JP2012183729A - Image recording apparatus and method for controlling the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image recording apparatus and a method for controlling the same which can contribute to the reuse of generated waste sheets of the recording medium and can reduce the waste of a recording medium.SOLUTION: The image recording apparatus 1 has: a conveying section 5 which conveys the continuous recording medium 2; a recording section 4 which is located in the most upstream position in a conveyance path of the recording medium 2 and performs recording on the continuous recording medium 2; a cutting section 6 which cuts the continuous recording medium 2; and a control section 31 which controls the driving of at least the recording section 4 and the cutting section 6. The control section 31 controls the driving of the cutting section 6 at such cut timing as to cut all the generated waste sheets from the beginning of the conveyance of the recording medium 2 until the recording medium 2 processed by the recording section 4 is discharged into a predetermined length and controls the recording start timing of the recording section 4 after the beginning of conveyance so that the waste sheet may be cut into the predetermined length.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus including a medium processing unit that processes a long recording medium and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to an image recording apparatus including a cutting unit that performs cutting processing of a recording medium and a control method thereof.

  2. Description of the Related Art Image recording apparatuses that record images by discharging ink onto a continuous recording medium wound in a roll shape such as paper or film are widely known. Some of such image recording apparatuses include a cutting unit that cuts a recording medium on which an image is recorded for each page, and discharges the cut recording medium. As a cutting part, what uses a rotation type blade is proposed.

  Assume that the image recording apparatus records an image according to certain job information, stops the conveyance of the recording medium, and then inputs the next job information to perform image recording. In an image recording apparatus, in general, a recording medium staying between an image recording unit and a cutting unit disposed on the uppermost stream on a recording medium conveyance path is a waste paper. The amount of the waste paper is determined by the physical arrangement of the apparatus and is unavoidable in terms of mechanism.

  As a known technique for dealing with the above-mentioned problem, for example, in Patent Document 1, a step-by-step acceleration is performed up to a target printing speed, and so-called “registration misalignment” that occurs in the acceleration section is suppressed to reduce waste paper. Provided about the technology to reduce.

  Further, Patent Document 2 provides a technique of using a three-direction switch to distinguish two discharge paths for waste paper and printed matter. The printed matter and the waste paper are separated to facilitate recovery and removal of the waste paper.

JP 2002-307661 A JP-A-11-217145

  According to the above-described Patent Document 1, acceleration is performed in a stepwise manner, particularly in a rotary printing press, and correction is performed by feeding back a misregistration during acceleration. However, in an ink jet printer, ink flies over a recording medium. For this reason, if recording is performed while the recording medium is accelerated, the landing positions of the ink droplets are shifted, and the image quality is impaired. For this reason, it is not preferable to perform recording during acceleration in an inkjet printer, and a recording medium that passes under the image recording unit during acceleration must be treated as waste paper.

  According to Patent Document 2, although waste paper is collected using a three-way switch, there is no disclosure regarding the form in which the waste paper is collected. For this reason, according to Patent Document 2, the waste paper is treated as waste paper.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an image recording apparatus that contributes to reuse of waste paper of a generated recording medium and can suppress waste generated on the recording medium, and a control method therefor.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, a conveyance unit that conveys a long recording medium, a medium processing unit that is positioned at the uppermost stream in the conveyance path of the recording medium and that processes the recording medium, and the recording medium In the image recording apparatus having a cutting unit that cuts the recording medium and at least the medium processing unit and a control unit that controls driving of the cutting unit, the control unit is processed by the medium processing unit from the start of conveyance of the recording medium. After the start of conveyance, the drive of the cutting unit is controlled at a cutting timing for cutting all the waste paper generated until the recording medium is discharged to a predetermined length, and the waste paper is cut to a predetermined length. The processing start timing of the medium processing unit is controlled.

  Further, according to another aspect of the present invention, a transport unit that transports a long recording medium, a medium processing unit that is positioned on the uppermost stream in the transport path of the recording medium and that processes the recording medium, A control method for an image recording apparatus, comprising: a cutting unit that cuts the recording medium; and a control unit that controls at least the medium processing unit and the driving of the cutting unit, wherein the medium processing unit from the start of conveyance of the recording medium The drive of the cutting unit is controlled at a cutting timing for cutting all the waste paper generated until the recording medium processed by the above is discharged to a predetermined length, and the waste paper is cut to a predetermined length. The processing start timing of the medium processing unit after the start of conveyance is controlled.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to contribute to the reuse of waste paper of a generated recording medium, and it is possible to suppress waste generated on the recording medium.

