JP2012000815A - Image recorder, and control method of image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image recorder in which need of furnishing a special control mechanism for a joining part of a continuous recording medium is eliminated, and to provide a control method of an image recorder.SOLUTION: A detecting part 10 detects a position of the joining part of the recording medium 2. A timing control part 32 obtains in which of pages the joining part is included, and controls a first image recording part 8 and a second image recording part 9 so as to inhibit an image recording process to the page. When the joining part overlaps a position planned to be cut by a cutting part 6, the timing control part 32 controls the cutting part 6 and shifts the cutting position not to overlap the joining part.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus for recording an image by fixing ink on a recording medium, and a method for controlling the image recording apparatus, and more particularly, to an image recording apparatus having a recording medium cutting unit and a method for controlling the image recording apparatus. .

  2. Description of the Related Art There is known an image recording apparatus that records an image by ejecting ink onto a recording medium (hereinafter referred to as a continuous recording medium) in which paper or film is wound in a roll shape. In such an image recording apparatus, the continuous recording medium on which the image is recorded is cut into a predetermined length and discharged.

  In such an image recording apparatus using a continuous recording medium, when the remaining amount of the continuous recording medium decreases, for example, a new continuous recording medium is connected to the continuous recording medium used so far by a tape or the like. Perform replacement work.

  However, when a continuous recording medium connected with such a tape is transported in the image recording apparatus, the tape is also cut together with the continuous recording medium when the joining portion of the continuous recording medium is located near the downstream cut position. . This shortens the cutter life and causes the continuous recording medium to become jammed.

In order to solve this problem, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for controlling the joint portion of the continuous recording medium so as not to be positioned near the cut position.
In Patent Document 1, the continuous recording medium is replaced by joining the old and new continuous recording media with a double-sided tape at the position of the nip roller. A sensor for detecting the flow rate of the recording medium and a sensor for detecting the deviation amount of the knife connected to the rotating body are provided, and the joint portion of the continuous recording medium does not reach the cut portion from the detection values from these sensors. So that the control is performed.

  Also, the apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2 discloses that continuous paper is exchanged by connecting with a colored splicing tape. Further, by providing a detection sensor for detecting the connection portion in the apparatus, when the connection portion is stopped on the fixing portion for fixing the toner, a technique for controlling the re-transport until the stop position is passed is disclosed. ing.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-270706 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-19860

  In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, the continuous recording medium is fed out and the position of the joining portion is adjusted so that the joining portion of the continuous recording medium is not near the cut position. The recording device requires a storage web, dancer, etc. Therefore, there is a problem that the apparatus becomes complicated and large.

  Patent Document 2 discloses that the splicing tape is detected and controlled so that the stop position of the joining portion is not near the fixing portion. However, there is no disclosure regarding control of the joining portion during the cutting process. Absent. For this reason, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2, it is possible to avoid performing an image recording process on the joint portion, but there is a possibility that the joint portion may be cut with a cutter.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an image recording apparatus and a control method for the image recording apparatus that do not require a special control mechanism for a joint portion of a continuous recording medium. .

  It is another object of the present invention to provide an image recording apparatus that can be controlled so that the joint portion of the continuous recording medium does not come near the cutting position, and a method for controlling the image recording apparatus.

  The image recording apparatus is an image recording apparatus that performs image recording and cutting on a continuous recording medium on a page basis by an image recording unit on a continuous recording medium conveyed by a conveying unit based on image recording information from a host device. An encoder that generates conveyance information of the continuous recording medium provided in the conveyance unit, a detection unit that detects a joint of the continuous recording medium, and the continuous recording medium is cut into pages of a predetermined length based on the image recording information A cutting position to cut the recording medium in units of pages from the image recording information and the conveyance information, and the position of the joint portion is determined from the cutting position and the detection result by the detection unit. A timing control unit that determines whether or not it coincides with the scheduled cutting position and performs image recording control and cutting control according to the determination result. And butterflies.

  The control method of this image recording apparatus is an image recording apparatus that performs image recording and cutting on a continuous recording medium on a page basis by the image recording unit on the continuous recording medium conveyed by the conveying unit based on image recording information from the host device. A control method for generating conveyance information of the continuous recording medium, detecting a joint portion of the continuous recording medium, and cutting the recording medium in units of pages from the image recording information and the conveyance information. A position is obtained, it is determined whether or not the position of the joint portion matches the planned cutting position, and image recording control and cutting control are performed according to the determination result.

