JP2012045876A - Transportation-controlling method for continuous-paper transportation mechanism, and printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To present a transportation-controlling method for a continuous-paper transportation mechanism, capable of precisely conveying a continuous paper by using a paper feed roller and a tractor without applying a large load on the continuous paper.SOLUTION: The continuous-paper transportation mechanism includes the paper feed roller and the tractor. During printing, the paper feed roller is intermittently driven at a speed enabling conveying the continuous paper at a second feed distance per unit time and the tractor is intermittently driven synchronously to the paper feed roller at a speed enabling conveying the continuous paper at a first feed distance that is less than the second feed distance per unit time (steps ST1, ST2). Each time the continuous paper for one page length is conveyed by the paper feed roller, a rotation amount of the paper feed roller is controlled so that a difference between an actual feed distance of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller calculated from the rotation amount of the tractor and a set feed distance of the continuous paper is eliminated (steps ST31 to ST33).

Description

  The present invention relates to a conveyance control method for a continuous sheet conveyance mechanism that can accurately convey a continuous sheet in a printer including a sheet feeding roller and a tractor.

  A printer including a paper feed roller and a tractor as a continuous paper transport mechanism for transporting continuous paper along a paper transport path passing through a printing position by a print head is described in Patent Document 1. In the printer of this document, only the paper feed roller is driven during printing, and the tractor follows the continuous paper fed by the paper feed roller.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-348012

  The tractor transports continuous paper while mechanically engaging tractor pins (engagement portions) sequentially with sprocket holes (engagement holes) formed along the length direction of the continuous paper. When the continuous paper is fed in accordance with the above, the position of the tractor pin in the sprocket hole is changed to cause variation in the feed amount of the continuous paper. Therefore, as in Patent Document 1, if the continuous paper is transported only by the paper feed roller during printing and the continuous paper is transported by the frictional engagement force between the paper feed roller and the continuous paper, the feed amount of the continuous paper is reduced. Variations can be suppressed.

  However, when the tractor is driven, the tractor pin engaged with the sprocket hole cannot follow the movement of the continuous paper when the continuous paper is started to be conveyed by the paper feed roller, and a large load is applied to the continuous paper. Here, when the perforations are formed at regular intervals in the length direction of the continuous paper, the continuous paper may be cut from the perforations at the start of conveyance due to this load. In particular, if the printer is operating in a low temperature environment and the continuous paper is cured, or if the printer is operating in a high temperature environment and the continuous paper is soft, cutting at the perforation occurs. It's easy to do.

  In view of these points, an object of the present invention is to propose a continuous paper conveyance control method and printer capable of accurately conveying continuous paper by a paper feed roller and a tractor without imposing a large load on the continuous paper. is there.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a tractor that conveys the continuous paper while sequentially engaging engagement portions with engagement holes formed along the length direction of the continuous paper, A continuous paper transport mechanism transport control method comprising a paper feed roller that transports the continuous paper delivered from a tractor along a paper transport path passing through a printing position,
The tractor can be driven following the continuous paper transported by the paper feed roller,
At least when printing the continuous paper, the tractor is driven at a speed capable of transporting the continuous paper at a first feed amount per unit time, and the paper feed roller is larger than the first feed amount per unit time. It is characterized in that it is driven at a speed at which the continuous paper can be conveyed by the second feed amount.

  In the present invention, when continuous paper is printed, both the paper feed roller and the tractor are driven to convey the continuous paper. As a result, compared to the case where the tractor is in a completely driven state, it is possible to suppress the load on the continuous sheet at the start of conveyance. Therefore, even when the perforations are formed at regular intervals in the length direction of the continuous paper, it is possible to avoid the continuous paper being cut from the perforations at the start of conveyance. Further, the tractor can be driven following the continuous paper transported by the paper feed roller, and the second feed amount per unit time of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller is larger than the first feed amount by the tractor. The conveyance of the continuous paper during printing is substantially performed by the paper feed roller. As a result, since the continuous paper is transported by the frictional engagement force between the paper feed roller and the continuous paper, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of variations in the continuous paper feed amount even when the tractor is driven.

  Here, the tractor can be driven following the continuous paper transported by the paper feed roller, and the second feed amount per unit time of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller is set to the first feed per unit time of the continuous paper by the tractor. If the amount is larger than the amount, the continuous paper slides with respect to the paper feed roller, causing a problem that the continuous paper feed amount by the paper feed roller is insufficient with respect to a preset set feed amount.

  In response to such a problem, in the present invention, when the rotation amount of the tractor is detected and the feed amount of the continuous paper calculated based on the rotation of the paper feed roller reaches a predetermined set feed amount, the setting is performed. Calculating the difference between the feed amount and the actual feed amount of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller calculated based on the rotation amount of the tractor, and controlling the rotation amount of the paper feed roller so as to eliminate the difference Is desirable. In other words, since the actual feed amount of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller can be calculated based on the rotation amount of the tractor, the shortage of the continuous paper feed amount by the paper feed roller can be calculated as the difference between the set feed amount and the actual feed amount. . Therefore, when the feed amount calculated based on the rotation of the paper feed roller reaches the set feed amount, the difference between the set feed amount and the actual feed amount is calculated, and the rotation amount of the paper feed roller is set so that this difference can be eliminated. If controlled, continuous paper can be conveyed with high accuracy.