1 is a configuration diagram of an image recording apparatus according to an embodiment. 1 is a block diagram of an image recording apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a positional relationship between a recording unit, a cutting unit, and a paper discharge path switching unit. It is a figure explaining how a cutting part performs cutting processing to the surplus medium of the above-mentioned section L1, L2, and L3. It is a figure which shows the instruction | command which a reference signal production | generation part produces | generates and notifies with respect to each control part. 5 is a flowchart illustrating processing by the image recording apparatus according to the embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description, an example of an ink jet full-line printer is used as the image recording apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an image recording apparatus according to the present embodiment. An image recording apparatus 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a recording medium supply unit 3, a recording unit 4, a transport unit 5, a cutting unit 6, a paper discharge path switching unit 7, and a discharge unit 8.

  The recording medium supply unit 3 winds a continuous roll-shaped continuous recording medium 2. Hereinafter, the continuous recording medium is abbreviated as “recording medium”. The recording unit 4 performs image recording on the recording medium 2. The transport unit 5 transports the recording medium 2 at a predetermined speed. The cutting unit 6 cuts the recording medium 2 into a predetermined length. Hereinafter, the image recording apparatus 1 having a configuration in which a so-called cut mark indicating a reference position for cutting the recording medium 2 is not used will be described. The paper discharge path switching unit 7 switches the discharge path of the recording medium 2 cut by the cutting unit 6 according to the condition, and selects a path. Details will be described later. The discharge unit 8 includes a plurality of stackers, and discharges the recording medium 2 to the path selected by the discharge path switching unit 7.

  In the recording medium supply unit 3, the holding unit (holding stand) 10 holds the roll-shaped recording medium 2. The recording medium supply unit 3 has a mechanism such as a paper replacement mechanism and a paper connection mechanism (not shown in FIG. 1), and the recording medium is replaced by these mechanisms.

  The recording unit 4 includes a first image recording unit 11 that performs image recording on the front surface of the recording medium 2 and a second image recording unit 14 that performs image recording on the back surface of the recording medium 2. The first and second image recording units 11 and 14 are provided with a first drum 12 and a second drum 15 as platens, respectively. The first and second drums 12 and 15 wind and hold the recording medium 2.

  A conveyance information generation unit 13 is disposed on the first drum 12. The conveyance information generation unit 13 generates conveyance information such as a conveyance speed and a conveyance amount of the recording medium 2. The conveyance information generation unit 13 includes a device such as a rotary encoder that outputs position information corresponding to the rotation angle of the drum (first drum 12) as a pulse signal or the like.

  The image recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is configured to include two image recording units and two platens in order to perform image recording on each of the front and back surfaces of the recording medium 2, but is not limited thereto. For example, a configuration in which one set of an image recording unit and a platen is provided and image recording is performed on one side may be employed. In the embodiment, the platen is made up of two drums (the first drum 12 and the second drum 15), but is not limited to this. For example, two belt-type platens that hold an endless belt with a plurality of rotatable belt rollers while maintaining tension may be provided for image recording on the front and back surfaces. In this case, the recording medium 2 may be transported by a belt-type platen, and the transport information generating unit 13 may be provided on the belt roller.

  In the image recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1, the conveyance information generation unit 13 is provided on the first drum 12. However, the configuration is not limited thereto. For example, an information acquisition roller that contacts and rotates with the recording medium 2 may be provided on the conveyance path from the recording medium supply unit 3 to the cutting unit 6. In this case, a rotary encoder that rotates in synchronization with the information acquisition roller is provided, and position information is output from the rotary encoder.

  The transport unit 5 includes a nip roller pair 16. The nip roller pair 16 sandwiches the recording medium 2 and conveys the recording medium 2 toward the downstream side of the conveyance path. The nip roller pair 16 is driven as a transport driving unit 17 by a transport driving motor.

  The cutting part 6 includes a cut roller 18 as a cut side rotating body and an anvil roller 20 as a receiving side rotating body. The cut roller 18 is disposed to face the recording medium 2 and cuts the recording medium 2. The cut roller 18 and the anvil roller 20 are connected by a gear (not shown) in FIG. 1, and both rotate simultaneously. A cutter blade 21 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the cut roller 18, and the cutter blade 21 cuts the recording medium 2. The cutter blade 21 is disposed at an angle θ with respect to the conveyance direction of the recording medium 2. Thereby, the load applied to the cutter blade 21 when the recording medium 2 is cut is reduced.

