JP2012062169A - Medium conveying device, image forming device, and medium conveying method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a new and improved medium conveying device capable of cutting a long medium with a high degree of precision, an image forming device, and a medium conveying method.SOLUTION: The medium conveying device includes a conveying member for conveying a long medium in a conveying direction, a cutting member for cutting the medium conveyed by the conveying member in the width direction of the medium perpendicular to the conveying direction, and an opposed member disposed between the conveying member and the cutting member in the conveying direction that is opposed to the medium along the width direction. By moving, the opposed member is located in a spaced position spaced from the medium, or in a close-by position where it is closer to the medium than to the spaced position. The medium conveying device further includes a control part that makes the conveying member convey the medium in a state that the opposed member is located in the spaced position, makes the opposed member move from the spaced position to the close-by position in a state that the conveyance of the medium is stopped, and then makes the cutting member start its cutting operation.

Description

  The present invention relates to a medium conveying apparatus, an image forming apparatus, and a medium conveying method.

  As a medium transport device, for example, a printer that transports roll paper (an elongated medium) on which an image is printed is known. The printer includes a conveyance roller that is a conveyance member, and conveys the roll paper in the conveyance direction by rotating the conveyance roller in a state where the roll paper is nipped.

  The printer includes a cutting member (cutter) that cuts the roll paper into cut paper having a desired size on the downstream side in the transport direction from the transport roller. Then, the roll paper on which the image is printed is conveyed to a cutting position by a conveying roller, and is cut by a cutting member in the width direction orthogonal to the conveying direction.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 04-182165 JP 07-108492 A JP 2005-103699 A Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 63-295282 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 03-5174

  By the way, when the roll paper is transported by the transport roller, the roll paper may be bent, floated, or skewed between the transport roller and the cutting member in the transport direction. Even if the roll paper conveyed in such a state is cut, there is a problem that the actual cut portion of the roll paper is deviated from the ideal cut portion. As a result, variation occurs in the size of the cut sheet.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved medium transport apparatus capable of cutting a long medium with high accuracy. An image forming apparatus and a medium conveying method are provided.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, according to an aspect of the present invention, a transport member that transports a long medium in a transport direction, and the medium transported by the transport member are orthogonal to the transport direction. A cutting member that cuts in the width direction of the medium; and a facing member that is provided between the transporting member and the cutting member in the transport direction and faces the medium along the width direction. The medium is moved to the conveying member in a state where the medium is separated from the medium by moving, or an approach position closer to the medium than the separation position, and the opposing member is located at the separation position. And further comprising a control unit for starting the cutting operation of the cutting member after moving the opposing member from the separated position to the approaching position in a state where the conveyance of the medium is stopped. Apparatus is provided.

  Further, the transport member transports the medium having an image formed on the surface thereof to the cutting position, the separation position is a position separated from the surface, and the approach position is a position close to the surface, The opposing member may be located at the separated position or the approach position by moving in the normal direction of the surface.

  Further, the opposing member is a plurality of rotatable rollers provided at predetermined intervals along the transport direction, and the plurality of rollers are moved when the plurality of rollers move from the separation position to the approach position. It is good also as that the outer peripheral surface of can contact the said medium.

  In addition, a conveyance guide that sandwiches the medium located at the cutting position together with the facing member is further provided, and a distance between the facing member located at the approach position and the conveyance guide is larger than a thickness of the medium. It is also good.

  In order to solve the above problems, according to another aspect of the present invention, a transport member that transports a long medium in the transport direction, and the medium transported by the transport member in the transport direction. A cutting member that cuts in the width direction of the medium orthogonal to each other, and a pair of roller pairs that are provided between the transport member and the cutting member in the transport direction and can sandwich the medium along the width direction; The roller pair is moved to be held at a holding position for holding the medium, or a separated position separated from the medium, and the roller pair is located at the separated position on the conveying member. The medium is transported, the roller pair is moved from the separation position to the sandwiching position in a state where the transport of the medium is stopped, and the medium sandwiched in the sandwiching position is moved to the cutting member side in the transport direction. After rotating the pair of rollers in a direction in which, further comprising a control unit for starting the cutting operation of the cutting member, the medium transport apparatus is provided.

  Further, the transport member is a pair of transport rollers that sandwich the medium, and the roller pair rotates when the transport roller is stopped while sandwiching the medium, and the roller pair is driven to rotate. The force may be smaller than the holding force of the conveying roller acting on the portion so that the portion of the medium held by the conveying roller does not move.