  Further, in order to solve such a problem, in the present invention, the amount of movement of the engagement portion of the continuous paper is detected, and the feed amount of the continuous paper calculated based on the rotation of the paper feed roller is a predetermined set feed. When the amount reaches, the difference between the set feeding amount and the actual feeding amount of the continuous paper by the paper feeding roller calculated based on the moving amount of the engaging portion of the continuous paper can be calculated to eliminate the difference. It is desirable to control the rotation amount of the paper feed roller. In other words, since the actual feed amount of continuous paper by the paper feed roller can be grasped based on the moving distance of the engagement hole of the continuous paper, the shortage of the continuous paper feed amount by the paper feed roller is the set feed amount and the actual feed amount. The difference can be calculated as Therefore, when the feed amount calculated based on the rotation of the paper feed roller reaches the set feed amount, the difference between the set feed amount and the actual feed amount is calculated, and the rotation amount of the paper feed roller is set so that this difference can be eliminated. If controlled, the actual feed amount of the paper feed roller can be matched with the set feed amount. Therefore, the continuous paper can be accurately conveyed.

  Further, with respect to such a problem, in the present invention, when the feed amount of the continuous paper calculated based on the rotation of the paper feed roller reaches a preset set feed amount, the paper feed roller is corrected in advance. It is desirable to rotate by the amount of rotation. That is, since the shortage of the continuous paper feed amount by the paper feed roller can be measured and obtained in advance, the correction rotation amount of the paper feed roller necessary to eliminate this shortage is also obtained in advance. be able to. Therefore, when the feed amount calculated based on the rotation of the paper feed roller reaches the set feed amount, the difference between the set feed amount and the actual feed amount is calculated, and the rotation amount of the paper feed roller is set so that this difference can be eliminated. If controlled, the actual feed amount of the paper feed roller can be matched with the set feed amount. Therefore, the continuous paper can be accurately conveyed.

  In the present invention, it is desirable that the set feed amount is a feed amount for transporting the continuous paper for one page. In this way, the printing start position on the continuous paper can be set to an accurate position when printing of a new page is started on the continuous paper.

  In the present invention, the paper feed roller is intermittently driven by a predetermined set rotation amount, and the set feed amount is the amount of the continuous paper when the paper feed roller is rotated by the set rotation amount. A feed amount is desirable. By doing so, every time the continuous paper is intermittently fed, the shortage of the continuous paper feed amount is corrected, so that the continuous paper transport accuracy is improved.

  In the present invention, it is desirable to use a stepping motor for the tractor drive motor that drives the tractor. In this way, it becomes easy to follow and follow the continuous paper fed by the paper feed roller.

Next, the printer of the present invention is
For transporting the continuous paper along a paper transport path passing through a printing position by a print head while sequentially engaging the engaging portions with engaging holes formed along the length direction of the continuous paper. A tractor,
A paper feed roller disposed between the printing position and the tractor for transporting the continuous paper along the paper transport path;
A drive controller that drives the paper feed roller and the tractor to convey the continuous paper and prints the continuous paper at the printing position;
The tractor can be driven following the continuous paper fed by the paper feed roller,
The print control unit drives the tractor at a speed at which the continuous paper can be transported at a first feed amount per unit time, and feeds the continuous paper at a second feed amount larger than the first feed amount per unit time. The paper feed roller is driven at a transportable speed.

  In the present invention, the printing control unit drives both the paper feed roller and the tractor to convey the continuous paper when printing the continuous paper. As a result, compared to the case where the tractor is in a completely driven state, it is possible to suppress the load on the continuous sheet at the start of conveyance. Therefore, even when the perforations are formed at regular intervals in the length direction of the continuous paper, it is possible to avoid the continuous paper being cut from the perforations at the start of conveyance. Also, the tractor can follow the continuous paper transported by the paper feed roller, and the second feed amount per unit time of continuous paper by the paper feed roller is larger than the first feed amount by the tractor, so printing At this time, the continuous paper is carried by the paper feed roller. As a result, since the continuous paper is transported by the frictional engagement force between the paper feed roller and the continuous paper, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of variations in the continuous paper feed amount even when the tractor is driven.

  Here, the tractor can follow the continuous paper conveyed by the paper feed roller and can follow the second feed amount per unit time of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller per unit time of the continuous paper by the tractor. If the feed amount is larger than the first feed amount, the continuous paper slides with respect to the paper feed roller, causing a problem that the continuous paper feed amount by the paper feed roller is insufficient with respect to a preset set feed amount. To do.