  The cut roller 18 and the anvil roller 20 of the cutting unit 6 are driven using a cut roller driving motor as the cutting drive unit 19 as a drive source. In the embodiment, the cut roller driving motor is composed of a stepping motor, but is not limited thereto. For example, a servo motor can be used.

  The cutting unit 6 includes a cutting detection unit 22. The cutting detection unit 22 detects the position of the cutter blade 21 and generates a cutting detection signal indicating that the cutter blade 21 has been detected. The cut detection unit 22 is provided on the drive shaft of the cut roller 18, and in the embodiment, includes a detection plate having a cutout and a sensor for detecting the cutout. The sensor of the cutting detection unit 22 is composed of, for example, a photo interrupter, and the positional relationship with the detection plate is determined so as to detect the timing when the cutter blade 21 cuts the recording medium 2.

  As described above, in the embodiment, the cutting detection unit 22 includes the detection plate and the sensor, but is not limited thereto. For example, a mark may be provided on the side surface of the cut roller 18 and the mark may be detected by a reflective sensor. Alternatively, a rotary encoder that rotates in synchronization with the rotation of the cut roller 18 may be provided, and the position of the cutter blade 21 may be detected by the rotary encoder.

  The paper discharge path switching unit 7 includes a switching gate 23 and a switching drive unit 24 and is disposed in the vicinity of the downstream of the cutting unit 6 and switches the path of the recording medium 2. The switching gate 23 has a function of switching the path of the recording medium 2 to a plurality of positions. The switching drive unit 24 drives the switching gate 23. The switching drive unit 24 is configured by a stepping motor in the embodiment, but is not limited thereto. For example, if two paths are selected, an electromagnetic plunger or the like may be used.

  The discharge unit 8 is disposed downstream of the discharge path switching unit 7 and discharges the recording medium 2 to the outside of the image recording apparatus 1. In the embodiment, the discharge unit 8 includes the waste paper stackers 25a and 25b for waste paper and the recording stacker 26 for recorded media. The discharge unit 8 includes a drive source (not shown) in FIG. 1 that guides the recording medium 2 to each stacker, and a paper jam detection sensor (not shown).

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the image recording apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. The control unit 31 of the image recording apparatus 1 in FIG. 2 is connected to a host device 41 such as a personal computer (PC), and the recording medium supply unit 3, the recording unit 4, the transport unit 5, the cutting unit 6, and the paper discharge path. The switching unit 7 and the detection unit 8 are connected to each other. The control unit 31 collects information from each unit and controls each unit. In addition, when receiving an image recording command or a recorded image from the host device 41, the control unit 31 gives a driving instruction to each unit based on the command.

  In FIG. 2, the configuration related to the control method of the image recording apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is mainly described. For this reason, in FIG. 2, the control part 31, the 1st image recording part 11, the 2nd image recording part 14, the conveyance information generation part 13, the conveyance drive part 17, the cutting | disconnection drive part 19, the cutting | disconnection detection part 22, and a gate drive part Only 24 are listed. Among the configurations shown in FIG. 2, configurations corresponding to those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

The control unit 31 includes a CPU 32, an image recording control unit 33, a conveyance control unit 34, a cutting control unit 35, a gate control unit 36, and a reference signal generation unit 37.
The image recording control unit 33 is based on the conveyance information such as the conveyance speed and conveyance amount of the recording medium 2 input from the conveyance information generation unit 13 and the image recording request signal notified from the reference signal generation unit 37. And the image recording timing signal by the second image recording units 11 and 14 is generated. The image recording timing signal is a signal serving as a reference when controlling image recording by the first and second image recording units 11 and 14.

  The reference signal generation unit 37 calculates drive timings of the conveyance drive unit 17, the cutting drive unit 19, and the gate drive unit 24 based on information from the CPU 32 and the conveyance information generation unit 13. The conveyance control unit 34, the cutting control unit 35, and the gate control unit 36 drive the conveyance driving unit 17, the cutting driving unit 19, and the gate driving unit 24 based on a command from the reference signal generation unit 37, respectively. The reference signal generation unit 37 generates the image recording request signal and notifies the image recording control unit 33 of it.

  The input unit 38 is, for example, an input unit such as a keyboard or a pointing device, and the input unit 38 receives an input of conditions such as a waste paper size specified by the user. The display unit 39 is an output unit such as a display, and the display unit 39 outputs and displays information such as conditions specified by the user via the input unit 38, the amount of waste paper discharged, and a collection warning.