  In order to solve the above problems, according to another aspect of the present invention, a conveying member that conveys a long medium in a conveying direction, an image forming member that forms an image on the medium, and the image A cutting member that cuts the medium transported by the transport member after being formed in the width direction of the medium perpendicular to the transport direction, and is provided between the transport member and the cutting member in the transport direction; An opposing member that faces the medium along the width direction, and the opposing member moves to a separated position that is separated from the medium or an approach position that is closer to the medium than the separated position. The medium is conveyed to the conveying member with the opposing member positioned at the separated position, and the opposed member is moved from the separated position to the approaching position with conveyance of the medium stopped. After the, further comprising a control unit for starting the cutting operation of the cutting member, the image forming apparatus is provided.

  In order to solve the above problems, according to another aspect of the present invention, a conveying member that conveys a long medium in a conveying direction, an image forming member that forms an image on the medium, and the image A cutting member that cuts the medium transported by the transport member after being formed in the width direction of the medium perpendicular to the transport direction, and is provided between the transport member and the cutting member in the transport direction; A pair of roller pairs capable of sandwiching the medium along the width direction, and the roller pair is located at a sandwiching position where the medium is sandwiched or separated from the medium by moving. Then, the medium is conveyed to the conveying member in a state where the roller pair is positioned at the separated position, and the roller pair is moved from the separated position to the clamping position in a state where conveyance of the medium is stopped, Pinch An image forming apparatus is provided, further comprising a control unit that starts the cutting operation of the cutting member after rotating the roller pair in a direction in which the medium sandwiched at a position is moved in the transport direction toward the cutting member. The

  In order to solve the above problem, according to another aspect of the present invention, in the transport direction, a transport member that transports a long medium, and the medium in the width direction of the medium perpendicular to the transport direction And a step of positioning a facing member facing the medium along the width direction at a spaced position spaced from the medium, and positioning the facing member at the spaced position. In a state where the medium is transported, and after the transport of the medium is stopped, the facing member is moved from the separated position to an approach position approaching the medium, and then the cutting operation of the cutting member is started. And a medium conveying method is provided.

  In order to solve the above problem, according to another aspect of the present invention, in the transport direction, a transport member that transports a long medium, and the medium in the width direction of the medium perpendicular to the transport direction A pair of roller pairs provided between a cutting member and a pair of roller members that can sandwich the medium along the width direction; and a position where the roller pair is separated from the medium; A step of conveying the medium in a state where the medium is positioned; a step of moving the roller pair from the separated position to a nipping position where the medium is nipped while the conveyance of the medium is stopped; and And a step of starting the cutting operation of the cutting member after rotating the roller pair in a direction of moving the clamped medium toward the cutting member in the transport direction. There is provided.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a new and improved medium conveying apparatus, image forming apparatus, and medium conveying method capable of cutting a long medium with high accuracy. It becomes.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a printer. 1 is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a printer. It is the figure which showed the cutter unit 50 and the attitude | position correction | amendment unit 60 when the roller group 61 is located in a separation position. It is the figure which showed the cutter unit 50 and the attitude | position correction | amendment unit 60 when the roller group 61 is located in an approach position. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a positional relationship between a roller group 61 and a roll paper S. FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining an operation example of the printer according to the first embodiment. It is the figure which showed the cutter unit 50 and the attitude | position correction | amendment unit 60 when the roller pair 65 is located in a separation position. It is the figure which showed the cutter unit 50 and the attitude | position correction | amendment unit 60 when the roller pair 65 is located in a clamping position. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an operation example of a printer according to a second embodiment.

  Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in this specification and drawing, about the component which has the substantially same function structure, duplication description is abbreviate | omitted by attaching | subjecting the same code | symbol.

The description will be made in the following order.
1. 1. First embodiment 1-1. Configuration of medium transport device 1-2. Detailed configuration of cutter unit and posture correction unit 1-3. Example of printer operation 1-4. 1. Effectiveness of the printer according to the first embodiment. Second embodiment 2-1. Detailed configuration of posture correction unit 2-2. 2. Example of printer operation Other embodiments

<1. First Embodiment>
(1-1. Configuration of Medium Transport Device)
The configuration of the medium conveying apparatus will be described by taking a printer 10 as an example of an image forming apparatus as an example. The configuration of the printer 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the printer 10. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration of the printer 10.

  The printer 10 according to the present embodiment is a thermal transfer printer. Specifically, the printer 10 uses a thermal head to transfer sublimation dye ink applied to an ink ribbon onto roll paper, which is an example of a long medium, thereby printing an image on the roll paper. It is a printer. Of course, a melt-type printer, a thermal printer, or the like may be used.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 10 includes a roll paper transport unit 20, an ink ribbon transport unit 30, a head unit 40 that is an example of an image forming member, a cutter unit 50, a posture correction unit 60, and a control unit. It has a controller 70 which is an example.

