction of the recording medium portion can also be determined as appropriate. For example, it can be provided at the center or end in the width direction of the recording medium portion. By providing a plurality of through-holes having different installation positions in the width direction and through-holes having different sizes, it is also possible to use the information as the information indicating the position from the winding start portion. When the size of the through hole is circular, the diameter is preferably 1 mm or more. In the case of a shape other than a circle such as a polygon, the size (area) of the penetrating portion is preferably a size (area) of a circle having a diameter of 1 mm or more. Moreover, it is preferable that it is a magnitude | size (area) below a circle of diameter 100mm. When the size of the through hole is a circle of 1 mm in diameter or more, it is possible to excellently prevent the end point from being detected because the change in the amount of transmitted light between the through hole and the recording medium portion other than the through hole becomes small. When the size of the through hole is equal to or less than a circle having a diameter of 100 mm, it is possible to excellently prevent the end detection accuracy from being lowered. The shape of the through hole can be appropriately determined if the above size is satisfied. A polygon such as a circle, an ellipse, a triangle, or a rectangle can be used. As a method for forming the through hole, a known method such as a punch press or a cutter can be used. When forming the through hole, it is preferable that no burr is generated in the through hole. When there is no burr, it is excellently prevented that the amount of light transmitted through the through hole is reduced, and it is excellently prevented that the end point cannot be detected by the detection mechanism. When burrs are generated after the through holes are provided in the recording medium part, the burrs are removed by a known method such as a cutter so that the size (area) of the penetrating part is 1 mm or more in diameter in terms of a circle. It is preferable to do so.

(Winding core)
The winding core used in the present invention can be used without particular limitation as long as it is usually used as a winding core for a roll-shaped recording medium. For example, a hard paper tube, a dry paper tube, a core of resin or metal, and the like can be given. When the winding core has a hollow cylindrical shape, the inner diameter of the winding core can be appropriately determined so as to be suitable for a printer that prints a recording medium. The winding core preferably has an inner diameter of not less than 2 inches (50.8 mm) and not more than 3 inches (76.2 mm) because the winding length of the roll-shaped recording medium can be easily secured and the outer diameter of the roll is not significantly increased. The thickness (thickness) of the winding core is preferably 2 mm or more and 10 mm or less from the viewpoint that deformation or distortion due to use in a printer does not occur during storage or transportation of the roll-shaped recording medium, and the weight does not increase significantly.

In the present invention, fixing (connecting method) between the winding core and the winding start portion of the recording medium portion can be performed by any method such as gluing or tape fastening. Using a double-sided adhesive tape with strong adhesive strength on one side and weak adhesive strength on the other side, and using the strong adhesive side on the winding core side, the recording medium part is easily peeled off from the winding core at the end, and the double-sided adhesive tape is the recording medium. Since it does not remain in a part, it is more preferable. Preferred tapes include, for example, 3M 4591HL (trade name), 9415PC (trade name), and Toyo Ink DF8320 (trade name). The connecting portion between the winding core and the recording medium portion is not used for image formation.
As an apparatus for printing on the roll-shaped recording medium of the present invention, an ink jet printer is preferably used.

  EXAMPLES Hereinafter, although an Example is shown and this invention is demonstrated concretely, this invention is not limited to these specific examples.

Example 1
1) Recording medium portion Glossy paper with a thickness of 220 μm,
Paper width: 914 mm.
2) Core material: Paper hard dry paper tube,
Winding core width: 914 mm,
Winding core inner diameter: 50.8 mm,
Winding core thickness (wall thickness): 4 mm.
3) Shape of through-hole, formation position Shape: circular with a diameter of 1 mm,
Forming position: 500 mm from the winding start portion of the recording medium portion, one at each 3 mm position from both ends in the width direction of the recording medium portion, two in total,
Forming method: punch press.
4) Roll-shaped recording medium One end 10 mm in the length direction of the recording medium was fixed to the winding core using a double-sided tape (4591HL (trade name), manufactured by 3M Company). At this time, the winding core side is the strong adhesive side of the double-sided tape, and the recording medium portion side is the weak adhesive side. A recording medium portion was wound around a 30 m winding core using a slitter device to finish a roll-shaped recording medium. The winding tension is 150 N / m.
5) Evaluation Rolling type recording medium of an ink jet large format printer (trade name: IPF6200, manufactured by Canon Inc.) is rolled out with a wide transmission type optical sensor (trade name: KI661, manufactured by Shinko Denshi Co., Ltd.) having a gap width of 8 mm and a depth of 22 mm. One was installed between the head and the recording head. At this time, the position in the width direction of the recording medium portion of the transmissive sensor was set at a position where one of the two through holes could be detected. The recording medium portion was sent by this printer, and it was examined whether one through hole provided in the recording medium portion could be detected by the change in the amount of transmitted light. The through-hole provided in the recording medium portion by the transmission type optical sensor could be detected by the change in the amount of transmitted light, and the end of the roll-shaped recording medium could be detected. Note that no pressing marks were found on the recording medium portion.

(Example 2)
Instead of the through hole of Example 1, two circular through holes with a diameter of 2 mm were provided at the same position as in Example 1. Otherwise, the roll-shaped recording medium was finished in the same manner as in Example 1. Two transmission sensors in total were installed at positions corresponding to the two through holes (detectable positions). Otherwise, two through holes were detected in the same manner as in Example 1. Even if detection was performed using two transmissive sensors at the same time, the through hole could be detected by a change in the amount of transmitted light in either transmissive sensor. Note that no pressing marks were found on the recording medium portion.

(Example 3)
Instead of the through-hole of Example 1, two square through-holes each having a side length of 2 mm were provided at the same position as in Example 1 with a cutter. Otherwise, the roll-shaped recording medium was finished in the same manner as in Example 1. One through hole was detected by the same method as in Example 1. The through hole was detected by the change in the amount of transmitted light. Note that no pressing marks were found on the recording medium portion.

Example 4
Instead of the through hole of the first embodiment, a through hole having a shape in which two circular through holes having a diameter of 1 mm are adjacent to each other at the same position as in the first embodiment (two adjacent circular through holes having a diameter of 1 mm are connected). A total of two were provided. Otherwise, the roll-shaped recording medium was finished in the same manner as in Example 1. One through hole was detected by the same method as in Example 1. The through hole was detected by the change in the amount of transmitted light. Note that no pressing marks were found on the recording medium portion.

Claims (2)

A roll-shaped recording medium comprising a winding core and a recording medium portion connected to the surface of the winding core,
A roll-shaped recording medium comprising a through-hole in a recording medium portion at a position away from a winding start portion of the recording medium portion.   A method for detecting the end of a roll-shaped recording medium comprising a winding core and a recording medium portion connected to the surface of the winding core, and having a through hole in a recording medium portion at a position away from a winding start portion of the recording medium portion. An end detection method for a roll-shaped recording medium, characterized in that a light source is provided on one side of the recording medium part and a light receiving part is provided on the opposite side, and the through hole is detected by a change in the amount of transmitted light.

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