  Note that, as described above, the cutting detection unit 22 detects the timing at which the cutter blade 21 cuts the recording medium 2 and generates a cutting detection signal indicating that the cutter blade 21 has been detected. In FIG. 2, the reference signal generation unit 37 determines the number of recording media 2 cut by the cut detection signal from the cut detection unit 22 and switches the stacker. It is not limited. As will be described in detail later, the stacker may be switched based on a signal for instructing cutting of the recording medium 2 generated by the reference signal generation unit 37.

  The processing operation of the image recording apparatus 1 having the above configuration will be described. As described above, the recording medium 2 is attached to the holding unit 10 while being wound in a roll shape. The holding unit 10 has a braking mechanism (not shown) in FIG. The braking mechanism of the holding unit 10 applies a back tension to the roll-shaped recording medium 2. An appropriate tension is generated between the holding unit 10 and the nip roller pair 16 of the conveying unit 5 by the braking mechanism of the holding unit 10. Due to this tension, the recording medium 2 is conveyed without slipping on the first drum 12 and the second drum 15.

  Under the control of the conveyance control unit 34, the nip roller pair 16 conveys the recording medium 2 to the first image recording unit 11 while keeping the conveyance speed of the recording medium 2 constant. Under the control of the image recording unit 33, the first image recording unit 11 performs an image recording process on the surface of the recording medium 2. When the recording medium 2 is further conveyed, the second image recording unit 14 performs image recording processing on the back surface of the recording medium 2.

  When the image recording process is completed, the recording medium 2 is fed to the cutting unit 6 through the transport unit 5. In the present embodiment, as described above, the rotary cutting unit 6 is employed as a method of cutting the recording medium 2 for each predetermined printing unit. The cutting control unit 33 controls the cutting drive unit 19 so that the rotation period of the cut roller 18 of the cutting unit 6 is a time determined from the conveyance speed of the recording medium 2 and a predetermined cutting length of the recording medium 2. To do. Thereby, the recording medium 2 is cut into a predetermined size.

  The paper discharge path switching unit 7 switches the path so that the recording medium 2 cut by the cutting unit 6 is guided to each stacker of the discharge unit 8. The gate control unit 36 is configured so that the recording medium 2 on which no image is recorded, which is so-called broken paper, is ejected to the waste paper stackers 25a and 2b, and the recording medium 2 on which the image has been recorded is ejected to the recording stacker 26. Control is performed so as to switch the path by driving the gate driving unit 24.

As described above, the control unit 31 of the image recording apparatus 1 causes all the damaged paper generated from the start of conveyance of the recording medium 2 to the time when the recording medium 2 recorded by the recording unit 4 is discharged out of the image recording apparatus 1. The driving of the cutting unit 6 is controlled at a cutting timing for cutting the sheet into a predetermined size. At the same time, the control unit 31 controls the recording start timing of the recording unit 4 after the start of conveyance so that the waste paper is cut to a predetermined length. Next, a specific description will be given of a control method related to processing of waste paper by the image recording apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a positional relationship between the recording unit 4, the cutting unit 6, and the paper discharge path switching unit 7.

  The image recording apparatus 1 needs to continue transporting the recording medium 2 in the transport unit 5 even after the image recording process is completed in the recording unit 4. That is, the transport unit 5 needs to stop the transport after the recording medium 2 on which the image is recorded is discharged to the outside of the image recording apparatus 1. In the configuration of FIG. 1, it is necessary to continue transporting the recording medium 2 at least in the section L1 from the first image recording unit 11 to the cutting position of the cutting unit 6. The distance of the section L1 is unique to the image recording apparatus 1 and is known.

  On the other hand, when the image recording apparatus 1 performs the next image recording, image recording cannot be performed at least on the recording medium 2 in the section L1, and therefore, it is necessary to discharge the paper to the discharge unit 8 as waste paper. . Also, in the section L2 in which the recording medium 2 is accelerated to the image recording speed, image recording is not performed from the viewpoint of image quality, and thus it is necessary to discharge the recording medium 2 to the discharge unit 8 as waste paper.

  A section L3 represents a section from the cutting unit 6 to the leading end position of the recording medium 2 when the transport unit 5 of the image recording apparatus 1 stops the transport of the recording medium 2. As described above, since the cutter blade 12 of the cutting unit 6 is disposed at an angle θ with respect to the conveyance direction of the recording medium 2, when the conveyance of the recording medium 2 is stopped and cut, the right angle of the cut surface is maintained. Disappear. For this reason, the conveyance control unit 34 controls the conveyance of the recording medium 2 so that the leading edge of the recording medium 2 stops in a state where it is slightly fed.

