JP2011116501A - Medium carrying device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a medium carrying device which promptly and accurately detects the length of medium in a carrying direction, and prevents the problem that the medium cannot be carried. <P>SOLUTION: A skew angle α of the medium P is obtained by skew detection sensors 18, 19 right after the medium P is taken in a carriage passage 2, and the length LB of the medium P in the carrying direction is calculated based on a detection signal of the skew detection sensor 18 or 19 and a detection signal of a medium detection sensor 30 to compare the calculated length LB in the carrying direction with the distance Lp between feed rollers 7a, 7b and feed rollers 11a, 11b. Whether or not the medium P can be taken in can be determined while the medium P is clamped by the feed rollers 7a, 7b, thus preventing the problem that the taken-in medium that is shorter than the distance Lp between the feed rollers cannot be carried. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a medium transport apparatus that transports a plurality of media having different sizes, and more particularly to a medium transport apparatus that detects whether or not a medium can be transported by detecting skew of the medium.

  Conventionally, as this type of medium transport device, for example, there is one disclosed in Patent Document 1 below. An apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a feed roller that transports a medium to a medium transport path, a width-shifting roller that widens the medium, and two skew detection sensors that are arranged in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction. When the skew of the medium is detected by the skew detection sensor, the medium is conveyed to an appropriate position according to the skew angle, and then the width is adjusted by the width adjusting roller.

  In order to confirm whether the medium can be transported by the medium transport apparatus, it is necessary to detect the length of the medium in the transport direction. A method for detecting the length of the medium in the conveyance direction by the medium conveyance apparatus is as follows. Medium inhalation, 2. 2. Media skew detection; 3. medium length detection; 4. Align the media with the reference plane, 5. Check whether the medium is aligned with the reference plane, 6. Media conveyance, The media length was detected again.

JP 2008-239295 A

  However, in the above-described conventional medium transport device, the above-described 1. is required before the length of the medium is finally detected. To 7. Had done a lot of operations. For this reason, there has been a problem that the length of the medium cannot be detected quickly. The above 3. Since the accuracy of medium length detection is not so good, the above 7. If the media length is shorter than the distance between the feed roller near the media insertion port and the feed roller on the back side when the media length is detected again, the media cannot be transported between the two feed rollers and the media cannot be ejected. There was a problem.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a medium transport apparatus that detects the length of a medium in the transport direction quickly and accurately and does not cause the medium to be untransported.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a medium transport apparatus for transporting a plurality of media having different sizes, and a first transport means for transporting the medium, and a predetermined distance in the medium transport direction from the first transport means. The second conveying means disposed apart from each other, the two skew detecting sensors which are arranged in parallel in a direction orthogonal to the medium conveying direction and detect the edge of each medium, and the two skews One of the detection sensors and a rear end detection sensor that is provided at a predetermined distance from the one sensor on a straight line in the medium conveyance direction and that detects the rear end of the medium are provided. The skew angle of the medium is obtained from the time difference of the edge detection of the medium in each of the skew detection sensors, and the trailing edge detection sensor detects the trailing edge of the medium, thereby detecting the skew of the skewed medium. Determine the length, and determine the skew angle and transport direction. Determined the length of the conveying direction when no skew of the medium from the one in which and comparing the distance between the first conveying means and second conveying means.

  According to the present invention, the skew angle of the medium and the length of the skewed medium in the conveyance direction are obtained, and the length of the medium in the conveyance direction when the medium is not skewed is determined from the obtained skew angle and the length in the conveyance direction. It can be obtained accurately and quickly, and by comparing with the distance between the first transport means and the second transport means, it can be determined whether or not transport is possible.

It is a top view which shows the medium conveying apparatus of the Example of this invention. It is a side view which shows the medium conveying apparatus of an Example. It is a control block diagram of the conveyance apparatus of an Example. It is a top view which shows the medium conveyance operation | movement in an Example. It is a top view which shows the medium conveyance operation | movement in an Example. It is a top view which shows the medium conveyance operation | movement in an Example. It is a top view which shows the medium conveyance operation | movement in an Example. It is a top view which shows the conveyance state of a medium with a short length. It is a top view which shows the conveyance state of a medium with a short length. It is a top view which shows the medium length detection operation | movement in the left front skew. It is a top view which shows the medium length detection operation | movement in the left front skew.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Elements common to the drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a medium conveying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view showing the medium conveying apparatus according to the embodiment. In the embodiment described below, a medium conveyance device provided in a passbook slip printer will be described as an example of the medium conveyance device.

  1 and 2, the medium conveying apparatus 1 of the embodiment is provided with a conveying path 2, which is formed by arranging an upper guide plate 3 and a lower guide plate 4 at an interval. Has been. On one side of the lower guide plate 4, a reference surface 5 serving as a medium conveyance reference is formed. The left side in FIG. 2 of the conveyance path 2 is a medium insertion port 6. The insertion port 6 also serves as a medium discharge port. Although media having different sizes are transported to the transport path 2, the transport path 2 is formed wide so that any medium can be transported.