  Even when a connection portion exists in the continuous recording medium, control is performed so that a recorded image is not performed on a page including the connection portion. This can prevent missing pages during variable printing.

  Further, control is performed so that the joint portion of the continuous recording medium and the cutting position by the cutting portion do not overlap. As a result, the life of the cut portion can be extended and the continuous recording medium can be prevented from being jammed on the conveyance path.

1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an image recording apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the image recording apparatus according to the present embodiment, centering on a control unit. It is explanatory drawing which shows the positional relationship of the detection part of the image recording apparatus of this embodiment, an image recording part, and a cutting | disconnection part. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the relationship between the junction part of a recording medium, and a cutting position. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating output states of a recording timing signal and a cutting timing signal to the first image recording unit in FIG. 4. It is a flowchart which shows the operation processing of a control part.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description, an example of an ink jet full-line printer will be described as the image recording apparatus of the present embodiment. Note that the recording format of the image recording apparatus of the present embodiment is not limited to the ink jet method, but may be another recording method such as an electrostatic induction method, and the recording method itself is not particularly limited.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the overall configuration of the image recording apparatus in the present embodiment.
1, the image recording apparatus 1 of the present embodiment includes a recording medium feeding unit 3, an image recording unit 4, a conveying unit 5, a cutting unit 6, a discharging unit 7, and a control unit 31 described later. The recording medium feeding unit 3 winds a continuous roll-shaped continuous recording medium (hereinafter simply referred to as a recording medium) 2. The image recording unit 4 performs image recording on the recording medium 2 by ejecting ink based on the image data. The transport unit 5 transports the recording medium 2 on which image recording has been performed by the image recording unit 4 at a predetermined tension and speed. The cutting unit 6 cuts the recording medium 2 on which image recording has been performed to a predetermined length. The discharge unit 7 discharges the cut recording medium 2.

  The recording medium feeding unit 3 has a recording medium joining unit (not shown), and the recording medium 2 is joined by the recording medium joining unit when the recording medium 2 is replenished and replaced. In the following description, the recording medium 2 is joined by a tape. However, the present embodiment is not limited to such a joining method. For example, the joining portion may be joined by an adhesive. Other joining methods may be used as long as they can be detected.

  A detection unit 10 is disposed downstream of the medium junction. The detection unit 10 detects a joint portion of the recording medium 2 that passes on the conveyance path and notifies the control unit 31 of it. The detection unit 10 uses a reflection type optical sensor, but may be a transmission type or a line sensor. Further, the detection unit 10 may be configured to detect the joint portion by detecting the thickness of the recording medium 2.

  The image recording unit 4 includes a first image recording unit 8 that performs image recording on the first surface (front surface) of the recording medium 2 and a second image that performs image recording on a second surface corresponding to the back surface of the first surface of the recording medium 2. A recording unit 9 is provided. A first drum 11 is disposed at a position facing the first image recording section 8 of the image recording section 4, and a second drum 13 is disposed at a position facing the second image recording section 9. The recording medium 2 is wound and held by the first drum 11 and the second drum 13.

  The first drum 11 is provided with a conveyance information generation unit 12, which acquires the conveyance information of the recording medium from the output of the conveyance information generation unit 12 and outputs it to the control unit 31. The conveyance information generation unit 12 is configured by, for example, a rotary encoder. In the following example, it is assumed that the resolution of the rotary encoder is 0.1 mm / pulse, and one pulse is output every time the recording medium 2 is transported by 0.1 mm. This value is an example, and the image recording apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is not limited to such a configuration. Hereinafter, the number of pulses output from the conveyance information generation unit 12 is expressed as PLS.

  The transport unit 5 includes a pair of nip rollers 14 that sandwich the recording medium 2 and transport the recording medium 2 toward the downstream side. The nip roller pair 14 is driven by a nip roller driving motor 15.

  The cutting unit 6 includes a cut roller 16 serving as a cut-side rotating body that rotates at a predetermined number of rotations and an anvil roller 17 serving as a receiving-side rotating body so as to face each other so as to cut the recording medium 2. . A cutter blade 18 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the cut roller 16, and the recording medium 2 is cut by the cutter blade 18.