  For the above reason, every time one image recording is performed, the image recording apparatus 1 generates the recording medium 2 that cannot perform image recording, that is, the surplus medium, in the sections L2, L1, and L3 in FIG. The image recording apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment suppresses waste generated in the recording medium 2 by processing the surplus medium into a predetermined size, for example, a standard size, so that the waste paper can be reused. Examples of the standard size include A size such as A3 and A4, B size such as B3 and B4, Letter size, and Tabloid size.

  In the following, for the sake of explanation, the section from the first image recording unit 11 of the recording unit 4 to the contact position (cutting position) of the cutter blade 21 of the cutting unit 6 is referred to as “L1”. In addition, the section in which the recording medium 2 is transported to the first image recording unit 11 during the period of accelerating to the image recording speed is “L2”, and the cutting position of the cutting unit 6 and the image recording of the image recording apparatus 1 are completed. The section from the leading end position of the recording medium 2 at the time when the conveyance of the recording medium 2 is stopped is referred to as “L3”. In addition, the symbols “L1”, “L2”, and “L3” may represent the distance of the section in addition to the section as described above. When expressing the distance of a section, it expresses like "distance L1".

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining how the cutting unit 6 performs the cutting process on the surplus medium in the sections L1, L2, and L3. With reference to FIG. 4, how the control unit 31 in FIG. 2 performs cutting control of the waste paper will be specifically described.

  When the control unit 31 receives the image recording command from the host apparatus 41 and starts the conveyance of the recording medium 2, the recording medium 2 reaches a printable speed after a certain acceleration section L2. Hereinafter, the conveyance speed of the recording medium 2 when performing image recording is referred to as “printing speed”.

  As described with reference to FIG. 3, printing is not performed on the leading end L3 of the recording medium 2, the in-device retention section L1 and the acceleration section L2 of the recording medium 2 when the conveyance is stopped. The cutting for this section is performed with a predetermined size. Here, a case where processing is performed with a standard size designated by the user via the input unit 38 will be considered as an example.

FIG. 4A shows a cutting schedule when the user designates the waste paper size as “A4”. The cutting schedule indicates a position to cut the recording medium 2 including the sections L1 to L3 of the waste paper. Since the distances L1, L2, and L3 are all known values, the arrangement of the waste paper can be calculated in advance and set as shown in FIG. The following is an equation for determining the number of waste paper. FIG. 4A shows a case where 17 A4 sheets are processed from the damaged paper. In FIG. 4A, for example, “A4 BLK (1)” represents the first sheet of the recording medium 2 on which A4 size recording is not performed (that is, waste paper), and “A4 printing (1)”. "Represents the first sheet of the A4 size recording medium 2 on which image recording is performed in accordance with the image recording command. The same applies to FIGS. 4B and 4C.
Number of waste paper = (L1 + L2 + L3) / user specified size (1)
However, the number of lost paper sheets is obtained by rounding up the calculated value.

  When an image recording command is received from the host apparatus 41, the conveyance of the recording medium 2 is started. FIG. 4B shows the position of the recording medium 2 at the cutting timing of the first damaged paper. When the recording medium 2 further accelerates and the recording medium 2 corresponding to the distance L2 is transported, the transport speed reaches the printing speed and the acceleration ends. In the example of the cutting schedule shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, at this time, the 17th sheet is still passing through the first image recording unit 11. The first image recording unit 11 can start printing at this point, but in the embodiment, the length of the A4 size is secured also for the 17th damaged paper. That is, even when the conveyance speed of the recording medium 2 reaches the printing speed and the printing can be started, the first image recording unit 11 does not start printing immediately when the waste paper is passing. When the first image recording unit 11 starts printing the first sheet after the 17th sheet is passed, all the damaged sheets have a size suitable for recycling.

  FIG. 4C shows a cutting schedule when the user designates the waste paper size as “A3”. Here, as in the case shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, all the waste paper is cut at a size designated by the user. When the number of damaged paper is calculated by the above equation (1), the number of A3 sheets processed from the lost paper is nine.

  In the above description, a case where the waste paper is processed into a standard size selected by the user from a plurality of standard sizes prepared in advance has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a configuration in which the user can set a size (length) other than the standard size via the input unit 38 can be adopted. Even in this case, the control unit 31 of the image recording apparatus 1 sets the size of the waste paper received via the input unit 38 to the user-specified size of the equation (1) and obtains the number of waste paper. Thus, the cutting schedule is set in the same manner as described above.