  In order to solve such a problem, the present invention includes an encoder that detects the rotation amount of the tractor and a paper feed roller rotation amount control unit that controls the rotation amount of the paper feed roller, and the paper feed roller rotation amount. The control unit includes: a feed amount determination unit that determines whether the feed amount of the continuous paper has reached a predetermined set feed amount based on rotation of the paper feed roller; When it is determined that the set feed amount has been reached, an actual feed amount calculation unit that calculates an actual feed amount of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller based on the rotation amount of the tractor, and the actual feed amount is calculated. A difference calculation unit that calculates a difference between the set feed amount and the actual feed amount, and a rotation amount correction unit that controls a rotation amount of the paper feed roller so that the difference can be eliminated when the difference is calculated. And with It is desirable. In other words, since the actual feed amount of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller can be calculated based on the rotation amount of the tractor, the shortage of the continuous paper feed amount by the paper feed roller can be calculated as the difference between the set feed amount and the actual feed amount. . Therefore, when the feed amount calculated based on the rotation of the paper feed roller reaches the set feed amount, the difference between the set feed amount and the actual feed amount is calculated, and the rotation amount of the paper feed roller is set so that this difference can be eliminated. If controlled, the actual feed amount of the paper feed roller can be matched with the set feed amount. Therefore, the continuous paper can be accurately conveyed.

  In order to solve such a problem, the present invention includes a sensor for detecting the movement distance of the engagement hole and a paper feed roller rotation amount control unit for controlling the rotation amount of the paper feed roller. The paper feed roller rotation amount control unit is configured to determine whether the feed amount of the continuous paper has reached a predetermined set feed amount based on the rotation of the paper feed roller; When it is determined that the paper feed amount has reached the set feed amount, an actual feed amount calculation unit that calculates the actual feed amount of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller based on the movement distance of the engagement hole; When the actual feed amount is calculated, a difference calculation unit that calculates a difference between the set feed amount and the actual feed amount, and when the difference is calculated, rotation of the paper feed roller so that the difference can be eliminated. Rotation amount correction unit to control the amount It is desirable to have. In other words, since the actual feed amount of continuous paper by the paper feed roller can be grasped based on the moving distance of the engagement hole of the continuous paper, the shortage of the continuous paper feed amount by the paper feed roller is the set feed amount and the actual feed amount. The difference can be calculated as Therefore, when the feed amount calculated based on the rotation of the paper feed roller reaches the set feed amount, the difference between the set feed amount and the actual feed amount is calculated, and the rotation amount of the paper feed roller is set so that this difference can be eliminated. If controlled, the actual feed amount of the paper feed roller can be matched with the set feed amount. Therefore, the continuous paper can be accurately conveyed.

  In order to solve such a problem, the present invention has a paper feed roller rotation amount control unit that controls the rotation amount of the paper feed roller, and the paper feed roller rotation amount control unit Based on the rotation, it is determined that the feed amount of the continuous paper has reached a preset set feed amount, and a feed amount determination unit that determines whether or not the feed amount of the continuous paper has reached a preset set feed amount. Then, it is desirable to include a rotation amount correction unit that rotates the paper feed roller by a predetermined correction rotation amount. That is, since the shortage of the continuous paper feed amount by the paper feed roller can be measured and obtained in advance, the correction rotation amount of the paper feed roller necessary to eliminate this shortage is also obtained in advance. be able to. Therefore, when the feed amount calculated based on the rotation of the paper feed roller reaches the set feed amount, the continuous paper can be accurately conveyed by adding the correction rotation amount and rotating the paper feed roller.

  In the present invention, it is desirable that the set feed amount is a feed amount for transporting the continuous paper for one page. In this way, the printing start position on the continuous paper can be set to an accurate position when printing of a new page is started on the continuous paper.

  In the present invention, the printing control unit intermittently drives the paper feed roller by a predetermined set rotation amount, and the set feed amount is determined when the paper feed roller is rotated by the set rotation amount. It is desirable that the feed amount is such that continuous paper is conveyed. By doing so, every time the continuous paper is intermittently fed, the shortage of the continuous paper feed amount is corrected, so that the continuous paper transport accuracy is improved.

  In this invention, it has a tractor drive motor which drives the said tractor, and it is desirable that the said tractor drive motor is a stepping motor. In this way, it becomes easy to drive the tractor intermittently and follow the continuous paper fed by the paper feed roller.

  In the present invention, when continuous paper is printed, both the paper feed roller and the tractor are driven to convey the continuous paper. As a result, compared to the case where the tractor is in a completely driven state, it is possible to suppress the load on the continuous sheet at the start of conveyance. Therefore, even when the perforations are formed at regular intervals in the length direction of the continuous paper, it is possible to avoid the continuous paper being cut from the perforations at the start of conveyance. Further, the tractor can be driven following the continuous paper transported by the paper feed roller, and the second feed amount per unit time of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller is larger than the first feed amount by the tractor. The conveyance of the continuous paper during printing is substantially performed by the paper feed roller. As a result, since the continuous paper is transported by the frictional engagement force between the paper feed roller and the continuous paper, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of variations in the continuous paper feed amount even when the tractor is driven.