  The cut roller 16 uses a cut roller drive motor 19 as a drive source. The cut roller drive motor 19 generates a control pulse from the conveyance information output from the conveyance information generation unit 12, and the control pulse generates a control pulse of the cutter blade 18. The rotation speed is controlled.

  The discharge unit 7 includes a discharge roller pair 22, a recording medium stacker 23, a waste medium stacker 24, and a switching plate 25. The recording medium stacker 23 accommodates the recording medium 2 on which image recording has been performed. The discard medium stacker 24 accommodates the recording medium 2 to be discarded as will be described later. The discharge roller pair 22 guides the cut recording medium 2 to each stacker. The switching plate 25 switches the conveyance path for discharging the recording medium 2 to the recording medium stacker 23 or discharging it to the waste medium stacker 24.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the image recording apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, centering on the control unit 31. In the figure, the image recording apparatus 1 is connected to a host apparatus 33.
The control unit 31 receives job information notified from a host device 33 such as a personal computer (PC), for example, and controls each component of the image recording apparatus 1 using this job information as an instruction to start image recording processing. The job information notified from the host device 33 includes information indicating the size of each page in addition to the image data used for the image recording process.

  The control unit 31 is connected to the recording medium feeding unit 3, the conveyance unit 5, the cutting unit 6, the discharge unit 7, the first image recording unit 8, the second image recording unit 9, and the detection unit 10 described above. In addition to collecting the information output from, a drive instruction is given to them based on the above-described job information. The control unit 31 includes a timing control unit 32 and generates control timing for cutting the recording medium 2 by the cutting unit 6 and image recording processing by the image recording unit 4. The timing control unit 32 calculates and generates signals for the recording start timing of the first image recording unit 8, the recording timing of the second image recording unit 9, and the cutting timing of the cutting unit 6, and controls them.

  Note that the image recording apparatus 1 of the present embodiment can be configured not to use a so-called cut mark that indicates a cutting reference position in the cutting process of the recording medium 2. In this case, the timing that is a reference for starting the image recording process and the cutting timing of the recording medium 2 are generated by the timing control unit 32, and each process is controlled at this timing. Further, the image recording apparatus 1 of the present embodiment can be realized as a configuration using cut marks. In this case, for example, a cut mark is recorded on the recording medium 2 by the first image recording unit 8, and the cutting timing by the cutting unit 6 is generated by reading the cut mark.

Next, the processing operation of the image recording apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be described.
In the first embodiment, when the image recording process is started, the recording medium 2 is attached to the recording medium feeding unit 3 in a state of being wound in a roll shape as described above. A back tension is applied to the roll-shaped recording medium 2 by a braking mechanism (not shown).

  When job information is notified from the host apparatus 33 and execution of image recording processing is instructed, in the image recording apparatus 1, the control unit 31 controls the nip roller pair 14 to change the recording medium 2 while keeping the conveyance speed constant. It is conveyed to the first image recording unit 8. Then, the first image recording unit 8 performs image recording processing on the first surface (front surface) of the recording medium 2 that faces the first image recording unit 8. When the recording medium 2 is further conveyed, the second image recording unit 9 performs an image recording process on the second surface of the recording medium 2.

When the image recording process is completed, the recording medium 2 on which the image is recorded is fed to the cutting unit 6.
In the image recording apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the rotary cutting unit 6 described above is used as a method of cutting the recording medium 2 in units of pages. By rotating the peripheral speed of the cutter blade 18 of the cutting unit 6 at a speed determined by the conveyance speed of the recording medium 2 and the recording medium cutting length, the cutter blade 18 is pressed against the anvil roller 17 side. Is cut into a predetermined size.

  On the drive shaft of the cut roller 16, there is provided a blade position information generation unit 20 for detecting the position of the cutter blade 18. The blade position information generation unit 20 is configured by, for example, an absolute encoder. When the mounting position of the cutter blade 18 is the origin position of the absolute encoder, the outer peripheral length from the current position of the cutter blade 18 to the next cutting position can be obtained from the total outer peripheral length of the cut roller 16 and the resolution of the absolute encoder. it can. Since the recording medium 2 is cut by being introduced between the cut roller 16 and the anvil roller 17, the recording medium 2 is the length of the distance that the cutter blade 18 moves while the cut roller 16 rotates once. Disconnected.