  The roll paper transport unit 20 transports the roll paper S in the transport direction. As shown in FIG. 2, the roll paper transport unit 20 includes a paper feed roller 22, a capstan roller 23, a pinch roller 24, and a platen roller 25. The capstan roller 23 and the pinch roller 24 correspond to a conveying member (a pair of conveying rollers).

  The paper feed roller 22 feeds the roll paper S held by the holder 21 toward the thermal head 41. The capstan roller 23 sandwiches and conveys the roll paper S together with the pinch roller 24 that is a driven roller. The capstan roller 23 is rotatable in the forward direction (counterclockwise in FIG. 2) and the reverse direction (clockwise in FIG. 2), and feeds and pulls back the roll paper S in the transport direction. For example, the capstan roller 23 feeds the roll paper S when rotating in the forward direction, and pulls back the roll paper S when rotating in the reverse direction. The platen roller 25 is provided at a position facing the thermal head 41 and supports the roll paper S being conveyed.

  The ink ribbon transport unit 30 transports the ink ribbon R. As shown in FIG. 2, the ink ribbon transport unit 30 includes a supply reel 31 and a take-up reel 32. The ink ribbon R unwound from the supply reel 31 is conveyed along with the rotation of the take-up reel 32, passes between the thermal head 41 and the platen roller 25, and is taken up by the take-up reel 32.

  Here, the ink ribbon R will be described. The printer 10 prints a color image on the roll paper S. For this reason, three colors of sublimation dyes of Y (yellow), M (magenta), and C (cyan) are applied to the ink ribbon R in different colors. In addition to the above three colors, the ink ribbon R may be coated with a K (black) color or a transparent laminate ink.

  The head unit 40 transfers the ink applied to the ink ribbon R onto the roll paper S. The head unit 40 includes a thermal head 41 in which a plurality of heating elements (not shown) are arranged in a line. The plurality of heating elements are selectively energized according to the gradation level of the printed image, and generate thermal energy used for ink transfer.

  The thermal head 41 moves between a standby position and a transfer position where the ink is transferred to the roll paper S. The standby position is a position where the thermal head 41 is separated from the platen roller 25, and the transfer position is a position where the thermal head 41 holds the roll paper S and the ink ribbon R together with the platen roller 25. The thermal head 41 transfers the ink applied to the ink ribbon R onto the roll paper S when positioned at the transfer position. In the present embodiment, the ink ribbon R is fed in the same direction as the roll paper S, and when the roll paper S is pulled back by the capstan roller 23, the ink applied to the ink ribbon R is rolled. Transferred to the paper S.

  The cutter unit 50 is provided on the downstream side of the thermal head 21 in the transport direction. The cutter unit 50 has a blade for cutting roll paper, and the roll paper S having an image printed on the surface thereof is cut into cut paper of a predetermined size by the blade. The cut cut paper is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 26 (FIG. 2). The detailed configuration of the cutter unit 50 will be described later.

  The posture correction unit 60 is provided between the thermal head 21 and the cutter unit 50 in the transport direction. The posture correction unit 60 is for correcting the posture of the roll S in the conveyance path before the cutting operation of the roll paper S by the cutter unit 50. The detailed configuration of the posture correction unit 60 will be described later.

  The controller 70 controls each unit (the roll paper transport unit 20, the ink ribbon transport unit 30, the head unit 40, the cutter unit 50, and the posture correction unit 60). Specifically, the controller 70 controls each unit of the printer 10 through the unit control circuit 74 by the CPU 71 in accordance with a program stored in the memory 72. The controller 70 can communicate with a computer (not shown) via the interface 73. When receiving print data from the computer, the controller 70 controls each unit based on the print data and prints an image corresponding to the print data on the roll paper S.

  The detector 80 detects the situation inside the printer 10. For example, the detector 80 includes a detection sensor that detects the position of the roll paper S or the ink ribbon R on the transport path. The detector 80 outputs a signal corresponding to the detection result to the controller 70. The controller 70 receives the signal and controls each unit.

(1-2. Detailed configuration of cutter unit and posture correction unit)
Detailed configurations of the cutter unit 50 and the posture correction unit 60 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a view showing the cutter unit 50 and the posture correcting unit 60 when the roller group 61 is located at the separated position. FIG. 4 is a view showing the cutter unit 50 and the posture correcting unit 60 when the roller group 61 is located at the approach position. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship between the roller group 61 and the roll paper S. FIG.