1 is a perspective view and a schematic sectional view of a printer to which the present invention is applied. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a printer. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a continuous sheet printing operation.

  A printer to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(overall structure)
FIG. 1A is a perspective view of the printer, and FIG. 1B is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing the main part of the printer. The printer 1 performs printing on continuous paper 2 having sprocket holes (engagement holes) 2a provided at both end portions in the paper width direction. The printer 1 includes a printer main body 3 and a tractor 4 that is detachably attached to a rear side portion of the printer main body 3 in the front-rear direction of the apparatus. The continuous paper 2 is fed into the printer main body 3 from the rear side of the apparatus by the tractor 4, and after printing is performed, the continuous paper 2 is discharged from the printer main body 3 to the front side of the apparatus.

  Inside the printer main body 3, a paper transport path 6 for transporting the continuous paper 2 via the print position A by the print head 5 is configured to extend linearly in the front-rear direction of the apparatus. The printing position A is defined by a platen 7 disposed below the paper conveyance path 6. The print head 5 is a serial impact dot matrix (SIDM) print head that prints by applying a recording wire to the ink ribbon and causing the ink of the ink ribbon to adhere to the continuous paper 2 for printing. 7 is opposed.

  A paper feed roller 8 for supplying the continuous paper 2 to the printing position A is disposed between the printing position A and the tractor 4. A paper feed pressing roller 9 for pressing the continuous paper 2 against the paper feed roller 8 is in contact with the paper feed roller 8 from above with a predetermined urging force. Further, as shown by a dotted line in FIG. 2B, the driving force from the paper feeding motor 10 is transmitted to the paper feeding roller 8 via a first driving force transmission mechanism 11 formed of a gear train. The paper feed motor 10 is mounted on the printer main body 3.

  A paper discharge roller 12 for discharging the printed continuous paper 2 is disposed in front of the apparatus from the printing position A (downstream in the paper feed direction). A paper discharge pressing roller 13 for pressing the continuous paper 2 against the paper discharge roller 12 is in contact with the paper discharge roller 12 from above with a predetermined urging force. The driving force of the paper feed motor 10 transmitted to the paper feed roller 8 is transmitted to the paper discharge roller 12 via a second driving force transmission mechanism 14 formed of a gear train. The paper feed motor 10, the first drive force transmission mechanism 11, the paper feed roller 8, the second drive force transmission mechanism 14, and the paper discharge roller 12 constitute a continuous paper transport mechanism 15 together with the tractor 4.

  A paper detector 16 is installed between the paper feed roller 8 and the tractor 4 at a position adjacent to the rear of the paper feed roller 8 (upstream side in the paper feed direction). The paper detector 16 is, for example, a reflection type photo sensor, and detects the continuous paper 2 conveyed to the paper conveyance path 6 by the tractor 4.

  The tractor 4 has a tractor pin (engagement portion) 17 that can be inserted into the sprocket hole 2 a of the continuous paper 2, a tractor belt 18 having tractor pins 17 formed on the outer peripheral surface at predetermined intervals, and a tractor belt 18. The drive sprocket 19 and the driven sprocket 20 are provided. The driven sprocket 20 is equipped with a rotary encoder 21 for detecting the amount of rotation of the driven sprocket 20 (the amount of rotation of the tractor 4). The rotary encoder 21 can be attached to the drive sprocket 19.

  A driving force from a tractor driving motor 22 is transmitted to the driving sprocket 19 via a third driving force transmission mechanism 23. The tractor drive motor 22 is a stepping motor and is mounted on the tractor 4. Here, the third driving force transmission mechanism 23 is configured to transmit the rotation to the tractor driving motor 22 when the driving sprocket 19 is rotated by an external force. Therefore, as will be described later, the first feed amount per unit time of the continuous paper 2 by the tractor 4 driven in synchronization with the paper feed roller 8 is the second per unit time of the continuous paper 2 by the paper feed roller 8. When the amount is smaller than the feed amount, the tractor 4 is in a driven state in which the tractor 4 follows the continuous paper 2 fed by the paper feed roller 8.

  When the continuous paper 2 is conveyed by the tractor 4, the continuous paper 2 is set so that the tractor pin 17 is inserted into the sprocket hole 2a. Thereafter, the driving sprocket 19 is rotated by the driving force of the tractor driving motor 22 to rotate the tractor belt 18, and the tractor pins 17 are sequentially engaged with the sprocket holes 2a to intermittently feed the continuous paper 2. .

  Here, when the printer 1 performs printing on the continuous paper 2, the printing operation is performed by moving the print head 5 in the scanning direction orthogonal to the paper feeding direction, and the paper feeding operation for feeding the continuous paper 2. And alternately.

(Control system)
FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a control system of the printer 1. The control system of the printer 1 is mainly configured by a control unit 30 including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like. A printing command from an external device (not shown) and signals from the paper detector 16 and the rotary encoder 21 are input to the control unit 30. The print head 5 is connected to the output side of the control unit 30 via a head driver 31. In addition, the paper feed motor 10 is connected via the first motor driver 32, and the tractor drive motor 22 is connected via the second motor driver 33. The control unit 30 includes a tractor drive control unit 34, a print control unit 35, and a paper feed roller rotation amount control unit 36.