  Note that, as shown in the above equation (1), the minimum number of damaged paper sheets is determined by the physical configuration of the image recording apparatus 1. However, there may be a case where the user wants more sheets than the number obtained from equation (1). Therefore, when the user sets the number of damaged sheets exceeding the number obtained from the equation (1) through the input unit 38, the set number of damaged sheets, that is, image recording is performed accordingly. It is also possible to implement a cutting schedule so as to discharge uncut sheets.

  Furthermore, the size of the waste paper may be set to the smallest size among the standard sizes. The size of the waste paper stackers 25a and 25b can be reduced. Alternatively, the standard size that is frequently specified in the image recording process may be set as the size of the waste paper.

  In accordance with the cutting schedule performed as described above, the control unit 31 in FIG. 2 controls the cutting process with a predetermined length of waste paper. Next, with reference to FIG. 5, the control method by the control part 31 is demonstrated concretely.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a command generated and notified by the reference signal generation unit 37 to each control unit (the image recording control unit 33, the conveyance control unit 34, the cutting control unit 35, and the gate control unit 36). Taking a case where the recording medium 2 is cut according to the cutting schedule shown in FIG. 4A as an example, a method in which each control unit controls each unit according to a command generated by the reference signal generation unit 37 will be described.

  When the reference signal generation unit 37 receives a command to start the image recording operation from the CPU 32, the reference signal generation unit 37 generates a medium conveyance command and notifies the conveyance control unit 34 of the medium conveyance command. The conveyance control unit 34 starts conveyance of the recording medium 2 using a preset operation parameter such as acceleration based on the medium conveyance command notified from the reference signal generation unit 37.

  The reference signal generation unit 37 sends the generated first cutting reference signal to the cutting control unit 35 in synchronization with the notification of the medium conveyance command. The reference signal generation unit 37 generates a cutting reference signal based on the conveyance amount information notified from the conveyance information generation unit 13. Since the conveyance conditions of the conveyance control unit 34 are known, the cutting control unit 35 calculates the cutting timing of the first sheet, and gives a drive command to the cutting drive unit 19 based on this. After that, the reference signal generation unit 37 sequentially generates the second, third,... Cutting reference signals and sends them to the cutting control unit 35.

For the cutting reference signal, only the cutting timing of the first sheet is calculated, and for the second and subsequent sheets, the reference signal generator 37 does not generate the cutting reference signal, and the cutting controller 35 calculates the timing. It can also be.
Further, the reference signal generation unit 37 sets the paper discharge path so as to be the waste paper stacker 25a (or the waste paper stacker 25b).

When the acceleration of the recording medium 2 ends, the reference signal generation unit 37 generates an image recording request signal and sends it to the image recording control unit 33. The reference signal generation unit 37 generates the image recording request signal based on the conveyance amount information notified from the conveyance information generation unit 13 as well as the cutting reference signal. Here, when all the waste paper is cut with a predetermined size, the conveyance amount of the recording medium 2 from the start of conveyance to the start of image recording is expressed by the following equation.
Conveyance amount of recording medium 2 = number of damaged sheets × size of damaged sheets− (L1 + L3)
In the embodiment, the reference signal generation unit 37 recognizes the timing at which the conveyance amount obtained by the above equation (2) is conveyed based on the conveyance amount information from the conveyance information generation unit 13, and records the first image as described above. A request signal is notified to the image recording control unit 33.

Thereafter, the reference signal generation unit 37 sequentially generates the second, third,... Image recording request signals and sends them to the image recording control unit 33.
When conveyance of the recording medium 2 proceeds, the recording medium 2 on which image recording has been performed in accordance with the image recording request signal reaches the cutting unit 6. The reference signal generation unit 37 issues a discharge path switching command to the gate control unit 36 so that the first image-recorded recording medium 2 is discharged to the recording stacker 26. In the example shown in FIG. 4A, FIG. 4B, or FIG. In this case, the reference signal generator 37 records the paper discharge path from the waste paper stacker 25a after the leading edge of the 17th cut recording medium 2 (that is, the last waste paper) passes through the switching gate 23. A command is issued to switch to the stacker 26. The gate control unit 36 receives a command from the reference signal generation unit 37 and controls the gate driving unit 24.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing processing by the image recording apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 6, the details of the image recording process are omitted because they are known techniques.