  The cutter unit 50 cuts the roll paper S on which an image is printed into cut paper of a predetermined size. The cutter unit 50 includes a fixed blade 51, a movable blade 52 that is an example of a cutting member, and a roller pair 53.

  The fixed blade 51 is a blade provided along the width direction of the roll paper S (see FIG. 5) orthogonal to the transport direction. The fixed blade 51 is in contact with the back surface of the roll paper S located at the cutting position (cutting position).

  The movable blade 52 cuts the roll paper S in the width direction. Specifically, the movable blade 52 moves in the width direction of the roll paper S to cut the roll paper S in cooperation with the fixed blade 51. Before the roll paper S is cut, the movable blade 52 is positioned at a standby position outside the roll paper S in the width direction so as not to hinder the conveyance of the roll paper S. For this reason, the movable blade 52 positioned at the standby position on one end side in the width direction cuts the roll paper S while moving to the other end side.

  The roller pair 53 is a pair of movable rollers provided in the vicinity of the upstream side in the transport direction of the movable blade 52. The roller pair 53 moves in conjunction with the movement of the movable blade 52 and presses the roll paper S. Specifically, when the movable blade 52 is located at the standby position, the roller pair 53 is located at a position away from the roll paper S as shown in FIG. To do. On the other hand, the roller pair 53 moves in conjunction with the movement of the movable blade 52 in the width direction so as to cut the roll paper S, and holds the roll paper S as shown in FIG.

  The roll paper S sandwiched between the roller pair 53 is cut by the moving movable blade 52 and the fixed blade 51 that are moving. Such a roller pair 53 can prevent the roll paper S from moving during the cutting of the roll paper S.

  By the way, since the roll paper S is sent out by the capstan roller 23 and conveyed, so-called deflection, floating, undulation, skewing, etc. of the roll paper S occur between the thermal head 41 and the cutter unit 50 in the conveyance direction. There is. In such a case, a portion shifted from the ideal cut portion on the roll paper S is cut. Such variation in the cut position causes a problem that the size of each cut sheet varies when the roll sheet S is cut into a plurality of cut sheets. Further, when marginless printing is performed, a blank portion that is not printed is generated, resulting in a deterioration in quality. In order to solve such a problem, in this embodiment, the posture correction unit 60 is provided between the thermal head 21 and the cutter unit 50 in the transport direction.

  The posture correction unit 60 corrects the posture of the roll S in the conveyance path (deflection, floating, waving, skewing, etc.) of the roll paper S before the cutting operation of the roll paper S by the cutter unit 50. By correcting the posture in this way, a desired portion of the roll paper S can be cut.

  As shown in FIG. 3 and the like, the posture correction unit 60 includes a roller group 61 that is an example of a facing member. The roller group 61 is provided at a position corresponding to the conveyance guide 63 that guides the roll paper S. The roller group 61 has a function of pressing the roll paper S located on the conveyance guide 63.

  The roller group 61 is composed of a plurality of rollers 61a provided at predetermined intervals along the transport direction. The plurality of rollers 61a face the roll paper S along the width direction as shown in FIG. Both ends of each roller 61 a are supported by the support member 62 so that the plurality of rollers 61 a can move in the normal direction of the surface of the roll paper S. That is, the plurality of rollers 61a move in conjunction with the support member 62 moving in the normal direction (vertical direction in FIGS. 3 and 4) by a drive source (not shown).

  The plurality of rollers 61a move in the normal direction, so that they are separated from the surface of the roll paper S (position shown in FIG. 3) or approached to the surface of the roll paper S (position shown in FIG. 4). ). The separation position is a position that does not hinder the conveyance of the roll paper S, specifically, a position where the roll paper S being conveyed does not contact the roller group 61. The approaching position is a position where the roller group 61 sandwiches the roll paper S in cooperation with the conveyance guide 63. The distance between the roller group 61 located at the approach position and the conveyance guide 63 is greater than the thickness of the roll paper S. Specifically, the distance is about 1.5 to 2.5 times the thickness of the roll paper S.

  The outer peripheral surfaces of the plurality of rollers 61 a can contact the surface of the roll paper S when the plurality of rollers 61 a move from the separated position to the approach position. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, when the roll paper S is floating between the roller group 61 located at the separation position and the conveyance guide 63, the roll paper is moved when the roller group 61 moves to the approach position. Contact S. When the roller group 61 further moves in the contact state, the roll paper S is lifted by pressing the roll paper S as shown in FIG. In particular, since the plurality of rollers 61a are provided along the transport direction, at least one of the plurality of rollers 61a comes into contact with the roll paper S in which deflection or the like has occurred, and the roll paper S Posture can be corrected.