  When the control unit 30 receives a print command, the tractor drive control unit 34 drives the tractor 4 by driving and controlling the tractor drive motor 22 to convey the continuous paper 2 set on the tractor 4. Further, when the leading end portion of the continuous paper 2 is detected by the paper detector 16, the tractor drive control unit 34 conveys the continuous paper 2 by a predetermined feed amount by the tractor 4 and feeds the leading end portion of the continuous paper 2 to the paper. The roller 8 and the paper feed pressing roller 9 are sandwiched between the nip portions, and then the drive control of the tractor drive motor 22 is transferred to the print control unit 35.

  When the continuous paper 2 is sandwiched between the paper feed roller 8 and the paper feed press roller 9, the print control unit 35 controls the paper feed motor 10 to drive the paper feed roller 8 to the second feed per unit time. The continuous paper 2 is intermittently driven at a speed capable of transporting the continuous paper 2 in an amount. The paper feed roller 8 is intermittently rotated every predetermined set rotation amount. In parallel with this, the print control unit 35 drives and controls the tractor drive motor 22 in synchronization with the paper feed of the continuous paper 2 by the paper feed roller 8 so that the tractor 4 is less than the second feed amount per unit time. The continuous paper 2 is intermittently driven at a speed at which the continuous paper 2 can be conveyed with the first feed amount. Further, the print control unit 35 carries the printing by moving the print head 5 in the scanning direction orthogonal to the paper feed direction after conveying the continuous paper 2 and setting the continuous paper 2 at the printing position A; Printing is performed on the continuous paper 2 by alternately performing a paper feeding operation for feeding the continuous paper 2.

  Here, when the second feed amount per unit time of the continuous paper 2 by the paper feed roller 8 is larger than the first feed amount per unit time of the continuous paper 2 by the tractor 4, the paper feed roller 8 and the tractor 4 are Although the paper feed roller 8 and the tractor 4 cooperate to convey the continuous paper 2 at the start of conveyance driven synchronously, the tractor 4 is in a driven state thereafter. That is, a state in which the tractor pin 17 inserted in the sprocket hole 2a is moved in the sheet feeding direction by feeding the continuous sheet 2 by the sheet feeding roller 8 to rotate the tractor belt 18 and the driving sprocket 19 and the driven sprocket 20 are rotated. It becomes. Further, since the rotation of the drive sprocket 19 is transmitted to the tractor drive motor 22 via the third drive force transmission mechanism, the tractor drive motor 22 has a rotation amount larger than the rotation amount that is driven and controlled by the printing control unit 35. It becomes a driven state that rotates at. Accordingly, the continuous paper 2 is substantially conveyed by the paper feed roller 8.

  Next, the paper feed roller rotation amount control unit 36 includes a feed amount determination unit 37, an actual feed amount calculation unit 38, a difference calculation unit 39, and a rotation amount correction unit 40.

  The feed amount determination unit 37 determines whether or not the feed amount of the continuous paper 2 has reached a predetermined set feed amount based on the rotation of the paper feed roller 8. In this example, the set feed amount is a feed amount for conveying the continuous paper 2 for one page.

  When it is determined that the feed amount of the continuous paper 2 has reached the set feed amount, the actual feed amount calculation unit 38 determines the rotation amount of the tractor 4 (the rotation amount of the driven sprocket 20) based on the signal from the rotary encoder 21. get. The rotation amount of the tractor 4 includes the rotation amount rotated by the drive control of the printing control unit 35 and the driven amount of the tractor 4 driven following the continuous paper 2 fed by the paper feed roller 8. Yes. The actual feed amount calculation unit 38 calculates the actual feed amount of the continuous paper 2 by the paper feed roller 8 based on the acquired rotation amount of the tractor 4.

  When the actual feed amount is calculated by the actual feed amount calculation unit 38, the difference calculation unit 39 calculates the difference between the set feed amount and the actual feed amount.

  When the difference is calculated, the rotation amount correction unit 40 controls the rotation amount of the paper feed roller 8 so that the difference can be eliminated at the next paper feed, and the continuous paper 2 is fed by the paper feed roller 8. Correct the amount. That is, when the continuous paper 2 is fed to the next page, a correction rotation amount for feeding the continuous paper 2 by the calculated difference is added to the set rotation amount of the paper feed roller 8 to set the rotation amount and the correction. The paper feed roller 8 is rotated by the total rotation amount to feed the paper.

(Printing operation)
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the printing operation of the continuous paper 2. First, when the printer 1 receives a print command from an external device, the tractor drive control unit 34 drives the tractor 4 to feed the continuous paper 2 set on the tractor 4 to the paper transport path 6. Thereafter, when the leading end portion of the continuous paper 2 is detected by the paper detector 16, the tractor drive control unit 34 conveys the continuous paper 2 by a predetermined feed amount by the tractor 4 and feeds the leading end portion of the continuous paper 2 to the paper. The roller 8 and the paper feed pressing roller 9 are sandwiched (step ST1).