The cut recording medium 2 is fed to the discharge unit 7. At this stage, the recording medium 2 is a sheet.
The control unit 31 counts the number of pulses output from the conveyance information generation unit 12 to determine whether the cut recording medium 2 has been subjected to recording processing or is in a blank state before and after the page on which the recording processing is performed. Can be judged. Then, the control unit 31 controls the switching plate 25, the recording medium 2 that has undergone the recording process to the recording medium stacker 23, and the blank recording medium 2 before and after the page on which the recording process is performed to the discard medium stacker 24. To feed.

Next, the characteristic part of the image recording apparatus 1 of this embodiment is demonstrated.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the positional relationship between the detection unit 10, the image recording unit 4, and the cutting unit 6 of the image recording apparatus 1 of the present embodiment.

  In FIG. 3, the distance between the cutting position 21 by the cutting unit 6 that cuts the recording medium 2, the detection unit 10, the first image recording unit 8, and the second image recording unit 9 is known as a value unique to each image recording apparatus 1. It is as follows.

Distance between detection unit 10 and first image recording unit 8 ... L1 (mm)
Distance between first image recording unit 8 and second image recording unit 9 ... L2 (mm)
Distance between detection unit 10 and cut position 21 L3 (mm)
Based on the above condition, the timing of the recording process by the second image recording unit 9 will be described first.

  In the image recording apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the first image recording unit 8 and the second image recording unit 9 are the same in the first image recording unit 8 and the second image recording unit 9 because they are arranged apart from each other by a distance L2. When the recording process is performed at the timing, the recording position of the image is naturally shifted on the front and back of the recording medium 2. In order to cope with this, the timing control unit 32 delays the recording timing signal output to the first image recording unit 8 by the time for which the recording medium 2 is conveyed by the separation distance L2 to the second image recording unit 9. Output.

  As described above, since the resolution of the conveyance information generation unit 12 is 0.1 mm / PLS, the delay amount from when the first image recording unit 8 starts the recording process to when the second recording unit 9 starts the recording process. Is expressed by the number of output pulses of the carrier information generation unit 12 as follows.

Delay amount = L2 / 0.1 (PLS)
From the above equation, the recording timing signal for instructing the start of the image recording process by the second image recording unit 9 is delayed by L2 / 0.1 pulses after the timing signal is notified to the first image recording unit 8 and output. You can see that

Next, the relationship between the timing of the recording process by the first image recording unit 8 and the timing of the cutting process by the cutting unit 6 in the image recording apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be described.
First, a case where there is no joined portion in the range where the image recording process of the recording medium 2 is performed is described. In this case, the timing control unit 32 sends the recording timing signal and the cutting timing to the first image recording unit 8 and the cutting unit 6 so that the page size specified by the job information from the host device 33, for example, A4 size (297 mm) is obtained. Generate a signal. As a result, the image recording apparatus 1 can record an image in a designated size, and the image is cut into a designated page size and discharged to the recording medium stacker 23.

Since the first image recording unit 8 and the cut position 21 are separated from each other by L3 (mm), the cutting timing signal is set to the number of pulses of the conveyance information generation unit 12 and the delay amount = L3 / 0.1 (PLS).
Only the signal delayed with respect to the recording timing signal.

  In the above example, it is described that an image having a page size of A4 size according to job information from the host device is recorded and cut. However, the present example is not limited to such a page size.

Next, a case where a joint portion exists in a range where the image recording process of the recording medium 2 is performed will be described.
Since the joint portion of the recording medium 2 has a different state from other portions, it must be discarded.

  In the discarding process, when a plurality of pages of the same image are continuously recorded, it is only necessary to discard the recording medium 2 of the recorded page having the joint portion. However, in the case of variable printing in which a different image is recorded for each page, if a page with a joint portion is discarded after performing the image recording process, the recording medium 2 discharged to the recording medium stacker 23 has a page missing. turn into.