  The plurality of rollers 61a are rotatably supported by the support member 62, and rotate when the roller 61a further moves while being in contact with the roll paper S. Thereby, when the roller 61a presses the roll paper S, the movement of the roll paper S in the transport direction can be allowed, and the floating or deflection of the roll paper S can be effectively eliminated. Further, it is possible to prevent the surface of the roll paper S (the surface on which the image is printed) from being damaged when the roller 61a contacts the roll paper S.

  The plurality of rollers 61a move from the separated position to the approach position before the movable blade 52 of the cut unit 50 moves, and are located at the approach position while the movable blade 52 is moving. Thereby, the posture of the roll paper S can be corrected before the roll paper S is cut by the movable blade 52, and the movement of the roll paper S at the time of cutting can also be prevented.

  In the above embodiment, the posture correction unit 60 includes the plurality of rollers 61a. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the posture correction unit 60 may correct the posture of the roll paper S with one roller 61a, or may correct the posture of the roll paper S with a plate-like member instead of the roller.

  In the above embodiment, the length of one roller 61a is larger than the width of the roll paper S in the width direction of the roll paper S (see FIG. 5), but is not limited to this. For example, the roller 61a may be divided into a plurality of parts in the width direction, and the divided rollers may face the roll paper S.

(1-3. Example of printer operation)
An example of the operation of the printer 10 until an image is printed on the roll paper S and cut into cut paper will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an operation example of the printer 10 according to the first embodiment.

  In this operation example, the roll paper S is transported to the cutter unit 50 with the roller group 61 positioned at the separation position, and the roller group 61 is moved to the approach position with the transport of the roll paper S stopped, and then cut. It is characterized in that the operation is started.

  Also, this operation is realized by the controller 70 executing a program stored in the memory 72. The flowchart shown in FIG. 6 starts when print data is received from the computer via the interface 73.

  First, the controller 70 prints an image based on the received print data on the roll paper S by operating the roll paper transport unit 20, the ink ribbon transport unit 30, and the head unit 40 (step S2). Specifically, the thermal head 41 transfers the ink applied to the ink ribbon R transported by the ink ribbon transport unit 30 onto the roll paper S transported to the roll paper transport unit 20, whereby the roll paper S The image is printed on. During the conveyance of the roll paper S, the roll group 61 is located at the separation position (FIG. 3) so as not to hinder the conveyance.

  The controller 70 feeds the roll paper S on which the image is printed by a predetermined transport amount in a state where the roll group 61 is located at the separation position (step S4). Specifically, the capstan roller 23 and the pinch roller 24 convey toward the cut unit 50 with the roll paper S sandwiched therebetween, and stop when they are conveyed by a predetermined conveyance amount. Here, the predetermined transport amount is a transport amount such that the cut portion when the roll paper S is not bent becomes an ideal cut position. When the conveyance is stopped, as shown in FIG. 3, the roll paper S is floated around the cut unit 50.

  With the roll paper S stopped, the controller 70 moves the roller group 61 from the separation position to the approach position (step S6). Specifically, when the support member 62 that supports the roller group 61 is lowered, the roller group 61 moves to an approach position (FIG. 4) that approaches the roll paper S. Here, when the roller group 61 moves to the approach position, the outer peripheral surface of the roller 61 a contacts the roll paper S. When the roller group 61 further moves in contact with the roll paper S, the roller 61a pushes down the roll paper S that has floated. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 4, the floating of the roll paper S is eliminated, that is, the posture of the roll paper S is corrected.

  With the roller group 61 positioned at the approach position, the controller 70 cuts the leading end portion of the roll paper S by the cut unit 50 (step S8). For example, the movable blade 52 located on one end side in the width direction cuts the roll paper S while moving to the other end side. The movable blade 52 stops on the other end side after the roll paper S is cut. Here, since the roller group 61 is positioned at the approach position, the floating of the roll paper S is eliminated, so that the accuracy of the cut position on the roll paper S can be increased.

  Next, the controller 70 moves the roller group 61 from the approach position to the separation position to transport the roll paper S (step S10). Specifically, as the support member 62 moves up, the roller group 61 moves to the separated position. Thereafter, the controller 70 feeds the roll paper S by the roll paper transport unit 20 by a predetermined transport amount (step S12). This paper feed causes the roll paper S to float again as shown in FIG.

  With the roll paper S stopped after being conveyed, the controller 70 again moves the roller group 61 from the separated position to the approach position (step S14). Thereby, the floating of the roll paper S is eliminated as described in step S10.