  In step S <b> 1, the control unit 31 of the image recording apparatus 1 waits for an image recording command from the host apparatus 41. When an image recording command is received from the host device 41, the process proceeds to step S2, and the control unit 31 confirms the waste paper size set by the user. In step S <b> 3, the control unit 31 implements a cutting schedule for the waste paper section. A specific example of the cutting schedule is as described with reference to FIG. In step S <b> 4, the reference signal generation unit 37 notifies the conveyance control unit 34 of a medium conveyance command. The conveyance control unit 34 notified of the medium conveyance command drives the conveyance driving unit 17 to start conveyance of the recording medium 2.

After the conveyance of the recording medium 2 is started, the cutting process after step S5, the image recording process after step S9, and the gate switching process after step S13 are performed in parallel.
The cutting control unit 35 and the reference signal generation unit 37 execute the cutting process in steps S5 to S8.

  First, in step S5, the reference signal generation unit 37 issues a cutting reference signal for the first sheet. As described above, the notification of the cutting reference signal for the first sheet from the reference signal generation unit 37 in step S5 is performed in synchronization with the notification of the medium conveyance command in step S4. After step S5, in step S6, the reference signal generation unit 37 monitors whether or not the cutting timing has been reached based on the information from the transport information generation unit 13. In step S6, when the reference signal generation unit 37 determines that the cutting timing has come, the process proceeds to step S7, and the reference signal generation unit 37 generates a cutting reference signal. The cutting control unit 35 notified of the cutting reference signal from the reference signal generating unit 37 drives the cutting driving unit 19 to cut the recording medium 2. In step S8, the reference signal generation unit 37 monitors the notification of the final paper from the CPU 32. If it is not the final paper, the process returns to step S6. The final sheet refers to the final page of the image recording process that is executed in accordance with a command from the host apparatus 41. In step S8, when the reference signal generation unit 37 receives a final paper notification from the CPU 32, the process proceeds to step S15.

The image recording control unit 33 and the reference signal generation unit 37 execute the image recording process in steps S9 to S12.
First, in step S9, the reference signal generation unit 37 monitors whether or not it is timing to perform image recording based on information from the conveyance information generation unit 13. If it is not timing to perform image recording, the process proceeds to step S9. return. In step S9, when the timing of image recording arrives, the process proceeds to step S10, and the reference signal generation unit 37 issues an image recording request signal. The image recording control unit 33 performs image recording on the recording medium 2 in order from the first sheet in accordance with the image recording request signal notified from the reference signal generation unit 37. In step S11, the reference signal generation unit 37 monitors the notification of information indicating that it is the final image recording from the CPU 32. If it is not the final image recording, the process returns to step S9. In step S11, when the final image recording is recognized by the notification of information, the reference signal generation unit 37 proceeds to step S12, issues a conveyance stop request to the conveyance control unit 34, and performs the process in step S15. Move to. When the conveyance unit control unit 34 receives a conveyance stop request notification from the reference signal generation unit 37, the conveyance unit control unit 34 drives the conveyance driving unit 17 to stop conveyance of the recording medium 2.

The gate control unit 36 and the reference signal generation unit 37 execute the gate switching process in steps S13 to S14.
First, in step S13, the reference signal generation unit 37 monitors whether or not the discharge of the waste paper is finished based on the information from the conveyance information generation unit 13, and if the waste paper section has not ended, The process returns to step S13. If the waste paper section ends, the process proceeds from step S13 to step S14. In step S14, the reference signal generation unit 37 issues a paper discharge path switching command, and the process proceeds to step S15. When the gate control unit 36 receives a paper discharge path switching command from the reference signal generation unit 37, the gate control unit 36 drives the gate driving unit 24 to switch to the recording stacker 26 direction.

  In step S15, the control unit 31 determines whether or not the recording medium 2 has stopped. When the notification that the recording medium 2 has stopped is received from the transport information generation unit 13, the process proceeds to step S16. In step S16, the reference signal generation unit 37 issues a discharge path switching command. When the gate control unit 36 receives a paper discharge path switching command from the reference signal generation unit 37, the gate control unit 36 drives the gate driving unit 24 to switch to the direction of the waste paper stacker 25a or the like.

With the above operation, a series of image recording processes is completed.
Note that, in step S2 of FIG. 6, the user sets the waste paper size, but as described above, the method for determining the waste paper size is not limited to the user setting. For example, the minimum size among the standard sizes can be automatically set. In this case, no particular process is performed in step S2, and the process proceeds from step S1 to step S3. Alternatively, in step S2, the user can set not only the waste paper size but also the number of waste papers.