  In order to cope with this point, in the image recording apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the control unit 31 does not perform image recording processing on a portion related to the joint portion of the recording medium 2 and cuts the page including the joint portion. Control to perform disposal processing.

  In this example, the separation distance between the detection unit 10 and the first image recording unit 8 is L1 (mm). Therefore, when the detection unit 10 detects the joint portion of the recording medium 2 and the number of pulses of the conveyance information generation unit 12 is input by the number of arrival pulses (= L1 / 0.1 (PLS)), It is recognized that the part reaches the first image recording unit 8.

  The control unit 31 counts the pulses output from the conveyance information generation unit 12 until the next recording timing signal for the first image recording unit 8 is output after the detection unit 10 detects the joining portion. . Then, from this count result, the number of arrival pulses, and the page size described above, the control unit 31 can determine which page the joined portion of the recording medium 2 enters or spans the page.

4 is a conceptual diagram showing the relationship between the joining portion of the recording medium and the cutting position, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the output state of the recording timing signal and the cutting timing signal to the first image recording unit 8 in FIG.
FIG. 4A shows a case where the joint portion 41 of the recording medium 2 enters the middle of the page, and FIG. 5A shows a recording timing signal and a cutting timing signal at that time.

  In FIG. 4A, the control unit 31 performs image recording from the page Pn to the page Pn + 2 by the first image recording unit 8. And since the control part 31 has recognized that the junction part 41 exists in the area of the next page of page Pn + 2, ie, the part between cutting planned positions 42-n + 2 and 42-n + 3a, in the area of this page Does not record images. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5A, the recording timing signal is not output at the timing corresponding to the next page of the page Pn + 2. If one-page image recording is skipped, a recording timing signal for performing image recording of page Pn + 3 is output at a timing corresponding to the next page. Thereafter, image recording from Pn + 4 (not shown) to the last page is performed.

  In the cutting timing signal output to the cutting unit 6, in the case of FIG. 4A, it is determined that the joining portion 41 is in the middle of the page and does not overlap the scheduled cutting position 42. The cutting unit 6 is controlled to cut to A4 size without any change from the case where there is no. That is, as shown in FIG. 5A, the cutting timing signal is output for all pages. As a result, the recording medium 2 cuts the scheduled cutting positions 42-n-1, 42-n, 42-n + 1,. Then, the control unit 31 guides only the recording medium 2 in which the image recording including the joint portion 41 is not performed among the cut recording media 2 to the discard medium stacker 24, and the recording media 2 of other pages are the recording medium stacker 24. The switching plate 25 is controlled so as to guide to 23. As a result, only the recording medium 2 on which the image is recorded is discharged to the recording medium stacker 23, and the recording medium 2 having the joint portion 41 is prevented from being mixed.

Next, a cutting method in the case where the joint portion 41 of the recording medium 2 spans the page and overlaps the scheduled cutting position 42 will be described.
FIG. 4B shows a case where the joint portion 41 of the recording medium 2 spans pages, and FIG. 5B shows a recording timing signal and a cutting timing signal at that time.

In FIG. 4B, the control unit 31 performs image recording on the first image recording unit 8 as usual from page Pn to page Pn + 2.
Then, as shown in FIG. 4B, the control unit 31 obtains the position of the joining portion 41 of the recording medium 2 when performing the image recording process for the next page, and as a result, the joining portion 41 overlaps the planned cutting position 42-n + 3a. Judge that it will. Therefore, the control unit 31 does not perform image recording processing on the page Pn + 3a. Further, the control unit 31 moves the scheduled cutting position 42-n + 3a to the scheduled cutting position 42-n + 3a ′ by delaying the planned cutting position 42-n + 3a by α so that the joint portion 41 and the planned cutting position 42 do not overlap. As a result, the cutting position 31 is positioned in the page Pn + 3a where image recording is not performed, and the next image recording of the page Pn + 2 is performed on the subsequent page Pn + 3b.

FIG. 5B shows the processing of FIG. 4B by a recording timing signal to the first image recording unit 8 and a cutting timing signal to the cutting unit 6.
In the figure, from the page Pn to Pn + 2, both the recording timing signal and the cutting timing signal are output in a normal cycle. However, the control unit 31 recognizes that the scheduled cutting position 42-n + 3a of Pn + 3a on the next page of Pn + 2 overlaps with the bonding portion 41 from the detection result of the bonding portion 41 by the detection unit 10.