  With the roller group 61 positioned at the approach position, the controller 70 cuts the roll paper S into cut sheets with the movable blade 52 (step S16). That is, the movable blade 52 positioned on the other end side in the width direction cuts the roll paper S while moving to the one end side. Thereby, the cut paper of a desired size can be cut with high accuracy.

(1-4. Effectiveness of Printer 10 According to First Embodiment)
As described above, the printer 10 corrects the posture of the roll paper S by the roller group 61 before the cutting operation of the roll paper S by the cutter unit 50. Then, the printer 10 cuts the roll paper S after correcting the posture. Thereby, the following effects are produced.

  First, since the accuracy in the feeding direction before the cutting operation of the roll S can be improved, the length of the cut sheet becomes accurate. In addition, the cut portion can be perpendicular to the line on the side surface of the roll paper S with high accuracy. In particular, when performing borderless printing of photographs, etc., with conventional roll printers, even if the cut position varies or the cut becomes slanted by printing after printing slightly larger overall, the photograph Consideration was made so that unprinted parts, which are said to be blanks, do not enter. For example, in a 6 × 8 inch (feeding direction 8 inch) roll printer, it is usual to expect variations of the paper cutting position of about ± 1.5 mm. On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, the accuracy of the cut position is about ± 0.5 mm, so that it is possible to severely frame or trim a photo during printing, or to overlap a plurality of photos. The size can be improved by improving the quality.

  Moreover, the waste of the full length of the roll paper S can be reduced by improving the accuracy of the cutting position. For example, in the case of a large-capacity roll paper S for 600 sheets, if there is a cut error of about ± 1.5 mm for one sheet, the roll paper S as a whole needs to be manufactured with a margin of about 900 mm in advance. This was contrary to cost reduction. If the cutting position is accurate, this margin can be expected to be small, and the cost per printout can be reduced.

<2. Second Embodiment>
(2-1. Detailed configuration of posture correction unit)
A configuration of the printer 10 according to the second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, the configuration of the posture correction unit 60 is different from that of the first embodiment, and other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

  Hereinafter, a detailed configuration of the posture correction unit 60 according to the second embodiment will be mainly described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. FIG. 7 is a view showing the cutter unit 50 and the posture correcting unit 60 when the roller pair 65 is located at the separation position. FIG. 8 is a view showing the cutter unit 50 and the posture correcting unit 60 when the roller pair 65 is located at the clamping position.

  The posture correction unit 60 has the roller group 61 in the first embodiment, but has a pair of roller pairs 65 in the second embodiment. The roller pair 65 includes a driving roller 66 and a driven roller 67.

  The driving roller 66 and the driven roller 67 are provided between the thermal head 41 and the cutter unit 50 in the transport direction. The driving roller 66 rotates by a predetermined amount before the movable blade 52 of the cutter unit 50 moves (cuts the roll paper S). The driven roller 67 is configured to be movable, and is located at a separation position separated from the roll paper S shown in FIG. 7 and a holding position where the drive roller 66 shown in FIG.

  The drive roller 66 moves the roll paper S downstream in the transport direction (cutter unit 50 side) by rotating the roll paper S together with the driven roller 67 along the width direction by a predetermined amount. Here, the predetermined amount of rotation is the driving roller corresponding to the amount of movement of the roll paper S, which is assumed to be eliminated when the roll paper S in which the deflection has occurred is moved downstream in the transport direction. The amount of rotation is 66.

  The drive roller 66 rotates when the capstan roller 23 and the pinch roller 24 are stopped while holding the roll paper S therebetween. Thereby, the roll paper S (the roll paper S in which the deflection or the float is generated as shown in FIG. 7) positioned between the capstan roller 23 and the drive roller 66 can be stretched. As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, the deflection or floating of the roll paper S is eliminated.

  Here, the rotational driving force of the drive roller 66 is such that the capstan roller 23 and the pinch roller that act on the sandwiched portion so that the sandwiched portion of the roll paper S sandwiched between the capstan roller 23 and the pinch roller 24 does not move. It is smaller than the clamping force of 24. Thereby, since the sandwiched portion of the roll paper S does not move, the roll paper S can be effectively lifted and bent when the driving roller 66 rotates.

  The roll paper S whose posture is corrected by the roller pair 65 described above is cut by the cutter unit 50. For this reason, also in 2nd Embodiment, since an actual cut part can suppress shifting from an ideal cut part similarly to 1st Embodiment, it can prevent effectively that the magnitude | size of a cut sheet varies.

  In the above description, the driving roller 66 does not move and the driven roller 67 moves between the separation position and the clamping position, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the driving roller 66 may move instead of the driven roller 67, and both the driven roller 67 and the driving roller 66 may move.