  When the leading end portion of the continuous paper 2 is sandwiched between the nip portions of the paper feed roller 8 and the paper feed press roller 9, the tractor drive control unit 34 passes the drive control of the tractor 4 to the print control unit 35.

  Next, the printing control unit 35 drives the tractor 4 at a speed at which the continuous paper 2 can be transported at a first feed amount per unit time, and at a speed at which the continuous paper 2 can be transported at a second feed amount per unit time. The paper feed roller 8 is driven (step ST2). As a result, the print control unit 35 conveys the continuous paper 2 and sets the continuous paper 2 at the printing position A, and then moves the print head 5 in the scanning direction orthogonal to the paper feed direction to perform printing. The operation and the paper feeding operation for feeding the continuous paper 2 are alternately performed to perform printing on the continuous paper 2 (step ST3).

  Here, in step ST3, every time the feed amount of the continuous paper 2 calculated based on the rotation of the paper feed roller 8 reaches the set feed amount for transporting the continuous paper 2 for one page (step ST31), the actual feed amount is calculated. The actual feed amount based on the rotation amount of the tractor 4 following the continuous paper 2 is calculated by the unit 38. Further, the difference calculation unit 39 calculates the difference between the set feed amount and the actual feed amount (step ST32).

  When the difference is calculated, when the continuous paper 2 is fed to the next page, the rotation amount correction unit 40 adds the difference calculated by the difference calculation unit 39 to the set rotation amount of the paper feed roller 8. Is added, and the paper feed roller 8 is rotated by a rotation amount obtained by adding the set rotation amount and the correction rotation amount (step ST33).

  Here, step ST32 and step ST33 are repeated each time the continuous paper 2 is conveyed for one page until the print job by the print command is completed (step ST34).

(Function and effect)
According to this example, when the continuous paper 2 is printed, both the paper feed roller 8 and the tractor 4 are driven to convey the continuous paper 2. As a result, compared to the case where the tractor 4 is in a completely driven state, the load applied to the continuous paper 2 at the start of conveyance can be suppressed. Therefore, even if the perforations are formed at regular intervals in the length direction of the continuous paper 2, it is possible to avoid the continuous paper 2 being cut from the perforations at the start of conveyance.

  Further, according to this example, the tractor 4 can be driven following the continuous paper 2 conveyed by the paper feed roller 8, and the second feed amount per unit time of the continuous paper 2 by the paper feed roller 8 is set as the tractor 4. Therefore, the paper feed roller 8 is substantially responsible for transporting the continuous paper 2 during printing. As a result, since the conveyance of the continuous paper 2 is performed by the frictional engagement force between the paper feed roller 8 and the continuous paper 2, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of variations in the feed amount of the continuous paper 2 even when the tractor 4 is driven. .

  Here, in this example, the tractor 4 can be driven following the continuous paper 2 conveyed by the paper feed roller 8, and the second feed amount per unit time of the continuous paper 2 by the paper feed roller 8 is determined by the tractor 4. Since it is larger than the first feed amount per unit time of the continuous paper 2, the continuous paper 2 slips with respect to the paper feed roller 8, and the feed amount of the continuous paper 2 by the paper feed roller 8 is determined in advance. There is a problem that the set feed amount is insufficient. Therefore, when the feed amount of the continuous paper 2 calculated based on the rotation amount of the paper feed roller 8 reaches a preset set feed amount, the paper feed roller rotation amount control unit 36 corrects the shortage of the feed amount. In addition, the rotation amount of the paper feed roller 8 is controlled. That is, since the actual feed amount of the continuous paper 2 by the paper feed roller 8 can be calculated based on the rotation amount of the tractor 4, the shortage of the feed amount of the continuous paper 2 by the paper feed roller 8 is the set feed amount and the actual feed amount. The difference can be calculated as Therefore, when the feed amount calculated based on the rotation of the paper feed roller 8 reaches the set feed amount, the difference between the set feed amount and the actual feed amount is calculated, and the rotation amount of the paper feed roller 8 is so solved that this difference can be eliminated. Is controlled so that the actual feed amount of the paper feed roller 8 matches the set feed amount. Therefore, the continuous paper 2 can be accurately conveyed.

  Furthermore, in this example, a stepping motor is employed as the tractor drive motor 22 for driving the tractor 4. Therefore, the tractor 4 can be driven following the continuous paper 2 fed by the paper feed roller 8 without adding a special configuration to the tractor 4.

  In this example, the tractor drive motor 22 is a motor different from the paper feed motor 10 for driving the paper feed roller 8 and is mounted on the tractor 4. As a result, the first driving force transmission mechanism 11 that transmits the driving force from the paper feeding motor 10 to the paper feeding roller 8 and the third driving force transmission mechanism 23 that transmits the driving force from the tractor driving motor 22 to the tractor 4 are separately provided. Since it can be configured, the configuration of each driving force transmission mechanism is simplified, and the generation of noise can be suppressed. In addition, since the transmission path for transmitting the driving force from the tractor drive motor 22 to the tractor 4 can be configured in the tractor 4, the tractor 4 can be easily detached from the printer main body 3. Here, when the drive sources are separated, the performance of each drive source can be kept low, so that an increase in the manufacturing cost of the apparatus can be suppressed.