  Feed rollers 7 a and 7 b are rotatably disposed in the transport path 2. The feed rollers 7a and 7b are rollers for transporting the medium in the direction of arrow A, and are driven to rotate by a motor described later. Press rollers 8a and 8b can be pressed against the feed rollers 7a and 7b, respectively. The feed roller 7a and the feed roller 7b are attached to the shaft 9 shown in FIG. 2 so as to be orthogonal to the medium conveying direction, and rotate in the same direction when the shaft 9 is rotated by a motor. The feed rollers 7a and 7b enter the conveyance path 2 through a through hole of the upper guide plate 3 (not shown) and are pressed against the press rollers 8a and 8b.

  The press rollers 8a and 8b are provided to face the feed rollers 7a and 7b, respectively, and are attached to the shaft 10. The shaft 10 is disposed so as to be movable up and down by a mechanism (not shown). When the shaft 10 is raised, the press rollers 8a and 8b are pressed against the feed rollers 7a and 7b, respectively. The press rollers 8a and 8b enter the conveyance path 2 through a through hole of the lower guide plate 4 (not shown).

  Further, the feed rollers 11a and 11b are rotatably disposed at positions separated from the feed rollers 7a and 7b by a predetermined distance in the transport direction (arrow A direction). The feed rollers 11a and 11b are also attached to the shaft 13, and enter the conveyance path 2 through a through hole of the upper guide plate 3 (not shown) and are pressed against the press rollers 12a and 12b, respectively. The press rollers 12a and 12b are attached to a shaft 14, and the shaft 14 is arranged to be movable up and down by a mechanism (not shown). When the press rollers 11a and 11b are raised, the press rollers 11a and 11b are pressed against the feed rollers 12a and 12b, respectively. The press rollers 12a and 12b enter the conveyance path 2 through a through hole of the lower guide plate 4 (not shown).

  Width-adjusting rollers 15a and 15b are provided at positions away from the feed rollers 7a and 7b by a predetermined distance in the transport direction. In this embodiment, a plurality of types of media having different sizes are transported. However, the width adjusting rollers 15a and 15b are configured so that the minimum media can be widened even when the smallest media that can be handled by the apparatus is transported. It is provided at a position where it can be moved. Therefore, any size medium passes through the position of the width adjusting rollers 15a and 15b.

  Both the width adjusting rollers 15a and 15b are arranged so as to convey the medium in a direction orthogonal to the medium conveying direction, and the interval between the width adjusting roller 15a and the width adjusting roller 15b is such that the medium is not moved before the medium hits the reference surface 5. After the medium is moved linearly and the medium hits the reference surface 5, the distance is set such that the medium can be rotated. The width adjusting rollers 15 a and 15 b are driven to rotate by a motor described later, and enter the conveyance path 2 from a through hole (not shown) of the upper guide plate 3.

  Press rollers 16a and 16b are provided to face the width adjusting rollers 15a and 15b, respectively. Each of the press rollers 16a and 16b can be moved up and down by a mechanism (not shown), and presses against the width adjusting rollers 15a and 15b when the press rollers 16a and 16b are raised. The press rollers 16a and 16b enter the conveyance path 2 through a through hole of the lower guide plate 4 (not shown).

    A medium detection sensor (rear end detection sensor) 30 is disposed downstream of the insertion port 6 in the medium conveyance direction and upstream of the feed rollers 7a and 7b in the conveyance direction. The medium detection sensor 30 optically detects the rear end of the medium inserted into the conveyance path 2 and is aligned with a skew detection sensor 18 (described later) in a straight line at a predetermined interval in the medium conveyance direction (arrow A direction). Has been placed. As will be described later, the medium detection sensor 30 detects the rear end of the medium and detects the length of the medium (the length in the transport direction). The medium detection sensor 30 is disposed at a position where the medium is sandwiched between the feed rollers 7a or 7b when the conveyance is stopped.

  An insertion detection sensor 17 is disposed downstream of the feed rollers 7a and 7b in the transport direction and upstream of the width adjusting roller 15a in the transport direction. The insertion detection sensor 17 optically detects the leading end portion of the inserted medium, and is arranged at a position for detecting any size medium or a medium inserted obliquely. Further, skew detection sensors 18 and 19 are arranged downstream of the width adjusting roller 15b in the transport direction and upstream of the feed rollers 11a and 11b in the transport direction. The skew detection sensor 18 and the skew detection sensor 19 are arranged at a predetermined interval along a direction orthogonal to the medium conveyance direction. The skew detection sensors 18 and 19 are for detecting the direction of the skew of the medium depending on which one detects the medium first and detecting the angle of the skew of the medium from the detected time difference.