(2-2. Printer operation example)
An example of the operation of the printer 10 until an image is printed on the roll paper S and cut into cut paper will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining an operation example of the printer 10 according to the second embodiment.

  In this operation example, the roll paper S is conveyed with the roller pair 65 positioned at the separation position, and the roller pair 65 is moved to the nipping position with the conveyance of the roll paper S stopped, and the roller positioned at the nipping position. It is characterized in that the cutting operation is started after the pair 65 is rotated by a predetermined amount.

  This operation is realized by the controller 70 executing a program stored in the memory 72. The flowchart shown in FIG. 9 is also started when print data is received from the computer via the interface 73, similarly to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, the controller 70 prints an image based on the received print data on the roll paper S by operating the roll paper transport unit 20, the ink ribbon transport unit 30, and the head unit 40 (step S102). During the conveyance of the roll paper S, the driven roller 67 is located at the separation position (FIG. 7) so as not to interfere with the conveyance.

  Next, the controller 70 feeds the roll paper S on which an image has been printed by a predetermined conveyance amount by the capstan roller 23 and the pinch roller 24 with the driven roller 67 positioned at the separation position (step S104). . The roll paper S is in a floating state as shown in FIG. 7 in a state where the predetermined amount of conveyance has been carried and conveyance has stopped.

  While the roll paper S is stopped, the controller 70 moves the driven roller 67 from the separation position to the nipping position (step S106). Here, when the driven roller 67 moves to the clamping position, the outer peripheral surface of the driven roller 67 pushes downward while contacting the roll paper S that has floated. Thereby, the float of the roll paper S is eliminated.

  With the driven roller 67 positioned at the clamping position, the controller 70 rotates the drive roller 66 by a predetermined amount (step S108). As a result, the roll paper S between the capstan roller 23 and the drive roller 66 is stretched as shown in FIG. 8, and the posture of the roll paper S is further corrected (the lifting and deflection of the roll paper S are further eliminated). )

  After the rotation of the driving roller 66 is completed, the controller 70 moves the movable blade 52 and cuts the leading end portion of the roll paper S (Step S110). Since the posture of the roll paper S is corrected, it is possible to prevent the actual cut portion from deviating from the ideal cut portion.

  Next, the controller 70 moves the driven roller 67 to the separation position in order to convey the roll paper S (step S112). Thereafter, the controller 70 feeds the roll paper S by the roll paper transport unit 20 by a predetermined transport amount (step S114). By this paper feeding, the roll paper S is lifted again as shown in FIG.

  While the roll paper S is stopped after being conveyed, the controller 70 moves the driven roller 67 to the nipping position and rotates the drive roller 66 (steps S116 and S118), similarly to steps S106 and S108. Thereby, the posture of the roll paper S is corrected.

  After completing the rotation of the drive roller 66, the controller 70 moves the movable blade 52 to cut the roll paper S into cut paper (step S120). Since the actual cut portion can be prevented from deviating from the ideal cut portion, a cut sheet having a desired size can be cut with high accuracy as in the first embodiment.

<3. Other Embodiments>
The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is obvious that a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains can come up with various changes or modifications within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims. Of course, it is understood that these also belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

  In the above embodiment, the roller group 61 for correcting the posture of the roll paper S and the roller pair 65 are provided separately, but both the roller group 61 and the roller pair 65 may be provided.

  In the above embodiment, the thermal transfer printer 10 has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can be applied to various printers such as an ink jet printer. Further, the present invention can be applied not only to a printer but also to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a facsimile that can form an image on roll paper.

  In the above embodiment, the roll paper to which the ink applied to the ink ribbon is transferred has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it may be a roll paper that is printed without using an ink ribbon.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Printer 20 Roll paper conveyance unit 21 Holder 22 Paper feed roller 23 Capstan roller 24 Pinch roller 24
25 Platen roller 26 Paper discharge tray 30 Ink ribbon transport unit 31 Supply reel 32 Take-up reel 40 Head unit 41 Thermal head 50 Cutter unit 51 Fixed blade 52 Movable blade 53 Roller pair 60 Posture correction unit 61 Roller group 61a Roller 62 Support member 63 Conveyance guide 65 Roller pair 66 Drive roller 67 Driven roller 70 Controller 71 CPU
72 Memory 73 Interface 74 Unit control circuit 80 Detector S Roll paper

Claims (10)