  Therefore, the control unit 31 delays the recording timing signal for the next page of Pn + 2 by the time during which the recording medium 2 is conveyed by A4 + α, and outputs it to the first image recording unit 8. Further, the control unit 31 delays the cutting timing signal by a time during which the recording medium 2 is conveyed by the delay amount α, and outputs the signal to the cutting unit 6.

Thereafter, image recording from a page Pn + 4 (not shown) to the last page is performed, and cutting processing of these pages is performed.
As for the magnitude of the delay amount α, in the image recording apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the control unit 31 is configured to measure and determine the width of the joint portion 41 by the detection unit 10. If the width of the joint portion 41 is constant, the width information is input to the control unit 31 from an input unit (not shown) or the like, and the control unit 31 determines the delay amount α based on the input value. Also good.

  In the cutting process performed by the cutting unit 6, in the case of FIG. 4B, since it is known that the joint portion 41 hits the planned cutting position 42-n + 3a, the cutting timing signal is delayed by the delay amount α as described above. . Thereby, it is possible to prevent the joint portion 41 from being cut by the cutter blade 18 of the cutting portion 6 and shortening the life of the cutter blade 18.

  The control unit 31 delays the cutting timing signal for the next page of the Pn + 2 page by α, moves the planned cutting position 42-n + 3a to the planned cutting position 42-n + 3a ′, and lengthens the cutting length. Looking at the cutting timing signal at this time, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), the cutting timing signal is output at a constant period up to the Pn + 2 page during the length A4. Then, in the next page of Pn + 2 page, since the joint portion 41 of the recording medium 2 hits the scheduled cutting position 42-n + 3a, the cutting timing signal is delayed by α. As a result, the cutting length of the next page after the Pn + 2 page is A4 + α, and it is possible to avoid the cutting position at the joint portion 41.

Since the cutting unit 6 of the present embodiment uses the rotating cut roller 16, when the cutting length is increased by α in order to avoid the joint portion 41, the driving frequency of the cutting roller 16 is set to the driving frequency. = F / (1 + α / A4): However, f is controlled to be lowered by the driving frequency when cutting into A4 size.

  For the cut recording medium 2, the control unit 31 controls the switching plate 25 to guide the recording medium 2 including the joining portion 41 to the waste medium stacker 24 so that the recording medium 2 is not recorded. Prevent contamination.

As described above, in the image recording apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, when the recording medium 2 has the joint portion 41, the image recording processing and the cutting processing can be performed while avoiding that portion.
Next, another method of cutting processing by the image recording apparatus 1 will be described.

In the cutting process shown in FIG. 4A, when the size of one page is A4, the recording medium 2 is cut with the cutting length of the page having the joint portion 41 being the length of A4.
On the other hand, in the cutting method of this embodiment, the cutting is performed based on the position of the joint portion 41 regardless of the size of one page.

FIG. 4C shows the relationship between the joining portion 41 of the recording medium and the cutting position in this case.
As shown in the figure, the page Pn + 3a including the joint portion 41 is not subjected to image recording processing as in the case of FIG. Further, the scheduled cutting position 42-n + 3a of the page Pn + 3a is cut at a position separated by β with respect to the position of the joint portion 41. In addition, the magnitude | size of this (beta) should just be a distance away so that the junction part 41 may not affect a cutting | disconnection.

In the cutting method of another form shown in FIG. 4C, the amount of the recording medium 2 to be discarded can be reduced as compared with the processing method of FIG.
Next, an operation process of the control unit 31 when the image recording apparatus 1 of the present embodiment performs the process shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. The processing shown in the figure is realized by an arithmetic processing unit constituting the control unit 31 executing a control program in the nonvolatile storage unit in the control unit 31. The control unit 31 does not execute the control program as described above to realize the processing, but includes dedicated hardware in the control unit 31 and controls the hardware to realize the following processing. It may be a configuration.

  In the following description, it is assumed that the page size for performing the recording process and the cutting process on the recording medium 2 is A4 size. Further, the processing delay generated from the distance between the first image recording unit 8 and the cutting unit and the image recording processing by the second image recording unit 9 are omitted for the sake of simplicity.