    Between the skew detection sensor 18 and the skew detection sensor 19, a central sensor 20 is disposed slightly downstream of the skew detection sensors 18 and 19 in the transport direction. The central sensor 20 is also a sensor for optically detecting the medium. In particular, when the skew detection sensors 18 and 19 detect the medium at the same time, when the central sensor 20 detects the medium first, the skew of the medium is detected. Is something that can be done. The central sensor 20 is arranged on the downstream side in the transport direction from the skew detection sensors 18 and 19 by a distance corresponding to the manufacturing range of the sensor.

    Alignment completion detection sensors 21 and 22 are provided on the reference surface 5 of the conveyance path 2. The width adjustment completion detection sensors 21 and 22 optically detect that one side portion of the medium is pressed against the reference surface 5, and are arranged along the reference surface 5 at regular intervals.

    FIG. 3 is a control block diagram of the transport apparatus according to the embodiment. In FIG. 3, the control unit 25 controls the operation of the transport apparatus according to the embodiment, and is connected to the sensors 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, and 30 shown in FIG. 1. A drive circuit 26 is connected to the control unit 25, and motors 27 and 28 are connected to the drive circuit 26. The motor 27 is a motor that rotates the feed rollers 7a, 7b, 11a, and 11b, and the motor 28 is a motor that rotates the width adjusting rollers 11a and 11b.

    Next, the operation of the embodiment will be described. The operation when the medium is inserted obliquely will be described. Here, the operation when the right side of the medium is inserted in advance will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 4, when the medium P is inserted into the transport path 2 in a state of leading right, the insertion detection sensor 17 detects the leading end of the medium P. As a result, driving means (not shown) is driven, the press rollers 8a, 8b, 12a, 12b are raised, and the vicinity of the leading end of the medium P is sandwiched between the feed rollers 7a, 7b and the press rollers 8a, 8b.

    Next, the control unit 25 drives the motor 27 to rotate the feed rollers 7a, 7b, 11a, and 11b. By this rotation, the medium P is conveyed in the direction of arrow A. When the medium P is transported, as shown in FIG. 5, the leading end portion of the medium P is first detected by the skew detection sensor 18. When further conveyed, the leading end of the medium P is then detected by a skew detection sensor 19 as shown in FIG.

The control unit 25 obtains the time difference between the detection signal from the skew detection sensor 18 and the detection signal from the skew detection sensor 19 and obtains the skew angle α of the medium P from the obtained time difference. In FIG. 6, when the skew detection sensor 19 detects the leading edge of the medium P, the distance between the skew detection sensor 18 and the leading edge P1 of the medium P in a straight line in the transport direction and the skew detection sensor 18 is X1, and skew detection is performed. When the distance between the sensor 18 and the skew detection sensor 19 is Py and the skew angle is α, tan α = X1 / Py is established, and the skew angle α is α = tan ⁻¹ (X1 / Py).

  When the medium P is further conveyed, the rear end of the medium P is detected by the medium detection sensor 30 as shown in FIG. The control unit 25 obtains a time difference between the detection signal from the skew detection sensor 18 and the detection signal from the medium detection sensor 30, and detects the leading end P1 of the medium P by the skew detection sensor 18 from the obtained time difference and then detects the medium. A distance X2 traveled by the medium P before the sensor 30 detects the rear end of the medium P is obtained. In FIG. 7, when the medium detection sensor 30 detects the trailing edge of the medium P, the distance X2 from the skew detection sensor 18 to the leading edge P1 in the conveyance direction is a value obtained by multiplying the above-described time difference by the conveyance speed. Since the distance Px between the medium detection sensor 30 and the skew detection sensor 18 is known, the length L in the transport direction when the medium P is skewed is obtained by L = Px + X2.

  The control unit 25 calculates the length LB in the transport direction when the medium P is not skewed from the obtained skew angle α and the length L in the transport direction when the medium P is skewed. This length is obtained by LB = Lcosα. Then, the control unit 25 compares the length LB of the medium P with the distance Lp between the feed rollers 7a and 7b and the feed rollers 11a and 11b, and determines that LB <Lp. The feed roller 7a, 7b, 11a, 11b is rotated in the reverse direction, the medium P is discharged to the insertion port 6, and the operator is requested to reinsert. Further, when it is determined that LB> Lp, the control unit 25 transports the medium P in the transport direction (direction A) by a predetermined transport amount and stops it.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8, when the medium detection sensor 30 has already detected the trailing end of the medium P before the skew detection sensor 18 detects the leading end of the medium P, as shown in FIG. When the rear end of the medium P is detected, it is determined that the length in the conveyance direction of the medium P (when the medium P is not skewed) is shorter than the above-described distance Lp between the feed rollers, and the feed rollers 7a, 7b, 11a and 11b are rotated in the reverse direction, the medium P is ejected, and the operator is requested to reinsert.