  Furthermore, in this example, since the rotation amount of the tractor 4 is acquired by detecting the rotation amount of the driven sprocket 20 by the rotary encoder 21, the rotation amount of the drive sprocket 19 is detected and the rotation amount of the tractor 4 is acquired. Compared with the case where it does, the rotation amount of the tractor 4 can be detected more correctly. As a result, the actual feed amount of the continuous paper 2 can be accurately calculated.

(Other embodiments)
In the above example, the feed amount for conveying the continuous paper 2 for one page is set as the set feed amount. However, the set feed amount is the feed amount of the continuous paper 2 when the paper feed roller 8 is rotated by the set rotation amount. Also good. In this way, every time paper feeding is performed intermittently, the difference between the set feeding amount and the actual feeding amount is calculated, and the shortage of the feeding amount of the continuous paper 2 is corrected at the next paper feeding. . Therefore, the continuous paper 2 can be conveyed with higher accuracy.

  In the above example, the actual feed amount calculation unit 38 calculates the actual feed amount of the continuous paper 2 by the paper feed roller 8 based on the rotation amount of the tractor 4 detected by the rotary encoder 21 attached to the tractor 4. However, a sensor for detecting the moving distance of the sprocket hole 2a of the continuous paper 2 is attached to the printer main body 3 or the tractor 4, and the actual paper 2 is detected by the paper feed roller 8 based on the moving distance of the sprocket hole 2a. The feed amount may be calculated. In this case, for example, a transmissive photosensor is arranged at the end portion in the width direction of the paper transport path 6, the sprocket holes 2a passing through the sensor are counted, and the actual feed amount of the continuous paper 2 is based on this count value. Is calculated.

  Furthermore, since the shortage of the feed amount of the continuous paper 2 by the paper feed roller 8 can be measured and obtained in advance, the correction rotation amount of the paper feed roller 8 necessary to eliminate this shortage is also preset. You can ask for it. Therefore, when the feed amount calculated based on the rotation of the paper feed roller 8 reaches the set feed amount, the rotation amount correction unit 40 may add the correction rotation amount to rotate the paper feed roller 8. The continuous paper 2 can be accurately conveyed. With such a configuration, a sensor for calculating the actual feed amount is not required, so that the manufacturing cost of the printer 1 can be suppressed.

  In the above example, by adopting a stepping motor as the tractor drive motor 22 for driving the tractor 4, the continuous paper 2 that is driven intermittently by the tractor 4 and is fed by the paper feed roller 8. The third driving force transmission mechanism 23 is provided with a clutch mechanism, and the clutch mechanism controls the disconnection and connection of the driving force transmission path between the tractor driving motor 22 and the tractor 4. Thus, the tractor 4 may be driven intermittently and followed by the continuous paper 2 fed by the paper feed roller 8 to be driven.

  In the above example, the continuous paper 2 is intermittently fed by the paper feed roller 8 and the tractor 4, but the present invention can also be applied to the case where the tractor 4 is driven at a constant speed. Furthermore, the present invention can be applied even when the paper feed roller 8 and the tractor 4 are driven at a constant speed.

1. Printer, 2. Continuous paper, 2a, Sprocket hole, 3. Printer body, 4. Tractor, 5. Print head, 6. Paper transport path, 7. Platen, 8. Paper feed roller, 9. Paper feed press roller 10. Paper feed motor, 11. First drive force transmission mechanism, 12. Discharge roller, 13. Discharge press roller, 14. Second drive force transmission mechanism, 15. Continuous paper transport mechanism, 16. Paper detector. , 17 tractor pin, 18 tractor belt, 19 drive sprocket, 20 driven sprocket, 21 rotary encoder, 22 tractor drive motor, 23 third drive force transmission mechanism, 30 control unit, 31 head driver 32 / first motor driver 33 / second motor driver 34 / tractor drive control unit 35 / printing control unit 3 And paper feed roller rotation amount control unit, 37-feeding amount determination unit, 38-actual feed amount calculating section, 39-difference calculation unit, 40 and rotation amount correction section

Claims (14)