  Moreover, it is good also as a structure which is not performed about the gate switching process in step S13-step S14 and step S16. In other words, the switching between the waste paper stacker 25a and the like and the recording stacker 26 is not performed, and the waste paper that has been cut to a predetermined size and the recorded recording medium 2 that has been recorded may be discharged to a predetermined stacker. In this case, for example, the waste paper size can be set to a size different from the size of the recording medium 2 on which image recording is performed. By setting the waste paper size by such a method, even in the image recording apparatus 1 having the configuration without the waste paper stackers 25a and 25b, the waste paper and the recorded recording medium 2 can be easily obtained. Can be distinguished.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the cutting unit 6 describes only cutting in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the recording medium 2, but is not limited thereto. That is, the present invention can also be applied to the image recording apparatus 1 having a so-called slitter that is parallel to the conveyance direction of the recording medium 2. Needless to say, the mechanisms described in the embodiments can be changed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

  As described above, according to the image recording apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, it occurs from the start of conveyance of the recording medium 2 until the recording medium 2 on which the image has been recorded is discharged out of the image recording apparatus 1. Cut all the spoiled paper to a predetermined length. By processing the surplus medium inevitably generated in the structure of the image recording apparatus 1 into a reusable form and then discharging it, waste generated in the recording medium 2 can be suppressed.

  In recent years, there are many demands for double-sided recording and higher speed for image recording apparatuses. In an image recording apparatus that records images at high speed on both sides, generally, the distance from the image recording unit arranged at the most upstream to the cutting unit becomes longer, and the length of the recording medium 2 staying between them becomes longer. . Since the amount of damaged paper, that is, the length of the damaged paper, is determined by the physical arrangement of the image recording apparatus, the waste generated in the recording medium 2 is more effective in an image recording apparatus that supports double-sided recording and higher speed. Can be suppressed.

  In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the recording unit 4 (the first image recording unit 11 thereof) is arranged as the most upstream medium processing unit on the conveyance path is described, but the present invention is not limited to this. The medium processing unit arranged in the uppermost stream on the transport path may be other than the recording unit. Even in this case, the section L2 transported between the start of transport of the recording medium 2 and the arrival of the printing speed and the sections L1 and L3 from the most upstream medium processing section to the leading end of the recording medium 2 The same effect can be obtained by performing the same processing as described above on the recording medium 2 in FIG.

1 Image recording device 2 Continuous recording medium (recording medium)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 3 Recording medium supply part 4 Recording part 5 Conveyance part 6 Cutting part 7 Discharge path switching part 8 Discharge part 10 Holding part (holding stand)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 1st image recording part 12 1st drum 13 Conveyance information generation part 14 2nd image recording part 15 2nd drum 16 Nip roller pair 17 Conveyance drive part 18 Cut roller 19 Cutting drive part 20 Anvil roller 21 Cutter blade 22 Cutting detection part 23 Switching gate 24 Switching drive unit 25a, 25b Waste paper stacker 26 Recording stacker 31 Control unit 32 CPU
33 Image recording control unit 34 Transport control unit 35 Cutting control unit 36 Gate control unit 37 Reference signal generating unit 38 Input unit 39 Display unit 41 Host device

Claims (5)

A transport unit for transporting a long recording medium;
A medium processing unit that is positioned on the uppermost stream in the conveyance path of the recording medium and that processes the recording medium;
A cutting unit for cutting the recording medium;
In an image recording apparatus having at least a control unit that controls driving of the medium processing unit and the cutting unit,
The control unit controls the driving of the cutting unit at a cutting timing for cutting all the waste paper generated from the start of conveyance of the recording medium until the recording medium processed by the medium processing unit is discharged to a predetermined length. At the same time, the processing start timing of the medium processing unit after the start of conveyance is controlled so that the waste paper is cut to a predetermined length. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the medium processing unit includes an image recording unit that records an image on the recording medium. 3. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls driving of the cutting unit by setting a size selected by a user from a plurality of standard sizes prepared in advance as the predetermined length. 4. The image recording apparatus described. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls driving of the cutting unit by setting a size set by a user to the predetermined length. A conveying unit that conveys a long recording medium; a medium processing unit that is positioned on the uppermost stream in the conveyance path of the recording medium and that processes the recording medium; a cutting unit that cuts the recording medium; A control method of an image recording apparatus having a medium processing unit and a control unit that controls driving of the cutting unit,
While controlling the drive of the cutting unit at a cutting timing for cutting all the waste paper generated from the start of conveyance of the recording medium until the recording medium processed by the medium processing unit is discharged to a predetermined length, the loss A control method for an image recording apparatus, wherein the processing start timing of the medium processing unit after the start of conveyance is controlled so that the paper is cut into a predetermined length.