A transport member for transporting a long medium in the transport direction;
A cutting member that cuts the medium transported by the transport member in the width direction of the medium perpendicular to the transport direction;
An opposing member that is provided between the transport member and the cutting member in the transport direction and faces the medium along the width direction;
With
The opposing member moves to a separated position separated from the medium, or an approach position closer to the medium than the separated position,
After the medium is transported to the transport member in a state where the opposing member is positioned at the separated position, and the opposing member is moved from the separated position to the approach position in a state where transportation of the medium is stopped, A medium conveying apparatus further comprising a control unit for starting a cutting operation of the cutting member. The transport member transports the medium having an image formed on a surface thereof to the cutting position;
The spaced position is a position spaced from the surface; the approach position is a position approaching the surface;
The medium conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the facing member is located at the separation position or the approach position by moving in the normal direction of the surface. The opposing member is a plurality of rotatable rollers provided at predetermined intervals along the transport direction,
The medium conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an outer peripheral surface of the plurality of rollers can contact the medium when the plurality of rollers move from the separated position to the approach position. A transport guide for sandwiching the medium located at the cutting position together with the facing member;
The medium transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a distance between the facing member positioned at the approach position and the transport guide is greater than a thickness of the medium. A transport member for transporting a long medium in the transport direction;
A cutting member that cuts the medium transported by the transport member in the width direction of the medium perpendicular to the transport direction;
A pair of rollers provided between the conveying member and the cutting member in the conveying direction and capable of sandwiching the medium along the width direction;
With
The roller pair is located at a clamping position for clamping the medium, or a spaced position separated from the medium, by moving,
The conveyance member is caused to convey the medium in a state where the roller pair is positioned at the separation position, and the roller pair is moved from the separation position to the clamping position in a state where conveyance of the medium is stopped, and the clamping position A medium transporting apparatus, further comprising: a control unit that starts the cutting operation of the cutting member after rotating the roller pair in a direction in which the medium sandwiched in step is moved toward the cutting member in the transporting direction. The transport member is a pair of transport rollers that sandwich the medium,
The roller pair rotates when the conveyance roller is stopped while pinching the medium,
The medium conveying apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a rotational driving force of the roller pair is smaller than a nipping force of the conveying roller acting on the portion so that the portion of the medium nipped by the conveying roller does not move. A transport member for transporting a long medium in the transport direction;
An image forming member for forming an image on the medium;
A cutting member that cuts the medium transported by the transport member after the image is formed in the width direction of the medium perpendicular to the transport direction;
An opposing member that is provided between the transport member and the cutting member in the transport direction and faces the medium along the width direction;
With
The opposing member moves to a separated position separated from the medium, or an approach position closer to the medium than the separated position,
After the medium is transported to the transport member in a state where the opposing member is positioned at the separated position, and the opposing member is moved from the separated position to the approach position in a state where transportation of the medium is stopped, An image forming apparatus, further comprising a control unit that starts a cutting operation of the cutting member. A transport member for transporting a long medium in the transport direction;
An image forming member for forming an image on the medium;
A cutting member that cuts the medium transported by the transport member after the image is formed in the width direction of the medium perpendicular to the transport direction;
A pair of rollers provided between the conveying member and the cutting member in the conveying direction and capable of sandwiching the medium along the width direction;
With
The roller pair is located at a clamping position for clamping the medium, or a spaced position separated from the medium, by moving,
The conveyance member is caused to convey the medium in a state where the roller pair is positioned at the separation position, and the roller pair is moved from the separation position to the clamping position in a state where conveyance of the medium is stopped, and the clamping position An image forming apparatus, further comprising: a control unit configured to start the cutting operation of the cutting member after rotating the roller pair in a direction in which the medium sandwiched in step is moved toward the cutting member in the transport direction. In the conveying direction, the medium is provided between a conveying member that conveys a long medium and a cutting member that cuts the medium in the width direction of the medium perpendicular to the conveying direction, and the medium is arranged along the width direction. Positioning a facing member opposite to the medium at a spaced position separated from the medium;
Transporting the medium in a state where the facing member is positioned at the separated position;
Starting the cutting operation of the cutting member after moving the facing member from the separated position to an approaching position approaching the medium in a state where conveyance of the medium is stopped;
A medium conveying method having: In the conveying direction, the medium is provided between a conveying member that conveys a long medium and a cutting member that cuts the medium in the width direction of the medium perpendicular to the conveying direction, and the medium is arranged along the width direction. Positioning a pair of roller pairs capable of sandwiching at a spaced position apart from the medium;
Conveying the medium in a state where the roller pair is positioned at the separation position;
Moving the roller pair from the separated position to a clamping position for clamping the medium in a state where conveyance of the medium is stopped;
Starting the cutting operation of the cutting member after rotating the roller pair in a direction in which the medium clamped at the clamping position is moved toward the cutting member in the transport direction;
A medium conveying method having:

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