A tractor that transports the continuous paper while sequentially engaging engagement portions formed in engagement holes formed along the length direction of the continuous paper, and the continuous paper delivered from the tractor with a print position. A continuous paper transport mechanism transport control method comprising a paper feed roller that transports along a paper transport path that passes therethrough,
The tractor can be driven following the continuous paper transported by the paper feed roller,
At least when printing the continuous paper, the tractor is driven at a speed capable of transporting the continuous paper at a first feed amount per unit time, and the paper feed roller is larger than the first feed amount per unit time. A transport control method for a continuous paper transport mechanism, wherein the continuous paper transport mechanism is driven at a speed capable of transporting the continuous paper with a second feed amount. In claim 1,
Detecting the amount of rotation of the tractor,
When the feed amount of the continuous paper calculated based on the rotation of the paper feed roller reaches a preset set feed amount, the continuous paper by the paper feed roller calculated based on the set feed amount and the rotation amount of the tractor A transport control method for a continuous paper transport mechanism, wherein a difference with an actual transport amount is calculated, and a rotation amount of the paper transport roller is controlled so that the difference can be eliminated. In claim 1,
Detecting the amount of movement of the engaging portion of the continuous paper,
When the feed amount of the continuous paper calculated based on the rotation of the paper feed roller reaches a preset set feed amount, the paper feed roller calculated based on the set feed amount and the moving amount of the engaging portion of the continuous paper A transport control method for a continuous paper transport mechanism, comprising: calculating a difference from the actual transport amount of the continuous paper by controlling a rotation amount of the paper feed roller so that the difference can be eliminated. In claim 1,
When the feed amount of the continuous paper calculated based on the rotation of the paper feed roller reaches a predetermined set feed amount, the continuous paper feed mechanism rotates the paper feed roller by a predetermined correction rotation amount. Transport control method. In any one of claims 2 to 4,
The transport control method of the continuous paper transport mechanism, wherein the set feed amount is a feed amount for transporting the continuous paper for one page. In any one of claims 2 to 4,
The paper feed roller is intermittently driven by a predetermined set amount of rotation,
The transport control method of the continuous paper transport mechanism, wherein the set feed amount is a feed amount of the continuous paper when the paper feed roller is rotated by the set rotation amount. In any one of claims 1 to 6,
A transport control method for a continuous paper transport mechanism, wherein a stepping motor is used as a tractor drive motor for driving the tractor. For transporting the continuous paper along a paper transport path passing through a printing position by a print head while sequentially engaging the engaging portions with engaging holes formed along the length direction of the continuous paper. A tractor,
A paper feed roller disposed between the printing position and the tractor for transporting the continuous paper along the paper transport path;
A drive controller that drives the paper feed roller and the tractor to convey the continuous paper and prints the continuous paper at the printing position;
The tractor can be driven following the continuous paper fed by the paper feed roller,
The print control unit drives the tractor at a speed at which the continuous paper can be transported at a first feed amount per unit time, and feeds the continuous paper at a second feed amount larger than the first feed amount per unit time. A printer, wherein the paper feed roller is driven at a transportable speed. In claim 8,
An encoder for detecting the amount of rotation of the tractor;
A paper feed roller rotation amount control unit for controlling the rotation amount of the paper feed roller;
The paper feed roller rotation amount control unit
A feed amount determination unit that determines whether the feed amount of the continuous paper has reached a predetermined set feed amount based on rotation of the paper feed roller;
When it is determined that the feed amount of the continuous paper has reached the set feed amount, an actual feed amount calculation unit that calculates the actual feed amount of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller based on the rotation amount of the tractor;
When the actual feed amount is calculated, a difference calculation unit that calculates a difference between the set feed amount and the actual feed amount;
A printer comprising: a rotation amount correction unit that controls a rotation amount of the paper feed roller so that the difference can be eliminated when the difference is calculated. In claim 8,
A sensor for detecting a moving distance of the engagement hole;
A paper feed roller rotation amount control unit for controlling the rotation amount of the paper feed roller;
The paper feed roller rotation amount control unit
A feed amount determination unit that determines whether the feed amount of the continuous paper has reached a predetermined set feed amount based on rotation of the paper feed roller;
When it is determined that the feed amount of the continuous paper has reached the set feed amount, an actual feed amount calculation unit that calculates the actual feed amount of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller based on the moving distance of the engagement hole When,
When the actual feed amount is calculated, a difference calculation unit that calculates a difference between the set feed amount and the actual feed amount;
A printer comprising: a rotation amount correction unit that controls a rotation amount of the paper feed roller so that the difference can be eliminated when the difference is calculated. In claim 8,
A paper feed roller rotation amount control unit for controlling the rotation amount of the paper feed roller;
The paper feed roller rotation amount control unit, based on the rotation of the paper feed roller, a feed amount determination unit that determines whether or not the feed amount of the continuous paper has reached a predetermined set feed amount;
A printer comprising: a rotation amount correction unit configured to rotate the paper feed roller by a predetermined correction rotation amount when it is determined that the continuous sheet feed amount has reached the set feed amount. In any one of claims 9 to 11,
The printer according to claim 1, wherein the set feed amount is a feed amount for conveying the continuous paper for one page. In any one of claims 9 to 11,
The print control unit intermittently drives the paper feed roller by a predetermined rotation amount,
The printer according to claim 1, wherein the set feed amount is a feed amount by which the continuous paper is conveyed when the paper feed roller is rotated by the set rotation amount. In any one of claims 8 to 13,
A tractor drive motor for driving the tractor,
The printer, wherein the tractor drive motor is a stepping motor.

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