  When the process shown in FIG. 6 is started, first, the control unit 31 is in a waiting state for receiving an image recording request from the higher-level device 33 (step S1, N). When the job information which is an image recording request is received from the host device 33 (step S1, Y), the control unit 31 instructs the transport unit 5 to drive in step S2 and starts transporting the recording medium 2.

Next, the control unit 31 sets a counter for counting the number of pages to 0 in step S3. This counter indicates the page scheduled to be cut next.
Next, in step S <b> 4, the control unit 31 determines whether or not the joint portion 41 of the recording medium 2 has been detected from the detection result of the detection unit 10. When it is determined that the joint portion 41 is not detected (step S4, N), the control unit 31 outputs a recording timing signal to the first image recording unit 8 at an A4 size interval Ptim as step S5. The first image recording unit 8 performs image recording processing on the front recording medium 2 at a timing based on the signal. In step S6, the control unit outputs a cutting timing signal at an A4 size interval Ctim. At the timing based on the cutting timing signal, the cutting unit 6 cuts the recording medium 2 and moves the processing to step S7.

  On the other hand, when the control unit 31 determines in step S4 that the joining portion 41 of the recording medium 2 has been detected (step S4, Y), the control unit 31 determines in step S9 how many pages the joining portion 41 is based on the counter value. The calculation result is stored as X in its own storage unit.

  Next, in step S10, the control unit 31 determines whether or not the number of pages indicated by the counter matches the value of X stored in step S9, and determines that they do not match (step S10, N). Then, the process proceeds to step S5, and as described above, after outputting the recording timing signal and the cutting timing signal at the timing of A4 size in steps S5 and S6, the process proceeds to step S7.

  In step S10, when it is determined that the number of pages indicated by the counter matches the value of X indicating the page having the joint portion 41 (step S10, Y), the control unit 31 next in step S11, the joint portion 41. Is at the page boundary and determines whether or not it overlaps the scheduled cutting position 42. As a result of this determination, when it is determined that the joining portion 41 does not overlap with the planned cutting position 42 (N in step S11), the control unit 31 stops outputting the recording timing signal for the page, and in step S12, the A4 size is obtained. After outputting only the cutting timing signal at the timing Ctim, the process proceeds to step S7. By this processing, the first image recording unit 8 does not perform image recording processing on the page where the joint portion 41 of the recording medium 2 exists, and cuts the page of the recording medium 2 that has not been recorded by the cutting unit 6. To do.

  In step S11, when it is determined that the joint portion 41 of the recording medium 2 hits the page boundary (step S11, Y), the control unit 31 calculates the value of the delay amount α in step S13. The delay amount α is a delay amount for shifting the joint portion 41 from the cutting position as described above. This delay amount α delays the image recording start position by the first image recording unit 8 to the next page of the page where the joint portion 41 exists, and delays the cutting length of the page including the joint portion 41 by A4 size + α. It controls to become. The delay amount α may be calculated in advance and stored in the storage unit in the control unit 31, and in step S13, the value of the delay amount α may be read from the storage unit.

  Next, the control unit 31 does not output the recording timing signal, but outputs only the cutting timing signal at the timing Ctim + α of A4 size + α in step S14. Thereafter, in step S15, the control unit 31 increments the counter by one. Next, in step S16, the control unit 31 outputs the timing Ptim + α of A4 size + α to the next page of the page including the joint portion 41, and delays the image recording start position by α. Subsequently, in step S17, the control unit 31 outputs a cutting timing signal at an A4 size timing Ctim, and then moves the process to step S7.

  In step S7, it is determined whether the page of the cut recording medium 2 is the last page. When it is determined that the page is not the last page (step S7, N), the counter is incremented by 1 as step S8, and the process proceeds to step S4. To return. If it is determined in step S7 that the page is the last page, in step S18, the control unit 31 instructs the transport unit 5 to stop driving, stops the transport of the recording medium 2, and then ends the present process.