    Further, as illustrated in FIG. 9, the control unit 25 also detects the medium detection sensor 30 when the medium detection sensor 30 has already detected the trailing edge of the medium P before the skew detection sensor 19 detects the leading edge of the medium P. When the rear end of the medium P is detected, it is determined that the length of the medium P in the transport direction (when the medium P is not skewed) is shorter than the above-described distance Lp between the feed rollers, and the feed rollers 7a and 7b. , 11a, 11b are rotated in the opposite direction, the medium P is ejected, and the operator is requested to reinsert. 8 and 9 are plan views showing a transport state of a medium having a short length.

  Next, the operation when the left side of the medium is inserted in advance will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 10 shows a state in which the medium P is transported on the transport path 2 with the left leading, and the leading end portion of the medium P is detected by the skew detection sensor 19 and then detected by the skew detection sensor 18. The control unit 25 obtains the time difference between the detection signal from the skew detection sensor 19 and the detection signal from the skew detection sensor 18, and obtains the skew angle α of the medium P from the obtained time difference.

In FIG. 10, when the skew detection sensor 18 detects the leading end of the medium P, the distance between the skew detecting sensor 19 and the leading end P2 of the medium P in a straight line in the transport direction and the skew detecting sensor 19 is X3, When the distance between the skew detection sensor 18 and the skew detection sensor 19 is Py and the skew angle is α, tan α = X3 / Py is established, and the skew angle α is expressed as α = tan ⁻¹ (X3 / Py). Become.

  The medium P is further conveyed, and the rear end portion of the medium P is detected by the medium detection sensor 30 as shown in FIG. The control unit 25 obtains a time difference between the detection signal from the skew detection sensor 18 and the detection signal from the medium detection sensor 30, and detects the leading end portion P3 of the medium P by the skew detection sensor 18 from the obtained time difference, and then detects the medium. A distance X4 traveled by the medium P before the sensor 30 detects the rear end of the medium P is obtained. In FIG. 11, when the medium detection sensor 30 detects the trailing edge of the medium P, the distance X4 from the skew detection sensor 18 to the leading edge P3 in the conveyance direction is a value obtained by multiplying the above-described time difference by the conveyance speed. Since the distance Px between the medium detection sensor 30 and the skew detection sensor 18 is known, the length L in the transport direction when the medium P is skewed is obtained by L = Px + X4.

  The control unit 25 calculates a length LB in the transport direction when the medium P is not skewed from the obtained skew angle α and the length L in the transport direction of the medium P in the skewed state. This length LB is obtained by LB = Lcosα. Then, the control unit 25 compares the length LB of the medium P with the distance Lp between the feed rollers 7a and 7b and the feed rollers 11a and 11b, and determines that LB <Lp. The feed roller 7a, 7b, 11a, 11b is rotated in the reverse direction, the medium P is discharged to the insertion port 6, and the operator is requested to reinsert. Further, when it is determined that LB> Lp, the control unit 25 transports the medium P in the transport direction (direction A) by a predetermined transport amount and stops it.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, immediately after the medium P is sucked into the conveyance path 2, the skew detection angle 18 of the medium P is obtained by the skew detection sensors 18 and 19, and the detection signal of the skew detection sensor 18 or 19 and Since the length LB of the conveyance direction of the medium P is calculated from the detection signal of the medium detection sensor 30, it is determined whether or not the medium P can be sucked in a state where the medium P is clamped by the feed rollers 7a and 7b. This makes it possible to prevent the conveyance of the medium having a length shorter than the distance Lp between the feed rollers after the suction.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Medium conveyance apparatus 2 Conveyance path 7a, 7b Feed roller 11a, 11b Feed roller 18, 19 Skew detection sensor 25 Control part 30 Medium detection sensor

Claims (2)

In a medium conveying apparatus that conveys a plurality of media having different sizes,
First conveying means for conveying a medium;
A second conveying means disposed at a predetermined distance from the first conveying means in the medium conveying direction;
Two skew detection sensors which are arranged side by side in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the medium and each detect an edge of the medium;
A rear end detection sensor which is provided at a predetermined distance from one of the two skew detection sensors and in a straight line in the medium transport direction and detects the rear end of the medium. And
The skew feeding angle of the medium is obtained from the time difference of the edge detection of the medium in the two skew detection sensors, and the skew feeding medium is conveyed by the trailing edge detection sensor detecting the trailing edge of the medium. The length in the direction is obtained, the length in the carrying direction when the medium is not skewed is obtained from the obtained skew angle and the length in the carrying direction, and the distance between the first carrying means and the second carrying means is calculated. A medium conveying apparatus characterized by comparing.   The medium conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rear end detection sensor is disposed downstream of the second conveying unit in the medium conveying direction.

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