  As described above, according to the image recording apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the detection unit 10 detects the joint portion 41 of the recording medium 2 and controls the timing of the image recording process and the cutting process based on this. . This can be realized without the need for providing a special control mechanism for the joining portion 41, and even when the joining portion 41 comes to a position facing the first image recording unit 8 during variable printing, a page is missing. Image recording can be continued without

Further, since the cutting position of the recording medium 2 and the joining portion 41 do not overlap, it is possible to prevent the cutter blade 18 from being shortened in life and to prevent the recording medium 2 from being clogged.
In the above example, the configuration of the cutting unit 6 has been described with an example using a rotary cutter. However, the configuration of the cutting unit 6 is not limited to the configuration using a rotary cutter, and a guillotine type cutter or a laser type cutter is used. The structure to be used may be used.

  In the above example, the image recording apparatus 1 includes the first image recording unit 8 and the second image recording unit 9 and performs image recording processing on both sides of the recording medium 2. It may be configured to perform recording.

  Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be embodied by modifying the components without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, the present invention can make various inventions by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above-described embodiments. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment of the present invention, or new components may be appropriately combined.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image recording apparatus 2 Recording medium 3 Recording medium feeding part 4 Recording part 5 Conveying part 6 Cutting part 7 Recording medium discharge | emission part 8 1st image recording part 9 2nd image recording part 10 Detection part 11 1st drum 12 Conveyance information production | generation Part 13 Second drum 14 Nip roller pair 15 Nip roller drive motor 16 Cut roller 17 Anvil roller 18 Cutter blade 19 Cut roller drive motor 20 Cutler position information generation unit 21 Arrow indicating cut position 22 Discharge roller pair 23 Recording medium stacker 24 Waste medium stacker 25 Switching plate 31 Control unit 32 Timing control unit 33 Host device

Claims (7)

In an image recording apparatus that performs image recording and cutting on a page basis by the image recording unit on the continuous recording medium conveyed by the conveying unit based on the image recording information from the host device,
An encoder that generates conveyance information of the continuous recording medium provided in the conveyance unit;
A detection unit for detecting a joint of the continuous recording medium;
A cutting unit that cuts the continuous recording medium into pages of a predetermined length based on the image recording information;
A cutting planned position for cutting the recording medium in units of pages is obtained from the image recording information and the conveyance information, and the position of the joint portion is determined as the planned cutting position from the planned cutting position and the detection result by the detection unit. A timing control unit that determines whether or not to match, and performs image recording control and cutting control according to the determination result;
An image recording apparatus comprising:   When the timing control unit determines that the joint portion does not coincide with the planned cutting position and is included in the planned cutting position, the cutting unit continuously performs cutting based on information of the host device. The image recording unit is controlled so that the image recording is not performed on the page including the cut-in part, and the image recording is restarted from the page next to the page including the cut-out part. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1.   When the timing control unit determines that the joint portion matches the planned cutting position, the timing control unit stops cutting at the planned cutting position where the joint portion is located, and delays the cutting timing by the cutting unit by a predetermined time. The information to be recorded on the page where the junction is present without performing the image recording on the page where the junction exists in the image recording unit. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an image is recorded on a next page.   4. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the joining portion has a range of a length in a conveying direction of the continuous recording medium of a joining member including a tape connecting the continuous recording medium. 5. A method for controlling an image recording apparatus that performs image recording and cutting on a continuous recording medium on a page basis by an image recording unit on a continuous recording medium conveyed by a conveying unit based on image recording information from a host device,
Generating transport information of the continuous recording medium,
Detecting a joint of the continuous recording medium;
Obtain a planned cutting position for cutting the recording medium in units of pages from the image recording information and the conveyance information, determine whether the position of the joint matches the planned cutting position, and according to the determination result A method for controlling an image recording apparatus, comprising performing image recording control and cutting control.   If it is determined that the joint does not coincide with the planned cutting position and is included between the planned cutting positions, the cutting unit continuously performs cutting based on the information of the host device, and the joint is included. 6. The method of controlling an image recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein image recording is not performed on a page to be recorded, and image recording is resumed on a page next to the page including the joint portion.   When it is determined that the joint portion matches the scheduled cutting position, the cutting at the planned cutting position where the joint portion matches is stopped, and the predetermined cutting length is extended by delaying the cutting timing by a predetermined time. 6. An image is recorded on a page that is cut and is not recorded on a page including the joint portion, and information to be recorded on the page is recorded on the next page. Method for controlling the image recording apparatus of the present invention.